Posted on 07/23/2005 7:48:06 AM PDT by CatholicTim
Sometimes ignorance is bliss. Before EWTN televised the USCCB conferences, many Catholics had no idea how pathetic our US bishops are. I’m not sure how much of a service EWTN has provided us. It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to watch these clerical keystone cops in action. I’m not saying all US bishops are an embarrassment to the Church, just too many of them. There are a few that I truly admire, like bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz of Lincoln and Raymond Burke of Saint Louis.
In the last conference in Chicago, we had to suffer through a debate about spending $1,000,000 to find out what exactly went wrong during the sex abuse scandal. I can save the church a million dollars right now. Richard John Neuhaus summarized it in one word, “fidelity”. Father Benedict Groeschel and others have documented many of the post-Vatican II seminaries where deacons openly practiced homosexual sex, while the leadership turned their heads. Eighty percent of the priest abuse cases involved homosexual sex between priests and post-adolescent male teenagers, (not pedophilia).
By failing to enforce fidelity to explicit teachings on sexuality, our bishops let us down. For years, our bishops (and some cardinals) looked the other way, actively covered up, or simply relocated the priests caught in these acts. Now the chickens are coming home to roost. Priests failed to have fidelity to the Church teaching on sexuality and bishops failed to have fidelity in their role as shepherds.
Every election season the USCCB embarrasses us with their political ineptness. I have no problem with the principle of Christian leaders becoming active in our political process. The problem I do have with the bishops is their ignorance of basic economics and the failure to give proper weight to moral absolutes like abortion vs. their own liberal political interpretation on economic policies.
Their voter guides and survey questions generally contain a veritable wish list of failed liberal Democratic policies including pro-welfare, pro-minimum wage (or even worse, “living wage”), pro-universal healthcare and we can’t forget, anti-capital punishment. I affirm their pro-life positions in their voter guides, but those seem to get drowned out by all the anti-property rights liberal propaganda. Here are some excerpts from their latest “faithful citizenship” voter’s guide published before last November elections:
“Each person also has a right to the conditions for living a decent life—faith and family life, food and shelter, education and employment, health care and housing. We also have a duty to secure and respect these rights not only for ourselves, but for others, and to fulfill our responsibilities to our families, to each other, and to the larger society.”
“If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers, owners, and others must be respected—the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and choose to join a union, to economic initiative, and to ownership and private property.”
Apparently, according to the bishops, every person has the RIGHT to “food, shelter, education, employment health care and housing”. Karl Marx would be proud of our bishops for carrying on his work so faithfully. The bishops throw in a bone or two about “ownership and private property” but all of the other so-called RIGHTS completely contradict traditional Catholic teaching about defending private property and property rights. History is Not on the Bishop’s Side
Economic liberty always leads to prosperity. Socialism always leads to poverty. Big-government liberalism always leads to higher unemployment and lower living standards. Liberals believe in government intervention in the market place. This has proven over and over to be disastrous for job creation and living standards. Our poor need good jobs. I believe in education for our poor. However, education only addresses the supply side of the problem. It is the demand side that liberals completely ignore. Big government regulations and the big government taxes provide major disincentives for creating an environment for job creation.
Our bishops have a fundamental lack of understanding of supply and demand. When you artificially decrease prices (housing, healthcare, prescription drugs etc) in the market…shortages arise and quality drops.
When you artificially increase cost of labor (minimum wage, labor union wages, unemployment insurance, mandatory overtime wages, mandatory leave etc…) you decrease the demand for that labor. Unemployment always rises.
They also fail to understand risk. You need incentives for entrepreneurs to take risks in order to create new companies and new jobs. Liberals like our US bishops always promote disincentives (taxes and regulations) that make it more difficult to take the risk. I have started two businesses. It is already difficult enough to start a business (50% fail the first year). Big government makes it even more difficult.
If the bishops really wanted to promote the “common good”, they would promote free market conservative policies instead of big government liberalism. Free markets create jobs and prosperity. Without prosperity you can’t even address poverty or education or the environment. All of these worthy endeavors cost money. The left only understands wealth redistribution, but fails to understand how wealth is created in the first place.
Our bishops talk about the RIGHT to health care. This sounds suspiciously close to universal healthcare. I have a personal interest in keeping healthcare privatized. If we had socialized medicine my wife would be dead right now. My wife has cancer. Her first surgery about a year ago was elective. She had problems with a swollen lymph node in her neck. We did a needle biopsy and it came back negative before her first surgery. There was no evidence of cancer before the surgery.
The day of her surgery the swelling had disappeared. Our specialist said the surgery was totally elective and up to us whether we wanted to proceed. We decided to proceed as a precaution. Thank goodness we did. He removed a lymph node nearly the size of a golf ball out of her neck. It was full of malignant melanoma. Metastasized melanoma cancer in your lymphatic system is stage 3, which is serious. However, based on the average wait times for surgeries in Canada and England, her cancer would have likely progressed to state 4 prior to her first surgery. Stage 4 melanoma is a death sentence; only 1 on 5 survive 12 months. I have no interest in universal health care, thank you very much.
Political liberalism has been part of the USCCB for decades. I met a retired economist at Marcus Grodi’s Coming Home Network Conference last November. I expressed my concern with the USCCB with him. During an exchange of emails he talked about the first two pastoral letters on the economy and atomic warfare published during the Reagan administration:
“To cite one example, when the US bishops issued their 1st pastoral letter on the economy (I once was an economist for ATT&T in New York) I read all 120 pages very carefully and found certain absurdities, such as that 7% unemployment is immoral but 5% would be OK. Why not 8% and 6%? Happily they are much more restrained now in issuing such letters.”
“When they were composing their letter on atomic warfare, Archbishop Hannan of New Orleans who was a paratrooper in WWII exclaimed, "You people don't know what you are talking about. I was in combat and most of you were not." In this case the US letter contradicted the French Bishops' letter and Rome intervened to reconcile the two and save them from egg on their collective faces.”
Catholics should always promote peace. However, what kind peace did we have when Saddam was killing his own people by the thousands using chemical weapons? What kind of peace did we have when Saddam invaded two neighboring countries resulting in millions of deaths?
His sons were set to take over his tyrannical rule. Ude regularly raped young women and had them killed if they resisted. What kind of peace is that? Quse oversaw secret police operations that included the brutal persecution and murdering of political prisoners. Saddam’s regime regular placed people feet first into machines made for grinding plastic. They would take the remains of those passing through these grinders and the feed fish at Saddam’s palaces. What kind of peace is that?
Too often our bishops ignore traditional catholic teaching on “just war” theory and instead embrace the failed appeasement policies of Neville Chamberlain. The Latest Example of Political Ineptness
William S. Skylstad, the bishop of Spokane and president of the USCCB just wrote a public letter to president Bush in regard to replacing of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Here is a part of the letter:
"I urge you to consider for the Court qualified jurists who, pre-eminently, support the protection of human life from conception to natural death, especially of those who are unborn, disabled, or terminally ill. I would ask you to consider jurists who are also cognizant of the rights of minorities, immigrants, and those in need; respect the role of religion and of religious institutions in our society and the protections afforded them by the First Amendment; recognize the value of parental choice in education; and favor restraining and ending the use of the death penalty."
Even if we agree these positions, they completely miss the point on the basics of how our government was established by the constitution. The Supreme Court is here to interpret the law, not to write the law. It is shocking how ignorant our bishops are even on the most basic principles of constitutional law. If they are going to insert themselves in the political process they should at least take the time to learn the basics. They only encourage those who view judges as legislators by writing letters like this. Capital Punishment and Abortion
The bishops frequently give opposition to capital punishment and abortion equal footing in their pastoral letters. The two issues have completely different moral weight. Abortion is objectively the taking of an innocent life. Capital punishment is the taking the life of someone guilty of murder. Capital punishment has plenty of scriptural support and centuries of support by the Magisterium. Abortion has been defined as objectively evil since the church was founded and has never wavered on this point.
A careful reading of even recent church documents indicate that capital punishment is not a black and white issue. The church has always held that society has the right to defend itself. Even the latest Catechism, which includes a negative paragraph on capital punishment written by our late great Pope John Paul II suggests that it isn’t absolute teaching. Pope John Paul considered improvements in our penal system, which can provide lifetime imprisonment, adequate for society to protect itself. However, since the Catechism was written, some recent studies suggest capital punishment may be a deterrent to murder. Should those studies prove to be conclusive the church will likely modify its position again.
I recognize scripture isn’t totally explicit on this subject either way and good Christians can disagree on this. I also recognize that if the Vatican blatantly supported capital punishment, tin-pot dictators could use church teachings as rationalization to kill political prisoners. There are many reasonable arguments against capital punishment including that likelihood that some innocent prisoners may have been falsely accused, persecuted and sentenced to death. In my mind the bottom line comes down to deterrence. If we prove that deterrence is not a factor than I see little justification for the death penalty. However, if deterrence is proven then we can’t afford to save the guilty at the cost of innocent lives.
I find it absurd that anyone can take these bishops seriously when their own house is such a mess. They can’t agree on how to handle so-called “pro-Choice” Catholic politicians in terms of receiving communion. While I’ve only been a Catholic for a little more than two years, I have been attending Mass for twenty years. Fidelity to the Church’s moral teachings remains a major problem. In twenty years, I have never heard one homily on Humane Vitae and you wonder why 75% of American Catholics ignore the Church’s teaching on contraception. Rarely have I heard a homily on chastity, yet our children are “shacking up” in record numbers.
I have never heard a homily about the church’s teaching about homosexuality. I heard one parishioner call into the Catholic Answers Live radio show this week complaining about their priest. They are converts, but are considering leaving the church. They attend church in Massachusetts, where homosexual marriage recently became law. The caller estimated the particular church they attend has about 25% actively gay membership. Many of the Eucharistic ministers are openly gay “married” folks complete with wedding bands. The “married” gay couples kiss during the sign of the peace. The caller tried to approach both the deacon and the pastor at the church to express their concerns about the poor example being shown to their children. Both the priest and the deacon had no problems with openly gay “married” parishioners giving and receiving communion. Thankfully the Catholic Answers folks told them to find a new parish.
Secular humanism is standard fare at most Catholic universities. Studies have shown the more Catholic children lose their faith attending Catholic universities than attending secular universities. The financial donor records at our so-called Catholic universities are very telling. The administration at Notre Dame gave double the money to pro-Culture of Death cheerleader John Kerry than pro-lifer George Bush.
Liturgical abuse is rampant in North America. Priests ignore the missal. Liturgical experimentation is all too common. Teenagers go up to receive communion dressed like they are going to the beach. Priests rarely talk about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. You wonder why so many people don’t even bow before receiving Jesus.
Priests no longer talk about the necessity of confessing mortal sins before receiving communion. You wonder why no one goes to confession any more. I belong to one of the largest churches in our diocese. I’ve gone to confession on Saturday before and the priest and I were the only ones in the Church. I shudder to think how many are receiving communion in an unworthy manner each week.
Our priests no longer preach about missing Mass being a mortal sin. No wonder so many Catholics fail to show up for Mass on Sundays. People no longer keep the Sabbath. For too many women, the Lord’s Day has become Lord & Taylor’s day. For too many men, Sunday is the day they are hoping for another immaculate reception rather than contemplating the Immaculate Conception. Families no longer pray the rosary together. We ignore our spiritual mother. I’m only scratching the surface.
There was a time when the Church burned heretics at the stake. Today we make them religious education directors and RCIA program leaders. When I went through the RCIA program 2 years ago I was hoping to learn some scriptural support for Marian doctrines and papal authority. Instead our RCIA instructor, a radical feminist sister, explained why the church was wrong about not ordaining women.
I heard how liberating the second Vatican Council was for our church. Since Vatican II the Baltimore Catechism is no longer supported. Since Vatican II the church doesn’t teach mortal sins any more. In nine months I never heard anything about the moral teachings of the church. Instead I heard that we decide for ourselves what a sin is. Actually, there is only one serious sin, that being the “sin of intolerance”.
In nine months I never heard anything about the awesome gift of the Magisterium. Instead I heard that Mormonism and Catholicism being equal in God’s eyes. In one class I heard now that we are Catholics we need to embrace a liberal political worldview. In one class I heard saw a video where they talked about “hell as a warning”. In one video I heard a theologian explain, “it is impossible to lose God’s grace”.
I belong to two Bible Studies. In one the majority of the group are orthodox (about 25) and in the other, the majority of the group (about 7) are liberal. What I find interesting is that the liberal/progressives are generally older. When I talk to my liberal/progressive friends, I learn that none of their adult children are in the Catholic Church today.
I can sense a “sea change” in our country. Younger priests are more orthodox than we’ve seen in a long time. We can thank John Paul II and Benedict XVI for that. EWTN and Catholic Answers provide the training we should have received from our churches. The “American” Catholic Church is also receiving the benefits from former evangelical Protestants like Scott Hahn, Marcus Grodi, Mark Shea, Deal Hudson and Richard John Neuhaus. These converts truly love the Magisterium and can explain the Church’s teaching in scripture and tradition.
As a convert, I too embrace the beauty of our awesome church. I rest assure that Jesus will keep his promise when he said the gates of hell shall not prevail the church He founded. The teachings of Jesus and the Apostles have remained intact for 2000 years despite our bishop’s attempts to ignore them.
Philip Jenkins, an Episcopalian and professor at Penn State, wrote a book on sexual abuse by Catholic priests, "Pedophiles and Priests" (Oxford 1996). In the book he documents studies that indicate that sexual abuse is a greater problem among Protestant clergy than among Catholic clergy.
The Catholic church has been subject to litigation because according to Jenkins, "unlike most of its Protestant counterparts, the Catholic Church is a hierarchical organization with parish clergy subordinate to episcopal authorities who observe and record their behaviour. Each Catholic priest has a diocesan dossier that records official complaints". It's structure lends itself to increased reporting and litigation.
Hypocrites are everywhere but I see no purpose in using phrases like that.
Dear CatholicTim,
Welcome to FreeRepublic.
sitetest
Minor point - in the articles that came out at the time, it was reported that the funds for this were coming from private foundations which were not named. I still have my doubts that the collection plate actually funds most of the activities of the USCCB.
It should also be noted that there are many of the post-Vat II generation who are learning church history and true orthodoxy on our own and are putting it into practice. It is not gratifying at all to note that we were taught incorrectly on any number of topics, including economics. The actual traditions and Catechesis bear no resemblance to what has been taught us in the last 20 years.
Just one other thing, my pastor preaches on many of the topics listed here and he doesn't spout the USCCB line. We get a sermon on Penance at least once a month.
Learn to see beyond the false choice of socialist vs capitalist.
Other references
Distributivism and Catholic Social Teaching (NRO)
G.K. Chesterton the Distributist
short on blog posts but long on resources, see the left side of page, 1/2 way down.
I share some goals of Distributivism, including promoting employee ownership and entrepreneurship. I have started two businesses. I have also worked for an ESOP. Entrepreneurs and small business create all of the new jobs in a free market economy. Large companies will always shed jobs as they improve efficiencies. However, those job losses are always temporary and are out gained by jobs created in a true free market economy. The reduced prices large companies provide give the poor increased purchasing power. Distributivists are clueless when it comes to purchasing power gained through large corporations.
Distributivists think that large corporations are inherently problematic and they tend to treat employees as commodities. This is a popular myth. Corporations will always attempt to keep costs low, including labor costs. However, employees will always want get the best possible salary to support their family, so they jump ship when they can get a better offer. It is a fallacy to place any moral judgments on an employee/employer relationship where both sides end up negotiating to a just wage. I have hired and fired many employees. As a manager I’ve always believed that God is holding me accountable in how I have treated my employees. I have always attempted to treat my employees as I would like to be treated. I have also witnessed employees who work as little as possible or cheat their employers. It is critical that we evangelize the culture so that we can have more employers and employees live by the golden rule.
I don’t deny that large “statist” corporations attempt to corrupt our politicians in to passing legislation to protect their private interests in the market place. However, the problem here is not the corporations, but rather the government. The more power we give to the government the more likely special interests will try to corrupt the political process in affecting the use of that power. That is why we need a tiny, powerless federal government that allow markets to self-regulate.
History will show that like liberals, distributists had good intentions but in the final analysis they fell short of their goal of distributing property to the working poor. The major flaws of distributivism include the bogus concept of class warfare and the necessity of strong labor unions. Distributivists fail to understand how supply and demand in labor markets work. During the industrial revolution (the time of Chesterton and Belloc), you had a large supply of unskilled workers and only a few companies competing for those workers. That is the landscape of the third world today. It is simply supply and demand problem. However, in our “evil” capitalistic society, the situation did not remain static. Over time, we developed into the most productive and educated work force in the world. The standard of living for our working poor is the highest in the world. Hong Kong replicated the same economic miracle.
Those who believe in strong labor unions should look at France and Germany. Strong labor unions lead to double-digit unemployment.
The correct answer for the working poor, is to have the government get out of the market place as much as possible and to promote a culture based on Christian values, initiative, a strong work ethic, private charity, and two-parent families. Most of these issues are cultural problems, not government problems. That is why I believe in evangelism.
I love Pope John-Paul II, G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc. They were all tremendous apologists for our faith. Unfortunately they were completely wrong about economics. The correct answer is a free market capitalist economy, a Christian people and a small government.
God is going to hold us accountable for how we treated the hungry, the homeless, the infirmed and the imprisoned. These are personal responsibilities. History has shown that when we attempt to solve these through the state rather than private means (charities), the problems are never corrected and new unintended problems arise.
"Minor point - in the articles that came out at the time, it was reported that the funds for this were coming from private foundations which were not named. I still have my doubts that the collection plate actually funds most of the activities of the USCCB."
That is the same argument I hear about how the millions of dollars our government gives to Planned Parenthood don’t pay for abortions. That is simply false. Planned Parenthood now can now free up scarce resources to promote the culture of death.
It wouldn't matter how it is getting funded. Those funds could be used in a better means.
I won't argue that the money can't be used for anything better. That's not the point and in the world of multi-million dollar fundraising (which the original NCCB invented) doesn't work that way.
The fact is that the studies may well be being funded with grant money earmarked specifically for it. Inserting the PP/federal money argument is mixing apples and oranges. There's no way to prove it easily, but I would imagine that the grants are coming from the same sources that fund Voice of the Faithful, Catholics for Free Choice and any number of other apostate groups.
"Judge not lest ye shall be judged."
I am a sinner. I am a hypocrite. As a sinner I am no better than a homosexual or anyone else. God loves all of us. We all need his redemption.
God loves gays. God loves you. I will pray for you as I pray for my dear friends outside the church.
The reason I am a Catholic is because Catholics believe in absolute, objective truth. We have the Magisterium (our living teaching authority) and the Catechism. The Bible isn't enough, since many claim to interpret the Bible to support abortion, homosexuality, etc.
Only Catholics can truly wear the badge of "hypocrite"--since we claim to have the complete truth.
S: (n) hypocrite, dissembler, dissimulator, phony, phoney, pretender (a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives)
When people use the term hypocrite they tend to mean the modern definition which says that you profess against something which you actually do yourself.
The original meaning is actually that a hypocrite is someone who does not really believe what he is telling others.
Just another example of how the "tyrrany of relativism" changes the words to suit their agenda. You don't have to be perfect to have an opinion, and just because you can't live up to your own moral expectatins doesn't make them any less valid nor does it make you a hypocrite (as defined above).
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