Posted on 11/10/2009 11:55:00 AM PST by B-Chan
The passage of sweeping national health care legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives has set the stage for the greatest intrusion of the State into the everyday lives of the American people in the nation's history. Across the Web, the groans and cries of the free-marketers, capitalists, and libertarians have begun to echo in response. Surprisingly, many of these voices condemn the Catholic Church for its "socialist" commitment to feeding the poor, caring for the sick, and doing the other things Jesus Christ commanded of us. "Without the support of you bleeding-heart Catholics," the refrain goes, "this socialist nightmare could never have passed."
An element of truth exists behind this complaint. A pious Catholic's heart does bleed for the sick, the aged, the destitute, the lame, and the suffering; in this, it mimics the Sacred Heart of our Lord Himself, who gave all He had, including His life, for the sake of the suffering.
But is the Catholic Church "socialist"? Impossible. Socialism is a materialist doctrine with a dialectical and teleological basis that is utterly incompatible with the word and example or our Lord. As such, it has been repudiated specifically in the teaching of the Church, most notably in the encyclical Rerum novarum (1891) of Pope Leo XIII, which states
the main tenet of socialism, community of goods, must be utterly rejected, since it only injures those whom it would seem meant to benefit, is directly contrary to the natural rights of mankind, and would introduce confusion and disorder into the commonweal. The first and most fundamental principle, therefore, if one would undertake to alleviate the condition of the masses, must be the inviolability of private property.1But if the Church is not socialist, neither is it capitalist. Capitalism, like socialism, is both philosophically materialist and ethically libertarian -- and libertarian thought (which is just Liberal thought with a different name) is completely in opposition to the teaching of Jesus Christ. Our Lord is not a free marketer, a capitalist, an entrepreneur, or a salesman. As the ultimate altruist and counter-example of rational sef-interest, He stands at the opposite end of the ideological spectrum from Rand's Nietzschean superman John Galt. Jesus Christ is a King, not a CEO*, and He commands His servant Church to uphold the Natural Law, which proclaims that every human being is a Child of God -- and as such, is deserving of food, medical care, and the other basic hallmarks of human dignity.
The Church is called upon to provide these social services. The State has no just role in pubic life except to keep the peace, protect the borders, establish justice, and preserve the national patrimony. In a Christian social order, the State officially recognizes the Church's special role in the life of the nation, and protects and support the Church in its provision of social services. This was the pattern of social organization throughout Christendom until the advent of the Lutheran heresy, which proclaimed the cult of individual Liberty and its separation of Church and State.
By destroying the proper relationship between Church and State, the "libertarian" movement invited the State to overstep its ordained bounds and intrude into areas of life within which it has no just business. In a post-Reformation representative republic such as our own, which pretends neutrality in matters of faith, the State cannot fulfill the role of Protector of the Church given to it by God; as a result, over time, popular demand forces the State to assume the provision of social services which in a Christian social order would be provided by the Church.
Human beings have the positive and Divine right to daily bread, health care, and other aspects of human dignity. In his Luciferian quest for individual Liberty, however, Western man has destroyed the Divinely-ordained social order under which the Church provided these goods. As a result, the heavy hand of the State will now intrude into every aspect of public life in its futile attempt to build a just society. Ironically, the worship of individual liberty instigated by the "reformers" of the Church and the secular counterparts of the "enlightenment" has destroyed the liberty under God that individuals once enjoyed as organic parts of the Catholic and medieval social order.
Nationalized health care is a fact. Soon, the power of life and death will rest entirely in the hands of the State. And as the smothering blanket of socialism settles slowly across our land, I invite libertarians to quit their whining. In their quest for freedom from the Church, they destroyed the institutions that kept the State in its proper place. Libertarians made this bed; we are now all going to be forced to sleep in it.
*That was L. Ron Hubbard's gig.
I don’t recall Jesus advocating a specific economic system. He said render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and render unto God what is God’s. I doubt if he believed half on one’s income was Caesar’s. Also, free market capitalism has been the hallmark of American conservatism from the beginning. I never have seen you speak of your reverence for the Constitution. What are your views on the Constitution? What you advocate strikes me as quasi-fascist.
Posts like this are proof to me that the standard “right” or “left” political spectrum is silly.
There is a “control others” and “leave others alone” spectrum.
Stalinists, fascists, islamists, and those who desire a return of the papal states (or babtist states or Haredi states or Hindu states) are all just forms of “control others.”
Those are your words. I never advocated killing anybody, regardless of ethnicity or religion. I'm against killing people except in defense of innocent life.
PS: Many Protestants are hung. Having overly large male genitalia is not limited to us Catholics.
I agree, which is why I'm against the revolutionary spirit of the "enlightenment", with its deification of individual liberty, and in favor of traditional Western, Christian government.
He didn't. However, we have His example to go by: He owned no capital, He did not employ others, and he did not obtain income from investments; therefore He was no capitalist. Instead, He gave away all that He had, including His life, to people who hated and betrayed Him, and all for the sake of unworthy sinners such as me.
Just because someone isn’t an employer or make money off of investments doesn’t mean they are not a capitalist. A capitalist is simply someone who believes in the free exchange of goods and services. You still haven’t answered my question about the Constitution. Also, do you think the American Revolution was immoral?
Institutions can learn to be good... but the first step is to, well, step on them hard enough to break their power to do evil.
The Papal States no longer exist (not since the 1870s) and the Bishop of Rome can no longer have the Holy Office -- i.e., the "Holy Office of the Inquisition" -- instruct the police to kidnap little Jewish kids anymore. This particular Church got stepped on pretty hard, first by Napoleon and then later by the Italian nationalists.
In his book El liberalismo es pecado ("Liberalism is Sin"), the Spanish Catholic priest and writer Fr. Felix Sardà y Salvany said that Liberalism is the "radical and absolute negation of the sovereignty of God". It is this negation of God's sovereignity and the enshrinement of individual Liberty as the supreme good that lies at the root of Liberalism.
I side with traditionalist Christian Conservatism.
Where do the modern democrats fit in. They don’t give a rats behind about individual liberty? Also, where do I fit? I believe in liberty and I believe in equal opportunity under the law, but I certainly don’t believe in equality of outcome.
But that is the exact purpose of this flesh age. For the individual to choose which path they will take. Even our Founders knew where unalienable rights come from and no government and/or church can legislate said rights. The Heavenly Father created each and every soul and each and every soul will one day get their one on one, face to face accounting. There is not going to be anyone else but Christ as their advocate when the accounting takes place.
And that appointed time is not yet here, we still have more souls to pass through this flesh age before that kind of 'government' is going to be established. Ever wonder just how many 'souls' God created? Paul says that some were predestined before the foundation of this world (age). Ever wonder what these souls did that cause them to be predestined? Paul is the best example of one who was predestined.
“”I don’t see why an adherent of Communism””
Put your mind at ease ,dear friend ,being Catholic I understood the evil’s of communism that is invading our country long before your new found modern worries.
Feminism ,materialism,consumerism has been leading the US down the path for a long time because we failed to grasp the true meaning of liberty and a greed has corrupted the idea of capitalism.
I suggest you spend less time on free republic puffing yourself up as if you have any idea of what people think on topics you don;t seem to understand.
Try spending more time in prayer for this country,it will do more than what you write here on free republic to help.
I wish you a blessed evening
Persons, societies, books, governments which reject, in matters of faith and morals, the only and exclusive criterion -— that of the Catholic Church -— are Liberals. They acknowledge themselves to be Liberals. They feel honored to be so recognized and never dream of scandalizing anybody except us terrible "irreconcilables."
Now change the expression; instead of Liberals, call them free-thinkers. They resent the epithet as a calumny and grow indignant at the insult, as they term it. But why this excruciating tenderness, this delicate sensitiveness over the variations of a simple term? Have you not, dear friends, banished from your conscience, your books, your journals and your society all recognition of the supreme authority of the Church? Have you not raised up as the sole and fundamental criterion of your conduct and your thought your own untrammeled reason?
Who'd a thunk it! I note that this website, _Free Republic_, does not explicitly recognize "the supreme authority of the Church," nor does it recognize the "Catholic Church" as "the only and exclusive criterion" in "matters of faith and morals." Thus, by this definition _Free Republic_ is a Liberal website and a heck of a lot of Freepers -- me included -- are Liberals!
Yep.
You have no conception what American conservatism is about. Conservatism is about upholding the Constitution and conserving the principles of our founding. It’s not about worshiping Rome. Granted, just as you worship Rome, many of your antagonists on this thread worship Geneva.
Thanks for being so honest!
Sounds like it could be written by the Taleban.
Do you see now the differences between a real conservative and the fake Rush Limbaugh/Chamber of Commerce version we've been taught all our lives? Real Conservatism is centered upon the Christian Faith -- not upon Capitalism, not upon personal freedom, not upon the pursuit of happiness, but upon CHRISTIANITY. Real Conservatism in the Western sense means working for an entire society in which Christianity is the central fact of everyday life instead of just one of many lifestyle choices as it is today.
Note carefully: this is NOT theocracy, nor is it Dominionism. Theocracy is a dictatorship of priests, not a commonwealth of believers; Dominionism strives to "immanetize the eschaton" through the creation of a heaven on Earth. Western Conservatism rejects both. In a traditional Western commonwealth, Church and State are complimentary but separate. The State's proper role is to keep the peace, guard the borders, establish justice, protect the natural human family unit, and preserve the national patrimony (i.e the culture, language, infrastructure, natural environment, etc.). The Church's role is to keep the Crown in check by the threat of delegitimization, to create and nurture Christian belief, to administer the Sacraments, to promote Christian culture, and to care for the sick, poor, indigent, and imprisoned. In a traditional Western commonwealth, no individual can lawfully be forced to believe in Christ or attend worship services, but the overall culture and character of life is Christian, and Christian morality is the basis for law and custom. Unlike a theocracy, in a Christian commonwealth priests do not rule the everyday lives of men; and no attempt is made to establish God's kingdom on Earth. Every man owes his loyalty to family, liege, and the Lord, and as long as he does his duty toward all, his life is his own to live.
Does that sound like the Taliban? No. The Taliban forces individuals to practice Islam or die, and forbids any practice of other religions. The Taliban acts against the natural order by legitimizing tyranny, polygamy, rape, ignorance, and murder. The Taliban is ruled by "holy men", not by a secular king bound by ancient customs and laws and whose right to rule is derived from the Church founded by Christ. The Christian version of the Taliban is Calvin's Geneva, not the traditional Catholic civilization of the Middle Ages which the true Conservative strives to restore.
Every civilization is centered upon something. The Islamic civilization is centered upon the Koran. Our modern secular civilization is centered upon individual liberty. Those people who strive to maximize individual liberty should be and are called liberals. A Christian civilization is centered upon the Christian moral tradition. It is that tradition that the Conservative seeks to preserve and restore.
“Conservatism is centered upon the Christian Faith.”
LOL. You are a very silly person, and a reminder that I thank G-d that the founders of this nation were Freemasons who didn’t seek to impose their personal religion on others.
You still haven’t answered where today’s democrat falls on the political spectrum. They don’t give a damn about christianity or individual liberty. You say you want a government centered on the christian faith, but what do you really know about the christian faith? You come across in all of your posts as an arrogant elitist. The fruits of the spirit certainly don’t emanate from your posts. You demonstrate a hatred of American conservatives, particularly Rush Limbaugh.
“traditional Catholic civilization of the Middle Ages which the true Conservative strives to restore.”
The one that burned Jews and Protestants as heretics?
Sold indulgences?
As said before, it’s the Taliban.
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