Statement on Catholics in political life: The American bishops have failed

I think the responses here, in light of the weak-sister response of the bishops to the gauntlet that John Kerry dropped in front of them, indicates to me that the future of the American Catholic Church will depend heavily on the laity. The system is rotting out, and will not permit those who are courageous to stand on truth. I am blessed to be in a parish that conforms completely with JP II and actively preaches of the horror of abortion and the responsibility of Catholics to vote squarely on that issue above all others...

Aside: PRAYERS to the family and for the repose of the soul of the S. Korean gentleman just beheaded in Iraq...

IMHO, the Catholic church's leadership has lost much of the credibility it had. Continuing coverups of gay sex and child molestation by priests has left them appearing as morally bankrupt and unwilling to follow even their own precepts.

How much "credibility" does a person need, in your world, to say that it's wrong to suck a baby's brains out of her skull when she's three inches from birth?

I mean, John Kerry won't say that. He says that people who do that should be "proud" of what they do. But do Catholic bishops, or anyone else for that matter, really need much "credibility" to say that that's wrong, and someone who does it or supports it shouldn't present themselves at the altar as though they were a faithful Christian?

Basically, what you're espousing is two logical fallacies in one. The first is the "fallacy of composition" -- just because some bishops are bad, it does not follow that all bishops are bad. The second is the "ad hominem of detraction" -- "Joe Smith is a bad person, therefore I can disregard what he says". That's self-evidently bogus -- if a known murderer tells you that stealing is wrong, does that make stealing right? Of course not! For that matter, if a thief tells you stealing is wrong, that still doesn't make stealing right. Neither does it make killing kids right if a sexual abuser of kids tells you killing kids is wrong.

However, this is a pet trick of the left. It's the "tu quoque" ("you also") response they give to any attempt to take a moral stand against their side. They used it when they tried to deflect attention from Slick's lies about Lewinsky by pointing to Newt Gingrich's dumping his first wife, for example.

Any Catholic bishop who makes moral stand on his own authority, or "credibility," if you prefer, is making a mistake. Which Catholic bishop is without sin? Which Catholic layman is without sin, for that matter? Which Protestant layman? Nobody is! But if a Catholic bishop is teaching the doctrine of the Church, he's teaching something that came from a source Who is utterly without sin, and that Source said, "Thou shalt not commit murder." Since nobody can prove that abortion is not murder, that should be sufficient for any Christian to know that abortion is wrong, no "credibility" required.

long Jesuit style arguement omitted...

IMHO (In my honest opinion), I wasn't referring to the "sucking out of a baby's brains", I was referring to the Catholic church's percieved credibility. It speaks to John Kerry's credibility that he doesn't renounce his Catholicism when he disagrees with the doctrines of the church - like Bill Clinton he just wants to carry it around like a big bible on Sunday.

However, it is extremely apparent that the Catholic church as an institution has been sadly damaged in the last few years. It's called practicing what you preach. To many appearances,they don't.

Heck, I went to a Catholic school and was raised as a Catholic. I'm not much of a church going guy now, but the rank hippocracy of the church lately is really grating.

...Given the wide range of circumstances involved in arriving at a prudential judgment on a matter of this seriousness, we recognize that such decisions rest with the individual bishop in accord with the established canonical and pastoral principles. Bishops can legitimately make different judgments on the most prudent course of pastoral action. Nevertheless, we all share an unequivocal commitment to protect human life and dignity and to preach the Gospel in difficult times.

Holy smokes... Er, um, I mean unholy smokes. What is this all about? Different bishops can make different judgments about the same issue when it involves different people. Did I get that right?

Is it sometimes OK for a Senator to vote for abortion and sometimes not? Is it a sin West of the Rockies and not a sin East of the Rockies? Maybe it has to do with the altitude? Politicians living at sea level are given a dispensation? Oh, my head hurts.

All this time I was bragging to my old chums in my old Protestant church about how we Catholics had a place where the 'buck' stops. Boy was I ever mistaken, heh?

arkady_renko

PS - Thanks for posting this, Sartorius.

I'm a bit confused by this article. Last Sunday at Mass our pastor stated that the Bishops have finally addressed this issue and that NO ONE who supports abortion in any way should receive communion. Several people near me became indignant and went to the back of the church at communion time. They did give their envelopes in. So it must've taken a few minutes and the actual act of approaching the Blessed Sacrament before it sunk in. One lady remarked that it was the bishops and not the pastor who was saying this. But he made t perfectly clear that this is not a new teaching of the Church. Again I express that our pastor said that it is the Bishops in the USA who have issued this message. He said something about bad timing. But I think that it couldn't be better timing. It's just a little late. There are some bishops who will continue to do what they want. And that is what they have done in the past. But as Pope Leo said the 100 year influence of the enemy within the Church is over. Thank God!

[T]he key issue in reorienting the Church back on her mission commissioned, and constantly reaffirmed, by Jesus Christ involves what sociologists call "socialization," what religionists term "evangelization," and what the man in the street simply refers to as "education." ... More specifically, and after the faithful administration of the sacraments, there must be a heavy emphasis given to Catholic education and catechesis.
Mr. Varacalli has hit the nail on the head. The American bishops have neglected proper catechesis and education of their own for years. When they're serious about remedying the present epidemic of vincible error among Catholic voters, each bishop needs to state the case against pro-abortion legislation from every pulpit in his diocese in as straightforward and unambiguous manner as possible, as often as necessary.

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