"As I speak a word of encouragement today I also want to tell you soberly, dear friends, 'We are at war!'" began Finn, who said that today's issues bring "an intensity and urgency to our efforts that may rival any time in the past."Posted on 04/21/2009 4:42:46 PM PDT by wagglebee
OVERLAND PARK, Kansas, April 21, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Bishop Robert Finn of the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph issued a powerful call to action to pro-lifers at the 2009 Gospel of Life Convention on Saturday. In his speech, Finn heavily criticized pro-abortion Catholic politicians who claim a "personal opposition" to abortion, stating that such persons are "warriors of death" who "have abandoned their place in the citizenship of the Church."
"As I speak a word of encouragement today I also want to tell you soberly, dear friends, 'We are at war!'" began Finn, who said that today's issues bring "an intensity and urgency to our efforts that may rival any time in the past."
The bishop warned that an empty version of the rhetoric of "tolerance" can come from people of all backgrounds, including Christians and Catholics: "The 'battle between believers,' who claim a certain 'common ground' with us, while at the same time, they attack the most fundamental tenets of the Church's teachings, or disavow the natural law - this opposition is one of the most discouraging, confusing, and dangerous," he said.
"Occasionally we still hear an elected official speak of his or her personal opposition to abortion, while they support the legal right to an abortion," he continued.
"We should be very clear: Such a person places him or herself completely OUTSIDE the moral framework, the moral imperative of Evangelium Vitae and other Church teaching on these issues. ... They have abandoned their place in the citizenship of the Church. Quite simply they have become warriors for death rather than life.
"If you and I support such a person who has so flatly told us of their intentions to protect a fraudulent Right to Death, a Right to an Abortion, we make ourselves participants in their attack on life," said Finn.
Touching on the Notre Dame scandal, Finn said the school's decision to honor Obama at this year's commencement was "scandalous, discouraging and confusing to many Catholics" and he conjectured that "Fr. Jenkins will probably lose his job."
Finn suggested that Jenkins should disinvite the President and give the honorary degree to Bishop John D'Arcy of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, "who has supported and tried to guide the University, despite their too frequent waywardness, faithfully for 25 years."
Finn urged the crowd to never get used to the "constant magnitude" of abortion.
"Thousands of human lives every day: If we keep saying this - first of all - some people will get very upset with us," said the Bishop. "They will want us to stop. They may quote other statistics about the tragedies of poverty and war. We must truly share their horror at these things too. However, in the end the measure of our society is in how we treat the most vulnerable in our midst."
On the role of bishops in the abortion debate, Finn noted the spontaneous standing ovation received by New York's Archbishop Timothy Dolan at his installation Mass when he mentioned the sanctity of unborn life.
Finn said the reaction revealed the Catholic community's desire for leadership on the issue.
"This is NOT partisan politics on the part of bishops or their flock," he said. "This is zeal for life, pure and powerful. This is care for truth, and attention to the salvation of souls. It cannot and must not be neglected, even if it means we might get scolded at times by those who want us to speak less.
"We bishops should note it carefully - how our people are starving for more leadership - more unanimity - more courage in this regard."
Bishop Finn urged diligence in the effort to promote the culture of life, one that must not slacken even as others "push back" and try to silence the message.
"As bishop I have a weighty responsibility to tell you this over and over again," said Finn. "This obligation is not always easy, and constantly I am tempted to say and do less, rather than more. Almost every day I am confronted with the persuasion of other people who want me to be silent. But - with God's grace - you and I will not be silent."
(To read the entirety of Bishop Finn's keynote address, go to: http://catholickey.blogspot.com/2009/04/we-are-at-war-bishop...)
Thanks for the ping!
Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life,
And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.
I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion,
Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death
by the Resurrection of Your Son.
I am ready to do my part in ending abortion.
Today I commit myself
Never to be silent,
Never to be passive,
Never to be forgetful of the unborn.
I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement,
And never to stop defending life
Until all my brothers and sisters are protected,
And our nation once again becomes
A nation with liberty and justice
Not just for some, but for all.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen!
The bishops (in alphabetical order) are:
1. Bishop John D'Arcy - Fort Wayne-South Bend, IN
2. Bishop Samuel Aquila - Fargo, ND
3. Bishop Gregory Aymond - Austin, TX
4. Bishop Gerald Barbarito - Palm Beach, FL
5. Bishop Leonard Blair - Toledo, OH
6. Archbishop Daniel Buechlein - Indianapolis, IN
7. Bishop Robert Baker - Birmingham, AL
8. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz - Lincoln, NE
9. Archbishop Eusebius Beltran - Oklahoma City, OK
10. Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantú - San Antonio, TX
11. Bishop Paul Coakley - Salina, KS
12. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo - Houston, TX
13. Archbishop Timothy Dolan - New York, NY
14. Bishop Thomas Doran - Rockford, IL
15. Auxiliary Bishop John Dougherty - Scranton, PA
16. Bishop Robert Finn - Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO
17. Cardinal Francis George - Chicago, IL; President, USCCB
18. Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger - Evansville, IN
19. Archbishop José Gomez - San Antonio, TX
20. Bishop William Higi - Lafayette, IN
21. Archbishop Alfred Hughs - New Orleans, LA
22. Bishop Joseph Latino - Jackson, MS
23. Bishop Jerome Listecki - La Crosse, WI
24. Bishop William E. Lori - Bridgeport, CT
25. Bishop George Lucas - Springfield, IL
26. Bishop Robert Lynch - St. Petersburg, FL
27. Bishop Joseph Martino - Scranton, PA
28. Bishop Robert Morlino - Madison, WI
29. Bishop George Murry - Youngstown, OH
30. Archbishop John J. Myers - Newark, NJ
31. Bishop R. Walker Nickless - Sioux City, IA
32. Archbishop John C. Nienstedt - St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN
33. Archbishop Edwin O'Brien - Baltimore, MD
34. Bishop Thomas Olmsted - Phoenix, AZ
35. Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk - Cincinnati, OH
36. Bishop Kevin Rhoades - Harrisburg, PA
37. Bishop Alexander Sample - Marquette, MI
38. Bishop Edward J. Slattery - Tulsa, OK
39. Bishop Richard Stika - Knoxville, TN
40. Bishop Anthony Taylor - Little Rock, AR
41. Bishop Robert Vasa - Baker, OR
42. Bishop Thomas Wenski - Orlando, FL
This is from LifeSiteNews.com web site...
BTW, I truly believe that Pope Benedict is watching this fiasco at Notre Dame and taking notes!
We are, in point of fact, at war with an anti-American atheist/marxist print and electronic media which is determined to remove Christianity, especially its root source - Roman Catholicism - as the basis of societal morality.
As you know quite well, communism and Roman Catholicism are fundamentally incompatible. A Traditional Catholic cannot be a true Communist, for the two philosophies are antithetical and all the dialectics of the logicians cannot reconcile them.
Communism is based on a materialistic and humanistic view of life and history. According to Communist theory, matter, not mind or spirit, speaks the last word in the universe. Such a philosophy is avowedly secularistic and atheistic. Under it, God is merely a figment of the imagination, religion is a product of fear and ignorance, and His Church, they argue, is an invention of the rulers to control the masses.
Moreover, Communism, like humanism, thrives on the grand illusion that man, unaided by any divine power, can save himself and usher in a new society. At the center of the Christian faith is the affirmation that there is a God in the universe who is the ground and essence of all reality. A Being of infinite love and boundless power, God is the creator, sustainer, and conserver of values.
In opposition to Communism's atheistic materialism, Christianity posits a theistic idealism. Reality cannot be explained by matter in motion or the push and pull of economic forces. Christianity affirms that at the heart of reality is a Heart, a loving Father who works through history for the salvation of his children. Man cannot save himself, for man is not the measure of all things and humanity is not God. Bound by the chains of his own sin and finiteness, man needs a Savior. Second, Communism is based on ethical relativism and accepts no stable moral absolutes. Right and wrong are relative to the most expedient methods for dealing with class war. Communism exploits the philosophy that the end justifies the means. It extols the theory of a classless society, but its methods are lying, violence, murder, and torture are considered justifiable means to achieve the millennial end. In Lenin's words, "We must be ready to employ trickery, deceit, lawbreaking, withholding and concealing truth." Modem history has recorded nights of unspeakable torture followed by horrific days. This, dear friend in Chist is the anti-American Marxist-Leninism 'third way', stripped of its many masks.
As you know quite well, communism and Roman Catholicism are fundamentally incompatible. A Traditional Catholic cannot be a true Communist, for the two philosophies are antithetical and all the dialectics of the logicians cannot reconcile them.
Many improperly catechized Catholics have long felt that the social gospel could somehow be compatible with communism/Marxism; however, this notion should have been put to rest when Pope John Paul II faced down communism in his homeland and then continued to push for the complete destruction of the Soviet empire.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
