Posted on 11/12/2009 8:05:19 AM PST by Mrs. Don-o
[Do] Catholics or, specifically, the Catholic Conference of Bishops, endorse the Democrats health care bill? Hardly.
And yet thats what the Los Angeles Times claimed in a story written by reporter Kim Geiger.
[snip]
"The compromise won immediate support from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which urged Catholics to 'lend their full-throated support to the Democrats healthcare bill.
'The bishops stamp of approval means that this bill is unambiguously pro-life and we will vigorously oppose those who suggest otherwise,' the conference said in a statement Saturday."
Well, thats pretty unambiguous.
Except its also completely untrue. The Conference of Catholic Bishops did not urge Catholics to lend their full-throated support to the Democrats healthcare bill.
And they didnt give a stamp of approval...
[snip]
The full-throated phrase and the following comment come not from the Conference of Catholic Bishops but, rather, a press release from Catholics United. I know they both have the word Catholic in them, but this really shouldnt be that confusing.
Catholics United bills itself as a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the message of justice and the common good found at the heart of the Catholic Social Tradition. Religion reporter Dan Gilgoff of U.S. News & World Report says that they provide Roman Catholic cover for the White House and the Democrats. Theyre a progressive activist group...
(Excerpt) Read more at getreligion.org ...
Everybody, I beg you to send this out --- to Rush, to Fox, to Malkin, to your daily newspaper, to wherever you can get this picked up a.s.a.p.
And Catholics, now I'm talkin' to you --- get on the phone to your bishop and ask him if he knows what the hell is going on.
Everybody, I beg you to send this out --- to Rush, to Fox, to Malkin, to your daily newspaper, to wherever you can get this picked up a.s.a.p.
And Catholics, now I'm talkin' to you --- get on the phone to your bishop and ask him if he knows what the hell is going on.
This is a good example of why I don’t think the Church should weigh in on specific legislation.
bttt
Ping-a-ling
BTTT
BUMP!
ping
You have to hand it to the scumbag Democrats - - they have lying and scheming down to a science.
I certainly hope the bishops’ organization notices what has happened and publicly rebukes the misrepresentation.
However, this seems to be a common lefty journalistic practice when dealing with “troublesome” faiths. Pick some left wing mouthpiece that claims to speak for that faith and trumpet their message all over.
Don’t say nuthin because you’ll only get lied about, eh.
This is a good example of why I dont think the Church should weigh in on specific legislation.
Would you care to expand that and explain why you think that way?
BUMP. I’m calling my Diocese when I break for lunch today. As has been said: A lie is halfway round the world before the truth has got its boots on.
BUMP
Yes. Here's my thinking. First in my mind is the left would love to politicize the church and have us fight and split. Second, the Church teaches spiritual truth and organizes for this purpose rather than political action.
She can and should be active in all areas of our lives, of course. But there is a line that we should be careful of. Teaching about abortion and relativism, for example, is a good and necessary thing. Applying that to this bill or that particular amendment risks fracturing the church and playing into the hands of our opponents.
For an extreme example, if the Church supports legislator X on legislation A, our opponents will organize for legislator Y and legislation B and work to split the congregation into warring camps. It's obvious to me this is their strategy, it would be foolish to play into their hands.
The closer the Church can stick to the clear teaching of on the sanctity of life, the better. This is safe and solid Truth. It gives the foundation for those who wish to be active politically without embroiling the Church and risking splitting it with political debate.
I agree, the Church and her Bishops should concern them selves with making saints and not public policy. If as much effort were spent on catechisis and proclaiming orthodox teaching rather than the tripe that passes for homilies these days, the people of God would be able to spot policy that controverted the truth. Many Bishops seem to fear the pulpit but relish the podium.
I left out an important point. For those within the Church who are in error on these issues, the proper approach is to their spirit not their politics. And this is the proper mission of the Church.
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