Posted on 08/13/2007 4:23:45 PM PDT by wagglebee
UNITED STATES, August 13, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Princeton professor has warned that the scandal of pro-abortion Catholics and its cover-up by bishops threatens more damage to the Catholic Church than the abhorrent scandal of pedophile priests hiding behind their Roman collars to perpetrate crimes against children.
Robert George, a McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, writes in an article published in the ecumenical magazine First Things that, unlike the clergy sexual abuse scandal, the tolerated scandal of prominent anti-life Catholics continues to engender far more insidious effects upon society.
"Nothing undermines the cause of justice and cultural reform and renewal more than the bad example of prominent Catholics who have made themselves instruments of what Pope John Paul II bluntly described as 'the culture of death,'" states George.
"The scandal given by these individuals over the past thirty years, particularly with respect to the exposure of the unborn to abortion and, more recently, embryo-destructive research, is far greater in its cultural effects even than the horrific-the word is not too strong-scandal of clergy sex abuse."
If the sex scandals have enough power to make many Catholics "lose confidence in the reliability of the Church as a teacher of truth, particularly in the moral domain" then the Church's toleration of publicly proclaimed pro-abortion Catholics is much worse, especially when the culture is in grave peril.
"The Church doesn't need fundamental transformation; it needs to be about the business of transforming us," warns George. "For better or worse, culture is character-shaping and, thus, person-forming. That's why the task of cultural renewal and reform is part of the Christian task-an essential part."
George writes that Catholics should know that the Church faces both "danger" and an "opportunity for a special kind of greatness, the greatness that comes only in times of the most profound danger."
"Critical (possibly irreversible) decisions will be made in the next year or two" writes George, indicating that the particular decisions to which he is referring will occur in the field of marriage and bioethics. Both issues, he says, "will go one way or the other depending on the posture and actions of Catholics."
"If the Catholic community is engaged on these issues, working closely with evangelical Christians, observant Jews, and people of goodwill and sound moral judgment of other faiths and even of no particular religious faith, grave injustices and the erosion of central moral principles will be, to a significant extent, averted. Indeed, with respect to both marriage and the sanctity of human life, earlier reverses may themselves be reversed. If, on the other hand, the Catholic community compromises itself, abdicates its responsibilities, and sits on the sidelines, the already deeply wounded institution of marriage will collapse and the brave new world of biotechnology will transform procreation into manufacture, and nascent human life into mere disposable 'research material.'"
However George continues to point out that bishops and pastors must make a decision to lead Catholics in the culture war, not by becoming politicians themselves, but by exhorting lay Catholics to fulfill their responsibilities in the political arena and other cultural dimensions.
"[The bishops] should never hesitate to reprove us when we fail in our obligations to defend human life, marriage, and the common good, as far too many Catholics, including Catholics prominent in public life, have done and, alas, are doing," says George.
"The bishops must make clear that being a faithful Catholic means many things; but among the things it means is bearing unambiguous witness to the sanctity of human life. By bearing such witness, Catholics can seize the opportunity now before them to renew and reform the culture."
Read Robert P. George's article "Danger and Opportunity: A Plea to Catholics" in First Things: http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=815
Very true.
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George, a Catholic, has influenced Protestant and observant Jewish scholars and religious leaders, as well as Catholics. Under the auspices of the Institute on Religion and Public Life, he has worked closely with such figures as Fr. Richard John Neuhaus and Rabbi David Novak. His natural law arguments for traditional moral principles have frequently been invoked by Evangelical Christian figures such as James Dobson and Charles Colson. (See, for instance, his impact on Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey in their book How Now Shall We Live?)
I’ll email a copy to Rudy.
He sounds okay to me.
He sounds great!
Yep!
Don’t forget to do the same for Kennedy, Pelosi, Kerry and many more “Catholic” politicians.
Shhhh! Don’t you know, they are not ‘good’ Catholics, (but they sure walk in the front doors of the Cathedral, don’t they?)
“Pray for the conversion of America!”
I remember as a kid kneeling in church and praying for the “conversion of Russia.” We’ve come a long way. 3,300 babies slaughtered every single rotten day. And we cringe at the thought of what Michael Vick’s dogs went through. Where are our priorities?
As it happens I told John Kerry that to his face in Boston in 2000, among other things.
Allowing abortion (except for the mother's life) condones murder. We don't allow cock or dog fighting, even if it's part of someone's culture (Yeah, right), but we allow the murder of our own humanity.
Murderers, that would be mothers-to-be, want it and justify it.
I hope that Hell has a special place for those women who murder their babies. Right to "choose," what a crock.
Wow — this guy is from Princeton!?!? Great article.
I think the biggest mistake the Church made in the last 100 years was not calling for mandatory protests/strikes/tax boycotts of the US gubbment by Catholic laity and clergy right after roe v wade. The “lawful” butchery of the unborn should have started a crusade or at least big riots.
Freegards
I wish I could have been there and heard his response.
No response, he looks down on his fellow Americans and vets that don’t toe his line like we are dogcrap on his shoes.
George writes constantly and prolifically about the value of human life.
His cowoker, Peter Singer, on the other hand, advocates for personhood for great apes while promoting euthanasia, abortion, and infanticide for human beings.
I wonder how they can breathe the same air.
Padre Pio:
Russia will teach America something about conversion. (paraphrasing)
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