02:03 PM 3/5/2009 — True of false? Artificial birth control is a mortal sin; and, if you are using any form of it, you may not receive Holy Communion.Posted on 03/05/2009 2:42:21 PM PST by Balt
02:03 PM 3/5/2009 — True of false? Artificial birth control is a mortal sin; and, if you are using any form of it, you may not receive Holy Communion.
Most American Catholics—indeed, most Catholics throughout the world—would probably swear on a stack of New American Bibles that it's false. They're wrong, of course. The statement is totally true. They think it's false because they mistakenly believe that Vatican II introduced us to a previously unappreciated facet of the Holy Spirit which makes each one of us infallible in moral matters, called the "conscience." The misunderstanding is rampant even among conservatives. When Sean Hannity declared that the Church was "wrong" about birth control, he was called on the carpet by a priest—no bishop had the courage to do it—and all he could do was repeat the mantra, "...the primacy of conscience..." over and over again, followed by the non sequitor, "Judge not lest ye be judged"; proving that he hasn't cracked open a Bible since the Douay-Rheims version was published in 1582 (I don't routinely hear him opening his show with "Greetings, brethren. I welcometh ye to the program. Doth thou knowest we be loaded up today!") And why do American Catholics cling so dogmatically to this fairy tale called "conscience"? Because they're lazy. They were told that Vatican II declared the primacy of conscience; but, shove a paperback copy of the Documents of Vatican II or the Catechism of the Catholic Church in front of Hannity and ask him to show you where this declaration is made, and he wouldn't have a clue where to begin.
Now, we've discussed the fairy tale called conscience here on Priestly Pugilist enough times. Probably the most concise example would be Father Venditti's excellent letter to Congresswoman DeLauro, which you can read here. Suffice it to say, there's just no such thing as "I prayed about it, and decided it's not a sin for me." And, to be fair, people believe there is such a thing usually because a priest has told it to them in the confessional. And that's because the priest himself didn't understand what the Church actually teaches, but thinks he does, because even he—the priest—is just as lazy. It's bad enough when lay people get their knowledge of the Catholic Faith from People Magazine; worse yet when priests do it.
No, we're not revisiting contraception again. The point today is to alert you to the double standard now being applied to the very concept of conscience in the form of an attack on it by the Obama administration. Here is a selection from a New York Times story of February 27th (I won't provide a link to it because pointing you to the Times might be considered exposing you to an occasion of sin):
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration moved on Friday to undo a last-minute Bush administration rule granting broad protections to health workers who refuse to take part in abortions or provide other health care that goes against their consciences. The Department of Health and Human Services served notice on Friday, through a message to the White House Office of Management and Budget, that it intends to rescind the regulation, which was originally announced on Dec. 19, 2008, and took effect on the day President Obama took office. When the administration publishes official notice of its intent, probably next week, a 30-day period for public comment will begin, after which the regulation can be repealed or modified.
It has been known for weeks that President Obama intended to review the rule and other last-minute regulatory actions once he took office, so the notice on Friday beginning the process was not a surprise. Even so, considerable emotion surrounds the issue, as illustrated by the shorthand used to describe the Dec. 19 rule. Its supporters called it the “provider conscience regulation,” while the Planned Parenthood Federation of America disdained it as a “midnight regulation.”
The rule prohibits recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to perform or assist in abortions or sterilization procedures because of their “religious beliefs or moral convictions.” Its supporters included the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Health Association, which represents Catholic hospitals. In praising the Bush administration last fall, Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, said that in recent years “we have seen a variety of efforts to force Catholic and other health care providers to perform or refer for abortions and sterilizations.”
This isn't just a cerebral concern. Back when your PP was assigned as a full time hospital chaplain, a young medical student was able to become a doctor because there was a general presumption that hospitals—even those receiving federal funding—had a constitutional obligation to respect peoples' consciences. He was a newlywed, and he and his wife had just had their first baby. Completing his residency in gynecology, he was required to perform an abortion. He refused. The general respect for conscience and religous belief made it possible for him to complete his training without committing the murder required. If he were doing his residency today, and if President Obama has his way, he would have to give up his dreams of a career in gynecology.
So, conscience—or what people believe is conscience—is A-O-K if you're a liberal seeking to deviate from the truth of the Gospel, but quite offensive if you're seeking to live according to it. Elections are not TV talent shows. They have consequences.
Here's another true or false quiz: True of false? If you're a Catholic who voted for Obama because you were concerned about the national economy and didn't give a rat's ass about unborn children, then you, too, may not receive Holy Communion.
Speaking of which.. most libs defend abortion saying it isn't fair to bring in a child to the world if you are poor.. you voted for Obama's economy over abortion, so, how is that working out for you.. Obama's economy is making people poorer, thus, more liberal excuses to abort babies.
There, I fixed the title.
Hon. Rosa L. DeLauro
2262 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative DeLauro,
I am writing to you today to express concern over the “Statement of Principles” released from your office on February 28th of this year, and signed by 55 Catholic Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Without delving into the specific issues which may have prompted the statement (about which I am little equipped to discuss), I am troubled by what you and your colleagues describe as the “primacy of conscience,” particularly since there is clearly no such concept in Catholic moral teaching.
The Catholic Church defines the conscience as a faculty of the intellect that alerts us as to whether our actions are in conformity with the truth. Whether the conscience can do this is determined by whether it really knows the truth. A conscience which has been misinformed, or is ignorant of the truth, cannot perform it's function and is therefore useless. For example, if a Catholic priest, for whatever reason, tells someone that they may steal money from work and that this is not wrong, the person does not sin in doing it, because their conscience has been misinformed. But that does not make the act right, nor make the conscience infallible. As soon as that person becomes aware of the truth, the excuse of conscience is no longer valid, since the conscience now has a new standard by which to judge. How one feels personally about the issue at hand has absolutely nothing to do with how the conscience operates.
As I’m sure you know, this “common stock” misunderstanding of conscience is most acute when it comes to matters dealing with more personal and intimate moral questions. People who interpret conscience as "how I feel about it personally" will say that conscience excuses deviating from Catholic moral teaching because of the person's own personal conclusions. But this is not conscience. Conscience can only excuse such a deviation if the conscience is either ignorant of the law of God, or if it has been misinformed by "Father Friendly." In such a case, the conscience is wrong through no fault of it's own; and we are obliged to follow even an erroneous conscience provided that we don't know it's erroneous (and this is what is commonly mislabeled as “primacy of conscience”). But once the conscience has been informed as to the reality of what the Church teaches, then the excuse no longer exists, and one must now act in accord with the new standard the conscience has received.
Moral theologians refer to this as “invincible ignorance,” that is, a conscience which is in error about the truth. It is only through invincible ignorance that a person's conscience can excuse from guilt in deviating from the moral order. A conscience that knows what the Church teaches can never be used as an excuse to do what the Church teaches is objectively evil.
In conclusion, I find it ironic that you and your colleagues refer to the Apostolic Exhortation, Christifideles Laici, of our late Holy Father, John Paul II, in support of your misleading and uninformed statement, particularly in light of the fact that it was this same pope who stated that Catholic lay people in public office who conclude that the performance of their government duties require them to deviate from Catholic moral teaching have an obligation, in conscience, to immediately resign their government posts.
Hoping that your Lent will be grace filled, and with a promise of my prayers, I am
Sincerely Your in Christ,
(Rev.) J. Michael Venditti
I know in the coming weeks the grand socialist platform will be unfolding in its full and devilish details. The attack on men and women of faith who work in health care is part and parcel of an attack on liberty. After it’s all said and done, if you are a doctor or nurse who refuses to engage in the hideous institutionalization of grave sin, you will not be practicing in obstetrics or gynecology. Church hospitals will be out of business, and the marketplace of worthy charitable giving will be replaced by the government deciding on the worthiness of charities, meaning of course and as already accomplished, the “charities” of the ACLU, Planned Parenthood and ACORN. FOCA will quash religious and political speech, the exercise of your Faith and the right to assemble and petition. The Orwellian “fairness doctrine”, while some think only involves Rush Limbaugh, will lead to community “councils” (Stalinist type political commisars) monitoring Church radio.
In the meantime, some bishops are becoming vocal-—good. But even in their new found voices, they do not seem to get it; to see the big picture and dangers of socialism. The goal of socialism is and always has been to eliminate all competition, including the competition for moral authority. The Church is an obstacle to obamanation and the tip of the spear is abortion-—the deprivation of innocent human life and the innocence of humanity’s collective soul.
Thank you for your unwavering fight. You serve Him well.
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