Comfort My People (excellent critique of Northam's pro-infanticide comments by Fr George Rutler)

Crisis Magazine ^ | February 7, 2019 | Fr. George W. Rutler

[DoodleBob]

The name of the stepbrother of William the Conqueror was a palindrome, and the ladies who made the Bayeux Tapestry must have enjoyed embroidering it along with the caption under the scene of Odo at the Battle of Hastings. A year after the Norman Conquest, he became Duke of Kent, assuming vast lands and power, but William had already seen to it that he had been made a bishop at about the age of nineteen. He was serious about his episcopal office—even at Hastings where a servant carried his crozier into the fray. Careful of the canonical prohibition against clerics wielding a sword, he used a heavy club, and with it he threatened those among his troops who were reluctant to run headlong into the hail of arrows. The inscription on the tapestry, which he probably intended for his own cathedral, reads in abbreviated Latin: “Hic Odo Eps [Episcopus] Baculu[m] Tenens Confortat Pueros” which is to say, “Here, Bishop Odo, holding his club, comforts his boys.” In our vernacular, this is not the sort of comfort one wants, but the word originally and essentially means to strengthen. Derived from it are words like fortress and fortitude, the latter being one of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is the other Comforter that Christ promised, in order to “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (John 14:16; Ephesians 6:11).

(Snip)

These thoughts came to mind when the governor of Virginia was attacked from all sides for allegations of racism, an offense against human dignity, while his publicly avowed permission to kill babies born as well as unborn has been neuralgically downplayed...As a pediatric neurologist, Governor Northam spoke with clinical detachment about “comforting” babies who survive abortion:

[DoodleBob]

Fr. Rutler writes like no one else. Many may not know this, but Kellyanne Conway reportedly took Donald Trump to meet Father Rutler, who blessed the future president just days before his election.

[Slyfox]

Fr. Rutler is great. Thanks for posting.

[GOPJ]

Few verses in all literature match Saint Paul’s hymn to love (1 Cor. 13). But to cherry-pick the apostle’s words in order to show God’s mercy, to the exclusion of what he says earlier, is to emasculate his exaltation of sacrificial love: “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked person from among you” (1 Cor. 5:12). Had Paul demurred from speaking truth to Caesar in the hope of bringing him to a better frame of mind and parading with him on festive days through the Forum, he might have kept his head, at least for a while.

Great post... thanks.

[Jeff Chandler]

I highly recommend reading this article.

[Varda]

Excellent and thought provoking, thanks.

[Timocrat]

Surprised the response of the Catholic church ( and the other churches for that matter) has been so muted. If there was ever an affront to Christian morality this approval of infanticide is it.