Catholic Dads

10 Responses to Catholic non-Leadership on Pro-Life

1. Rick says:

   February 25, 2009 at 10:50 am

   If you’re Catholic and in office, you need to oppose any law that attacks human life. And if your conscience tells you otherwise, then it is defective & you need to reform it. If you don’t, then you are “obstinately” persevering “in manifest grave sin” and “are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.” – Per Canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law.Bishops in Colorado Springs, Camden, N.J., LaCrosse, Wis., Lincoln, Neb. and St. Louis, Mo., will enforce this until you repent. Eighteen other dioceses have bishops who have suggested that pro-choice politicians abstain from communion. The Most Rev. Raymond L. Burke pointed out that while he has the duty to care for your soul, he has a more fundamental obligation to protect the unborn from being murdered.Others won’t stop you probably following the Gospel principle of the wheat and the tares, tolerating certain evils lest a greater evil ensue from efforts to weed out the bad guys. Is the greater evil the IRS when it starts taxing the Church? If the Church is poor then there is nothing to tax. I am guessing that some bishops are afraid of turning away other parishioners.Why was Jesus not afraid to do that?
2. LargeBill says:

   February 25, 2009 at 11:16 pm

   Rick, So true. A timid church loses followers more than one that speaks clearly and consistently with a voice of truth.
3. Uncle Billy says:

   February 26, 2009 at 12:00 am

   You are right Dan,but we have to stop calling people in favor of abortion "pro choice";sounds like difficulty in choosing strawberry or vanilla.We are pro choice before pregnancy;after that,we are pro life or "champions" of death.We are not "anti abortion",we are anti infanticide.Some of our Bishops need spines,but so does our language when we speak of these things.To paraphrase Emo Phillips….euphemisms are the devil's volley ball. Pax tecum
4. Rick says:

   February 26, 2009 at 2:28 am

   I am not surprised if Catholic politicians sell out their faith and principles; what do you expect – the lure of power is enticing. But I expect much more leaders of faith communities who have been ordained or consecrated to stand for God and His children.Tolerance is acceptable if the trade off makes sense. When Hitler was loose, leaders toned down their rhetoric because he retaliated tenfold. But if the reason why people hold back is for IRS exemptions & popularity, then that is unconscionable. It is no secret that there have been bishops who irresponsibly, imprudently and repeatedly exposed the young to pedophile priests. So they make mistakes and are also human just as they are acting right now. Just because our leaders fail does not mean that we ought to lose heart ourselves. It is up to us now to have enough courage for our leaders too.
5. PASCENDI says:

   February 26, 2009 at 3:56 am

   I am a newcomer to this blog so I'll be brief. To borrow from the words of Billy Clinton when he said "it's the economy stupid" I will say, "it's the priesthood dear brothers".I believe it was the reporter Raymond Arroyo (of EWTN fame) who stated that he knew that at least 1/4 to 1/3rd of the US bishops voted for Obama. Since he knows many bishops personally, he is in a good position to make that assertion.The question for us dads to ask is WHY?
6. Rick says:

   February 26, 2009 at 4:43 am

   I wish I can say why. FYI, there was a more troubling statistic in the past i.e. there was a rumor that more than 80% of U.S. bishops dissented from Humanae Vitae. Bottom line, the Church is not a democracy but a Papacy. Where Peter is, there is the Church and there is God – even if it gets reduced to a tiny remnant like the Old Testament times.
7. PASCENDI says:

   February 26, 2009 at 1:07 pm

   Yes… I agree with that maxim… but sadly, many good lay people have more power than Peter does and they do not realize it and hence don’t use it.

   As a layman, I do not have to worry about my bishop pulling my medical benefits if I ‘rock the boat’. As a layman, I do not have to worry about being ridiculed by my brother bishops. As a layman, I do not have to worry about brother priests looking down on me because I reject the novelties (both liturgical and theological) of the 60’s, 70’s 80’s and 90’s. As a layman, I do not have to worry about Cardinals revolting against me as the Holy Father does (Austria last week serves as a chilling example of how the Holy Father needs our help). I think Benedict wants dads to become more vocal, even to the point of publicly challenging their bishops “in love, but also very firmly” to adhere to Church teaching. This is a very masculine and chivalrous thing to do… if we do it for Our Lord and Our Lady.

   I find that among many so called “conservative Catholics” (whatever that means) today… there is a well meaning but erroneous inclination to “not question his Excellency or contradict Father”. This is what I call “Conservative Clericalism”. It is anything but Catholic.

   Until we fathers begin to more proactively challenge our own bishops… it will be the same old story.

   Not to be cynical… but the layman controls the purse strings. And I have seen situations where a liberal bishop backed down because there were enough tough minded dads who loved Sacred Tradition enough to make the bishop have to answer to Rome or worse yet the Sunday collection reality!

   Or to put it another way, when you have them by the wallet, their hearts and minds are sure to follow. There is no sin in stopping the collections when all else fails and an abuse persists. In fact it becomes a “moral imperative”. We’re not used to thinking in those terms… but I’m afraid it has come down to that.
8. Rick says:

   February 26, 2009 at 1:41 pm

   In other words, we can redirect our contributions to bishops who are faithful to the Pope no matter how unpopular the stance but keep praying for those who are compromised. With electronic banking, it is a matter of changing the recurring disbursements to another payee.
9. PASCENDI says:

   February 26, 2009 at 2:31 pm

   Rick! Well yes… that is half the point (redirecting funds to more orthodox Catholic movements). But the other half is respectfully chastising ones bishop privately in writing. This must be done firmly but without tone of judgment. Nobody likes to be told what to do and bishops are not that different from us.

   Sometimes this is a moral imperative!

   Whenever you contact a bishop, archbishop or cardinal… you must do so in writing and always ask specific questions when you do. You can say things like ‘Your Excellency, please tell me in your response, is Humanae Vitae a binding document which must be taught with intellectual assent?’ or ‘Dear bishop, are you aware that sister so and so is teaching Reiki with Father so and so’s knowledge in the basement of saint Mary’s every Thursday night’.

   Have your facts straight, be respectful for their office… but let him know (indirectly) that you will escalate to the appropriate congregations in Rome or the Holy Father if you do not get a timely answer from him. Keep a log with dates and times. I’m telling you this works! If all else fails, you can discretely use the blogsphere to get the word out.

   Be not afraid!
10. Rick says:

    February 26, 2009 at 11:21 pm

    Thanks for the guidance. I live in the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. so this may be quite a challenge. I can use all the prayers that I can get.