Matt C. Abbott
A tale of two Catholic churches
By Matt C. Abbott
As a practicing Catholic, it's getting very, very difficult not to be cynical about what's going on in the Church today. And I'm not just talking about the possible $3 billion price tag of the clergy sex abuse crisis in the U.S. alone. That's sickening enough, and my regular readers know I've been covering various aspects (some of them quite sordid) of the crisis for several years now.
I'm also referring to politics and the Church. Let's face it: The liberal Democrats control the Catholic Church in the U.S. Except in perhaps a few dioceses, most pro-abortion "Catholic" politicians have nothing to fear from the hierarchy. It's business as usual. Faithful Catholics, on the other hand — those who have to face the anti-life, anti-family regime and secular media, as well as a number of dissident clergy, religious and chancery bureaucrats — are often left spitting in the wind.
Leftist Catholics, when they're not attacking the pope, will often try to portray faithful Catholics as "Republicans in disguise" (yeah, sure...ask Mark Kirk what it means to be a pro-life Republican) because, well, we actually give a damn about the children in the womb. We don't want them to be butchered under the guise of "choice" and "reproductive rights."
So are the bishops, because of their opposition to the abortion funding in ObamaCare, advancing a Republican agenda?
Please.
As Deal Hudson recently wrote (excerpt; click here for his full commentary):
Yet Father Michael Pfleger — the, as Michelle Malkin puts it, "Hillary Clinton-mimicking, America-bashing, Vanilla Ice-prancing, Jeremiah Wright-impersonating, Louis Farrakhan-embracing cult leader" — is being honored at an event whose "presider" is none other than Cardinal George himself.
Ah yes, and according to archdiocesan official Sister Anita Baird, President Obama isn't pro-abortion; he's "pro-choice." Spoken like a true liberal Democrat.
Alas, I submit there are, in effect, two Catholic churches. There is the Catholic Church — founded by Our Lord on Peter and his successors, infallible and indefectible, "the universal sacrament of salvation" that will last until the end of time — and there is the "catholic" church: founded by dissident clergy and some decadent politicians, tolerates abortion under the guise of social justice, refuses to admit the gay cover-up, engages in liturgical abuses galore, despises the Traditional Mass, and persecutes faithful Catholics...oh, and in the case of at least one U.S. diocese, has reportedly paid for abortions.
In case you're wondering, I'm a member of the Catholic Church.
Okay, rant over.
For now.
Update:
"Chicago Archdiocesan Office Apologizes for 'Pro-Choice' Obama Remark"
© Matt C. Abbott
April 7, 2010
As a practicing Catholic, it's getting very, very difficult not to be cynical about what's going on in the Church today. And I'm not just talking about the possible $3 billion price tag of the clergy sex abuse crisis in the U.S. alone. That's sickening enough, and my regular readers know I've been covering various aspects (some of them quite sordid) of the crisis for several years now.
I'm also referring to politics and the Church. Let's face it: The liberal Democrats control the Catholic Church in the U.S. Except in perhaps a few dioceses, most pro-abortion "Catholic" politicians have nothing to fear from the hierarchy. It's business as usual. Faithful Catholics, on the other hand — those who have to face the anti-life, anti-family regime and secular media, as well as a number of dissident clergy, religious and chancery bureaucrats — are often left spitting in the wind.
Leftist Catholics, when they're not attacking the pope, will often try to portray faithful Catholics as "Republicans in disguise" (yeah, sure...ask Mark Kirk what it means to be a pro-life Republican) because, well, we actually give a damn about the children in the womb. We don't want them to be butchered under the guise of "choice" and "reproductive rights."
So are the bishops, because of their opposition to the abortion funding in ObamaCare, advancing a Republican agenda?
Please.
As Deal Hudson recently wrote (excerpt; click here for his full commentary):
-
'...During the 2008 election, a number of bishops who questioned the pro-life claims made by President Barack Obama and his Catholic surrogates were accused of being 'partisan' or Republican.
'Returning to Cardinal George and whether or not the USCCB supports the GOP's agenda on health care: 'I really don't think that's true,' he said. 'The principles are twofold — everybody's taken care of, nobody killed. And I think that moral voice, while it doesn't correspond politically to either party, has been consistent.'
True, the principles don't correspond to either political party, but the two principles are not equal in moral weight. The aim of universal health care does carry with it a non-negotiable obligation for Catholics — the protection of innocent life. Both Cardinal George and the USCCB have been pointing to this throughout the health-care debate. But ... the pro-life principle has become so identified with the Republican Party that many people regard the bishops' own pro-life effort as partisan, rather than simply Christian.
'The sad state of affairs seems to be this: When Catholics object to abortion funding in health-care reform, they are accused of being Republican shills. But when Catholics ignore the presence of abortion funding in health-care reform, they are applauded for their commitment to universal coverage.'
Yet Father Michael Pfleger — the, as Michelle Malkin puts it, "Hillary Clinton-mimicking, America-bashing, Vanilla Ice-prancing, Jeremiah Wright-impersonating, Louis Farrakhan-embracing cult leader" — is being honored at an event whose "presider" is none other than Cardinal George himself.
Ah yes, and according to archdiocesan official Sister Anita Baird, President Obama isn't pro-abortion; he's "pro-choice." Spoken like a true liberal Democrat.
Alas, I submit there are, in effect, two Catholic churches. There is the Catholic Church — founded by Our Lord on Peter and his successors, infallible and indefectible, "the universal sacrament of salvation" that will last until the end of time — and there is the "catholic" church: founded by dissident clergy and some decadent politicians, tolerates abortion under the guise of social justice, refuses to admit the gay cover-up, engages in liturgical abuses galore, despises the Traditional Mass, and persecutes faithful Catholics...oh, and in the case of at least one U.S. diocese, has reportedly paid for abortions.
In case you're wondering, I'm a member of the Catholic Church.
Okay, rant over.
For now.
Update:
"Chicago Archdiocesan Office Apologizes for 'Pro-Choice' Obama Remark"
© Matt C. Abbott
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