An atheistic group posted an ad in the NY Times inviting Catholics who hate Church teaching to leave the Church. Some people are offended. I am not. I thank the group for saying exactly what I and many others have been saying for many years --- "If you disagree with Church teaching, what in the heck are you still doing here?"
Click here to read the full page ad
TO read such hatred and lies about the Catholic church saddens me!
ReplyDeleteI often want to say the same thing, if you don't agree with The Church, then why are you even Catholic. But, it isn't our place to judge, we should be praying for them instead. God loves the sinner who repents more than the 99 who have no need of repentance.
ReplyDeleteWell let me think for a moment about Church teaching and the up coming election. (1) The Church teaches the concept of Just War, yet we have candidates who are openly calling for an attack on a state that has not attacked us. (2) The Church is quite clear that human beings have a responsibility to maintain planet earth, the Pope has spoken clearly that climate change is a 'serious matter". yet we have some candidates who refuse to acknowledge our planet needs immediate healing or millions will die. They refuse to even say climate change exists. These same candidates would like to roll back 20 years of EPA regulation (3) Regarding helping the poor in their health and other needs, I hear grumblings from one party about cutting food stamps (4) I understand that we have pro-life candidates, but Ronald Reagan was pro-life, and I never saw a constitutional amendment. I think the hearts and minds of the American people will only change on that when they come to Christ, THUS my immediate way that I think I can stand up for life is to ensure we do not have a President who will lead us to more war. I also have issue with a possible president who made it part of his life to go to France to pull Catholics away from the Church to join Mormonism. SO this all leaves me in a bit of a tough one, as for who I would vote for I suppose. As I just came back to the Church am I now being invited to leave? Send me a formal letter, and I will forward it up the chain of command to the Vatican to beg permission to stay. I am so tired of people speaking in a quasi manner as if they represent the Church while the call names at people because of their political views as if everything is so black and white when it is not. I do not believe for one moment our President thinks he is in a war with the catholic Church and I will not side with a dangerous right wing. Now let me know when the Pope issues a direct order that American Catholics are not to vote democrat, then I will follow the Church, as I am sure the magisterium will have weighed all the issues I listed above in their consideration. Now that I am finished let me say I will keep my eyes on the cross and my mind in the catechism of the Church and my heart open to Christ the best that I can despite all the noise. Peace
ReplyDeleteJust War...food stamps...the environment...there's a lot to tease out here, which I hope to do as the election gets closer.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to food stamps you'll find my post helpful on what the Church ACTUALLY teaches about welfare and governmental care for the poor. Most are surprised to learn that the Church teaches that it is HARMFUL to have any permanent government programs that do what our welfare programs do in our country
As for Just War and the environment, the Church is crystal clear on this point - the point that matters above all else, the first priority, the priority that can not be out done by any other priorities or grouping of priorities by a political party - the right to life. It is a farce to talk about anything else when children are being carved up in the womb. Again, there are tons of "catholic" hacks running around saying it is okay to let concerns about war or the environment balance out a candidate's support for abortion/embryonic stem cell research/euthanasia etc. but that is flat wrong according to Church teaching. People love to accuse orthodox pro-life Catholics of being one issue voters. A) voting for life is not one issue B) even if it were, I think, looking back, we would prefer that people in Germany had been "one issue" voters in Germany, instead of them being impressed by Hitler's economic policies, and thus being willing to overlook some of his less savory stances on the dignity of Jewish people.
From the Catechism: "When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined"
ReplyDeleteThat is to say everything breaks down if abortion is permitted. The Catechism does not use that language anywhere else, even when talking about unjust wars (a highly subjective discussion) or food stamps
from the Compendium of Social Doctrine, paragraph 155
ReplyDelete"The first right presented in this list is the right to life, from conception to its natural end, which is THE CONDITION FOR THE EXERCISE OF ALL OTHER RIGHTS and, in particular, implies the illicitness of every form of procured abortion and of euthanasia."
translation - it is absurd to talk about any other right (the right to food stamps, welfare, drinking water, a clean environment) when the right to life is being trampled on.
The Church says fight for all the above rights, but when the right to life is trampled on, that becomes enemy number 1.