“The legalization of the termination of pregnancy is none other than the authorization given to an adult, with the approval of an established law, to take the lives of children yet unborn and thus incapable of defending themselves. It is difficult to imagine a more unjust situation, and it is very difficult to speak of obsession in a matter such as this, where we are dealing with a fundamental imperative of every good conscience — the defense of the right to life of an innocent and defenseless human being.” Blessed John Paul II (soon to be Saint)Nor does anyone who uses REASON to look at the problem.
What got me back on the topic is a blog by Fr Z where he mentions the argument of The Most Reverend Robert W. McElroy Auxiliary Bishop Archdiocese of San Francisco who claims the problem of poverty and abortion are on equal footing. How many times do we have to go over it with Catholics who ought to know better.
What prompted Rev McElroy to bring it up? Maybe the comments of Archbishop Raymond Burke who went to the heart of the matter & reiterated Church teaching?
Archbishop Burke noted“public officials who, with knowledge and consent, uphold actions that are against the Divine and Eternal moral law. For example, if they support abortion, which entails the taking of innocent and defenseless human lives. A person who commits sin in this way should be publicly admonished in such a way as to not receive Communion until he or she has reformed his life,” the archbishop said.
“If a person who has been admonished persists in public mortal sin and attempts to receive Communion, the minister of the Eucharist has the obligation to deny it to him. Why? Above all, for the salvation of that person, preventing him from committing a sacrilege...” “We must avoid giving people the impression that one can be in a state of mortal sin and receive the Eucharist,” the archbishop continued. “Secondly, there could be another form of scandal, consisting of leading people to think that the public act that this person is doing, which until now everyone believed was a serious sin, is really not that serious - if the Church allows him or her to receive Communion.”
“If we have a public figure who is openly and deliberately upholding abortion rights and receiving the Eucharist, what will the average person think? He or she could come to believe that it up to a certain point it is okay to do away with an innocent life in the mother’s womb...”
Archbishop Burke also noted that when a bishop or a Church leader prevents an abortion supporter from receiving Communion, “it is not with the intention of interfering in public life but rather in the spiritual state of the politician or public official who, if Catholic, should follow the divine law in the public sphere as well.” “Therefore, it is simply ridiculous and wrong to try to silence a pastor, accusing him of interfering in politics so that he cannot do good to the soul of a member of his flock...”
Canon 915 in the Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church states that(from the Catechism of the Catholic Church)"Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.
Another words if you are a Catholic who is not going to give up supporting abortion and directly affect abortion policy and laws re abortion you CAN be denied communion.Archbishop Burke was not wrong.If you've been warned a 1k times and are not willing to give it up that is obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin. Abortion is intrinsically evil.Period.End of story.
I am not going to get into politics in this entry.Nor am I going to bring up either party.It's not necessary.
If you steal a 1.00 candy bar from a store that's morally wrong.It's a sin. It's against the law. If you hold up a retail store and murder the clerk that's morally wrong. It's a sin.It's against the law. Are they on equal footing?
I'll be honest here.Catholic politicians who support abortion(same sex marriage,euthanasia...all intrinsic evils)infuriate me. What infuriates me even more are the shepherds who defend them and look the other way. I don't speak from some lofty tower eating porterhouse steak and counting my fortunes. My husband and I live on a fixed income that according to the standards of the U.S. gov't(not ours)is in the poverty category. It's 10k per year. I can assure you that murdering the unborn and supporting those policies does not eradicate poverty nor are these two problems on equal footing.
We vote pro life every time.
We firmly believe that the right to life is the most fundamental of all our God given rights(from the Creator). The words we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights among these are life,liberty and the pursuit of happiness are written in that order for a reason. Without life the other 2 rights make no sense and have no meaning. The words also mean that we are NOT given these rights by the state nor can they be taken away by the state.Period. End of story. I cannot find the words guaranteeing that I will not live in poverty.I can also say with certainty if a politician will not protect the life of a baby in the womb they are definitely not going to give a hoot about our life for one second. Any person of conscience could no way on earth think the unthinkable.I don't know how we have sat by silently as long as we have.It does no good to speak to these people anymore. They are leading others astray not only putting their souls at risk but those of every single person they influence. Our country is going down the tubes and I can tell you it is not from poverty. It is from moral decay.
Do we neglect the poor? Of course not. It is an essential teaching of the Church that Catholics care for the less fortunate. Jesus was clear. The two greatest commandments were love of God and self because we are made in His image and likeness and our neighbor. He answered the question,who is our neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan.The Church encapsulates Jesus teaching in the Corporal Works of Mercy.
Remember these?The corporal works of mercy, based on Matthew 25:31-36, are:1. feed the hungry 2. give drink to the thirsty 3. clothe the naked 4. shelter the homeless 5. visit the imprisoned 6. care for the sick 7. bury the dead.
Jesus made it clear in His teaching on the Last Judgement. Still, killing the unborn(that is taking a life we have no right to take)is not going to get a pass. Last I knew Jesus never condoned murder. It's understood and it's a commandment.I would hate to stand before God and explain how I sanctioned the murder of the unborn but 'helped the poor.' Here is a list of ancient cultures that offered human sacrifice http://science.discovery.com/life-earth-science/10-cultures-that-practiced-human-sacrifice.htm
Add the United States?
If we are commanded to love our neighbor I don't know how taking the life of the unborn squares with that command.Further, I would add that the poor in our country live a decent life style compared to the poor in other countries. We have no idea what it means to be poor.I'm not saying that there aren't parts of our country where children don't go to bed hungry or lack reasonable shelter but the majority of people here at least have a safety net to fall back on in hard times.We can help them-we are ALL called to help the poor-but we are not permitted to murder the unborn and excuse ourselves.
We,as Catholics,can debate all day long on the best ways to help the poor. We can disagree on policies that address the problem of poverty.Abortion is intrinsically evil; the murder of the unborn is NOT up for debate. Life begins at conception. Jeremiah 1:5.If you are a Shepherd of His flock then you are responsible for the souls of the people you lead. You don't have to support a party but you do have to stand up against the greatest moral evil of our time.It's not poverty.
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