To recap, most recently, there was a whole week where it seemed Catholics were the talk of the country and just about everyone was on our side against the HHS mandate. Then, the President offered a change in how the money paying for contraception, sterilization, and abortifacients will be funneled and the bishops responded it was not enough to clear their consciences in regards to the running of their institutions. And then, right when it was getting good, everyone tuned out. Most in the media have moved on – they don’t want to discuss it as a real issue anymore, citing the fact that the majority of Americans, including the vast majority of Catholics use contraception. And so for the first time in recent memory, we have the Church responding in an incredibly timely way to an important issue, and after a week, everyone stopped listening. It’s incredibly frustrating, but if you still have your humor and would like to see it in pictures, look here.
(Now, what you won’t find the media talking about these days is the new CNN poll which states that the majority of Americans oppose the President’s mandate and even that 22% of Catholics believe that using contraception is immoral – not the oft cited 2%). Nonetheless, the fact that the majority of sexually-active Catholic women use contraception continues to be daily trotted out as the equivalent of a moral proof that this is no longer an issue and the Catholic bishops should just move on.
Yet, the bishops have never claimed to speak for the consciences of each Catholic. They say they speak for the Church as an institution.
State, meet Church.
And what the media seems to quick to sweep over these days is that the leadership of the Church is simply not okay with the proposal put forth by the President. In fact, every single U.S. bishop has spoken out publicly against it. That’s a big deal! It is they who are operating these various Catholic colleges, hospitals, charities, and shepherding the various religious orders that would be so affected by the upcoming changes. If their consciences are not persuaded, then the Administration is still mandating the largest Church in the United States to do something which goes against its very teachings.
It doesn’t matter one bit if the whole country were to find Obama’s ‘concessions’ the most reasonable and chivalrous actions in the history of government! If the Church’s leadership still finds it offensive, then it is their right to oppose it without government punishment. The Administration is more than welcome to call it silly and out of touch all they want – it’s not – but the fact remains that this is indeed what the Church teaches and she has every right to live out her own teaching.
Don’t let this issue fade away. If nothing else, not since Humanae Vitae reaffirmed the Church’s teaching on artificial contraception in ’68 have we had such an incredible opportunity to educate our people on why the Church teaches what she does. We are the ones saying yes! to life-affirming sex. They can’t take that away from us, no matter how hard they try. The only way they can win is if we stop trying. We all have a part to play. Let’s not let this moment slip away.
Usually when we face hardships and tough times God is trying to help us grow. The same holds true for the Church, the gov’t or any corporation. All of this is found in the Bible. The Gospel also says to render to Ceasar what is Ceasars. The gov’t can tax us or charge us for whatever they want.
My point is that God is trying to open all of our eyes including the Church. Stop looking to Ceasar to fix this problem. The problem comes from within the Church and from its members. If everyone is taught from the ground up and given a foundation in Christ and the Bible, then there wouldn’t be any abortions or the like. Quit skirting the issue. Stop looking to the gov’t and laws. Start teaching from the ground up. Its right in front of the Church’s eyes and they can’t see it. Thus, your problems will continue until you understand what the problem is and how to fix it.
Just think about it. Even if the gov’t backs down and you continue to tell the world that abortion is wrong. What have you accomplished? Nothing! The Church and the world should start conferencing and discussing how do we get back in the homes, the communities, the neighborhoods to where there is no problem because of the way we are raising our kids.
The same holds true for every Catholic who goes to church for one hour and then heads back out into the real world thinking how can I meet my desire for pleasure rather than how can I become more like Jesus. Everyone needs to be held accountable. Its to late once we get to the pearly gates. I don’t hear strong enough homilies. Everyone is afraid of hurting someones feeling and running them out of the Church or ruining a friendship.
Your trying to get tough with the gov’t when you should be getting tough on yourself and your congregation.
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