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Sacrilege, scandal and murder - or civility?
by Judie Brown
Released November 14, 2007
Commentary by Judie
Brown
When a bipartisan
group of American Catholics signed on to an innocuous document entitled “A
Catholic Call to Observe Civility in Political Debate,” my initial reaction was
based on the horrific nature of the rhetoric. It struck me with the full force
of a Mack truck. I wondered aloud what these men and women were thinking and
why they thought a document proposing principles totally foreign to Catholic
teaching was necessary. Could it be that an impending presidential election
created an opportunity for them to speak out in such a way?
That would
seem to be the case. As the final paragraph in the document makes clear, their
goal is to encourage all people to “practice civility,” “discuss the issues”
and not be “stained by the appearance of partisan political involvement”
because we are part of the Catholic community. This statement smacks of the
moral relativism that is so much a part of politically correct Catholic
discussions these days. Thus I am called to set the record straight for these
people who have for purely pragmatic reasons embraced such wayward thinking.
First and
foremost, it should be made perfectly clear to each of the signers that
abortion is not a political issue, nor is it a public policy question. Abortion
is an action directly taken to rob a preborn human being of his life. It is an
intrinsically evil act that is indeed murder. Relegating this heinous crime to merely
being one of a list of policy questions that create differences of opinion
among Catholics is ridiculous. Yet that is what the “Catholic call to observe civility”
does. That single fact alone is outrageous.
Any
thinking American can tell you that the act of abortion can be seen for what it
is without the teachings of the Catholic Church. However, the very fact that
the act is still protected under cover of law should be a stain on the fabric
of society that drives every Catholic to act in a manner consistent with the
reality of what abortion does. We do not need to be reprimanded with regard to
civility in speech when we are discussing the cold-blooded murder of a preborn
innocent child. What is civil about that?
Obviously
there are far too many pro-abortion Catholics in public life. The signers of the
document are clearly pandering to such people; but why in the world would
anyone do that? The Catholic Church is not a cafeteria that changes its
teaching menu to suit the political climate of a given season. The truth does
not change; it will never change. And that is what brings me to the core
question that is discussed in political terms in this document.
The Holy
Eucharist is, by Catholic teaching, the body and blood of Christ truly present
in a divine sacrament. The signers of the document do not necessarily seem to
be convinced of this truth, or so it would appear to anyone who reads their
statement with a critical eye.
The first
point in their series of bulleted statements reads, “As Catholics we should not
enlist the Church’s moral endorsement of our political preferences. We should
do this out of respect for our fellow Catholics of equally good will but
differing political convictions and our interest in protecting the clergy from
being drawn into partisan political to the detriment of the Church’s integrity
and objectivity.”
This is
the most inane representation of alleged acts of civility that I have ever
seen; in fact I dare say it is purely evil in its intent. American Life League
has repeatedly called for bishops, priests, deacons and Eucharistic ministers to
protect Christ from sacrilege by denying the sacrament to public figures who
claim to be Catholic while also supporting abortion. The group’s statement
characterizes our actions as somehow exhibiting disrespect for our Church
leaders who have been ordained to serve Christ. It is completely irrational to
propose that out of respect for those who favor child killing, or as this group
puts it, “Catholics of equally good will but differing political convictions,”
we would withdraw our campaign to make sure that Christ, truly present in the
sacrament of Holy Eucharist, is protected from sacrilege.
After all,
the possibility of saving the soul of a Catholic who has strayed from the
teachings of the Church should be a primary concern for every one of us, regardless
of our station in life and the political rhetoric employed by those who scoff
at Catholic teaching while groveling to get Catholics’ votes. The very idea
that we would somehow respect such actions is in itself a clear sign of
hypocrisy.
If we did
not respect the integrity of Christ and the objective truths taught by the
Catholic Church, we would not be so dedicated to begging our bishops, priests,
Eucharistic ministers and deacons to protect Christ in the first place. The
entire objective of Church law, as stated in Canon 915, is not to punish or
judge, but rather to make it clear to the wayward Catholic that his public
sins, objectively examined from the public record, have put him at odds with
the Church and are a clear sign of the need for him to repent before he presents
himself as deserving of receiving Christ. This is a Church law brimming with
compassion for the wayward and dedicated to the preservation and protection of
the most holy of sacraments.
Neither
the signers of the “call for civility” nor the members of the pro-life movement
advocating enforcement of Canon 915 created the laws of the Church, nor can
they change them. Those ordained to the priesthood should enforce Church law; failure
to do so is an act of cowardice, which is precisely what this group is
encouraging.
“Civility”
should not require deception. “Civility” should not be based on a false premise
of protecting the consciences of those who publicly defy basic Church teachings.
“Civility” does not avoid judgment of what is objectively evil, such as the act
of abortion and its advocacy by persons in political life. There is no
“reasoned” Catholic argument in defense of such atrocious behavior, regardless
of what the signers may think.
It
occurred to me as I read and reread the “call for civility” that perhaps those
who signed it simply have a different agenda as Catholics who have mastered the
art of political posturing. It would seem they have chosen to provide comfort
to the Pharisees of today rather than convincing those very people to consider
the reasons why their positions are at odds with Catholic teachings and
therefore are wrong.
As lay
Catholics we should judge the objective disorder of positions that are counter
to Catholic teaching, and we should have the courage to make such anomalies
perfectly clear. In the process of doing this, of exposing the evil of abortion
and the scandal of pro-abortion political figures who claim to be Catholics, we
are doing a service not only to the public but hopefully to the souls of those
in question. It is not wrong to make it clear that there really is a difference
between good and evil. In fact, it is the only civilized thing to do.
Release issued: 14 Nov 07
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