By Judie Brown
The four words “Catholic bishops debate abortion” may sound like an oxymoron, but to me it is a clear sign that the devil’s foothold in the Catholic Church is must stronger than anyone could have imagined. Even though there have been warning signs pointing to this challenging situation for many months, we never thought it would get this bad.
But it has! It is beyond our comprehension that the full assembly of Catholic bishops actually had to vote between the following statement and the Cupich amendment that would have made the statement even weaker: “The threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed. At the same time, we cannot dismiss or ignore other serious threats to human life and dignity such as racism, the environmental crisis, poverty and the death penalty.”
First of all, the statement expands on the list of heinous acts of killing the innocent, including abortion, euthanasia, human embryonic stem cell research, and cloning. The addition of political concerns that are open to discussion—such as racism, the environmental crisis, poverty, and the death penalty—dilutes the emphasis on acts that directly kill innocent people. The adopted statement is a sham.
Mind you, the most remarkable aspect of all this political posturing is that the bishops found it necessary to even debate the subject of abortion and its progeny at all.
Philadelphia’s Archbishop Charles Chaput, who spoke up to end the debate over whether or not abortion was really the preeminent question for American bishops, once wrote:
It’s easier to accept lies by invoking a misguided alibi of tolerance and mutual respect than to live outside the cone of public approval. This is clear in every recent national debate over abortion, marriage, family, sexuality, and rights in general. Many of us are happy to live with half-truths and ambiguity rather than risk being cut out of the herd. The culture of lies thrives on our own complicity, lack of courage, and self-deception.
These words could well define the current state of confusion within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Sad to say, but true.
Heroic bishops who speak the truth, even within their own cadre of peers, are few and far between, to be sure. But we are thankful that we have Catholic spiritual leaders like Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, who addressed the act of abortion head on: “It has a priority, because, unless you can manage to be born you really don’t have any life issues. So certainly that’s foundational.”
Now, we must get to the heart of this recent so-called debate over whether or not killing a baby should be the most important question addressed by Catholic bishops. To do that we need to look at the recent tragic and politically motivated court ruling on David Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress to see what is really wrong with the USCCB.
While the bishops never got involved with Daleiden’s case, which revolved around his rights as a journalist to report facts about Planned Parenthood and the sale of baby body parts, they could have at least issued statements in support of his efforts or in opposition to Planned Parenthood’s business of robbing the young of their souls. God knows, many of us have asked them to do this over the years. But they have, as a body, always remained silent. So is it any wonder that they now have to debate whether or not killing a preborn baby is all that important politically? After all, American Catholic bishops cannot even agree to defend Christ in the Blessed Sacrament from sacrilege.
Why did Catholic bishops debate abortion? Because, my friends, too many Catholic bishops are complicit in attempts to bury abortion because it is contrary to their political agenda. Such men lack courage and continue to deceive themselves and their flocks. And, sadly, in the process they insult Christ!
Pray for every single one of these bishops. Invoke Mary’s intercession by praying the Rosary and joining the Marian Blue Wave!