By Judie Brown
We are living in a time of egoism run amuck! That is how we view the American landscape where, in recent months, it is safer to be a dog than it is to be a human being. The examples of this egoism are everywhere, so let’s start with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which currently has 276 active members, including auxiliary bishops, diocesan bishops, archbishops, and cardinals. Of that number, only seven have publicly proclaimed their defense of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist.
Only seven have agreed that Canon 915 is important to them, and that alone is a sign that the nation, the Church, and belief about Christ’s real presence are falling swiftly into moral chaos. There are other signs of the impending collapse as well.
Cardinal Blase Cupich appeared at the Democratic National Convention, offering an invocation that addressed unity and peace but failed to mention the fate of the millions of preborn children who die annually due to IVF, abortion, and contraception! Unlike Mother Teresa, who said, “The greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself,” Cupich kept silent.
Politicians and many bishops are joining the fray. Taking on the industry of in vitro fertilization, some politicians are arguing that even though one is pro-abortion, that same politician can support IVF! Republican congressman Tom Kean Jr., to name but one, has introduced a resolution that would protect the practice, suggesting that it is simply another reproductive right that requires legal protection similar to that afforded to abortion.
If this sounds a bit strange, consider the fact that many elected officials are playing their egoistic all-powerful card this election cycle, including alleged pro-life Republican Donald J. Trump. His latest “I know everything” comment is stunning. According to Politico, he has suggested “that he would not use the 150-year-old Comstock Act to ban mail delivery of the [abortion pill] drugs if elected in November, adding: ‘The federal government should have nothing to do with this issue.’”
Sounding like another version of compromise-lite, Trump and his counterpart, Kamala Harris, have chosen to throw the baby out with the bathwater if that is deemed to be the path needed to win a victory. For after all, the true victory is won by serving God, though few ever use that truth in political campaigns, let alone healthcare.
The time is fast approaching when Canadian death-dealers will be taking the stage at political events in America. Father Raymond J. de Souza says of Canadian euthanasia practices, “A service is demanded and provided, in a manner more mercenary than medicinal. . . . Death by robot is on the horizon; DIY ‘suicide pods’ have already been developed abroad.”
If this sounds far-fetched, remember that when someone is consumed by unlimited vanity, there are no limits to the extent that one will pursue killing others. In the era of mobile killing centers, it is not far-fetched to wonder exactly what ends are too far for the culture of death enthusiasts.
Commentator Phil Lawler has considered this at length and recently wrote about his perspective on “Leading Prayers for the Culture of Death,”
The history of Christianity shows a steady contest between religious and secular influences: between the guidance of the Church and the power of the State. At their best, Church leaders correct and admonish political leaders. Even a fundamentally healthy state needs those corrections and admonitions, and wise statesmen welcome them. But a corrupt regime, which urgently needs correction, resents them. So weak churchmen become the cheerleaders for degraded ruling regimes.
And there it is! When those called by God to shepherd the rest of us conclude that they are themselves omnipotent, all that remains is death of the soul. Or perhaps even more disturbing, the absence of a spiritual opportunity for those who are seeking God.
Let us pray that those polluted with a presumption of omnipotence may see their error. May they realize and subsequently teach that “the paramount gift of eternal life is something all who turn to Jesus, whether early in life or late, receive because of God’s great generosity and mercy.”