By Judie Brown
Bishop Joseph Strickland spoke up at the mid-year meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Strickland’s remarks, as seen on video, were humble but clear. He pointed out that consistently defending life from beginning to end is the best way to call Catholics—especially Catholic politicians—to faithful citizenship.
Strickland beseeched his fellow bishops:
“I just wanted to ask us all to consider how to help politicians to be faithful citizens, and to really pay attention to the truth that we are ordained to support and promote for the people of God.”
Sadly, his words fell on deaf ears. Not a single bishop rose in support of his appeal.
But, really, what do we expect? Among those who are bishops today, we can count on one hand those who make no apologies for defending Christ in the Eucharist from sacrilege by obeying Canon 915. We see Springfield, Illinois’, bishop, Thomas Paprocki, and Spokane’s bishop, Thomas Daly. These men are willing to call out the devilish nature of the manipulative words of so-called Catholics in public life. But they represent a very small minority among their fellow bishops.
In fact, New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan has specifically said he will NOT enforce Church law. He says doing so is “counter-productive”!
Kansas City’s archbishop, Joseph Naumann, chairman of the bishops’ pro-life committee, says pro-abortion Catholics should not present themselves for Holy Communion, but he is not about to enforce Canon law by saying that if they do, he will make sure they are denied the body and blood of Christ.
It is not because these bishops do not know better. They all are aware of the same facts that Canon lawyer Edward N. Peters makes clear:
“Canon 915 enables, indeed requires, prompt (not precipitous, but prompt) action by ministers to protect the Most August Sacrament from abuse, to alert an individual about his or her morally gravely dangerous public conduct, to protect the faith community from scandal, and to give serious witness to the world about the importance of Church teaching to Church members.”
But sadly, the vast majority of bishops fiddle. While they play politics and ignore truth, babies die, young people turn away from the Church, and evil persists.
In a recent article, Father Jerry Novotny, OMI, asks “why no direct action is taken against Catholic politicians who support killing children and vote for laws to legalize abortion.” He further explains:
The answer is simple: SILENCE with its various faces! The continual SILENCE of our Shepherds with ramble-scramble comments. The overall SILENCE of the majority of good Catholics, showing signs of apathy. Both actions give tacit permission to the devil to continue his destructive mission, gradually destroying God’s innocent creations and in many ways weakening the influence of the Catholic Church. Remember that the Holy Spirit cannot accomplish anything without you.
Father Jerry is a veteran of the pro-life movement, and his words should send a chill down the spine of every Catholic American. As he rightly states, 56 million human homicides have occurred, and yet the apathy grows!
Babies are dying, young people baptized into the Church are leaving in droves, and still the bishops fail to see the problem.
It is time for our shepherds to heed the prophetic words written in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it: ‘All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks.’”
The hour for disconnection from courageous defense of Christ and service to His flock is over. Let us pray for the courage to encourage our bishops, save the babies, and minister to the lost souls.
image: natalicious via Deviant Art | CC-3.0
