There seems to be no end to the mind-boggling contradictions that spew forth from the mouths of public figures who claim to be Catholic, but use their media opportunities to discredit the Catholic Church and her teachings through deception.
First, there was Kansas Republican Senator Sam Brownback’s statement, made after voting in favor of pro-abortion Catholic Kathleen Sebelius for secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, as reported by the Washington Times:
"It's well known that Governor Sebelius and I fundamentally disagree on several issues, and most notably on the issues of life," Mr. Brownback said. "However, we can work together for the people of Kansas, especially on rural health care issues, graduate medical education in Wichita and a National Cancer Institute designation at KU."
I am not sure what "issues of life" might be, though Brownback could be referring to the direct murder of innocent preborn children, which is, according to Catholic teaching, an abomination before God. One has to wonder if Brownback seriously believes that the Church and the Lord Himself would step aside for fundamental disagreements on matters of life and death because His followers want to collaborate with the purveyors of evil on "rural health care issues."
God save us from such drivel. Ah, but Brownback is not alone.
When courageous Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon announced that she had declined the University of Notre Dame’s prestigious Laetare Medal, rather than share a stage with culture-of-death-guru President Barack Obama, someone whom Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker referred to as “a mutual friend” said, "[Notre Dame president] Father [John] Jenkins thought he could use Mary Ann Glendon as a fig leaf." According to Parker, in her letter to Father Jenkins, Glendon referred to "talking points" issued by Notre Dame in response to criticism of Obama’s scheduled appearance, including these:
(1) "President Obama won't be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal."
(2) "We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about."
Glendon saw through Notre Dame’s game plan, and we can only hope the majority of students and parents, not to mention alumni, do likewise. Father Jenkins is actually the "fig leaf" for anti-Catholics, and it is a rotten shame he is not being true to his own vows as a Catholic priest.
And finally, we witness the deceit that continues to flow from the pen and mouth of Pepperdine University law professor Douglas Kmiec, who never met an Obama position he could not adopt as his own. What is most interesting is the reaction that Kmiec's latest apologia for human embryonic stem cell research has garnered from Justin Cardinal Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. Deacon Keith Fournier wrote,
One example is Constitutional Law Professor Doug Kmiec who recently wrote an article for the Catholic News Service entitled "New ethically sensitive stem-cell guidance from the Obama administration" which actually defended these guidelines. Fortunately, this article was immediately answered by none other than Justin Cardinal Rigali in the very same forum, the Catholic News Service, in a piece entitled “New stem cell guidelines not ‘ethically sensitive’”.
Cardinal Rigali began his scolding response with these words “On April 17 the National Institutes of Health released new draft guidelines for federally funded embryonic stem-cell research. Federal tax dollars will now be used, for the first time, to encourage the destruction of innocent human beings for their stem cells. Law professor Douglas Kmiec states in an opinion piece distributed by Catholic News Service that the new policy is “ethically sensitive” and in important respects “more strict” than President George W. Bush’s policy that preceded it. The truth is the opposite.” (Fournier’s emphasis)
In his column, Cardinal Rigali further wrote,
Kmiec says the new guidelines are limited to embryos created for fertility treatment that "would have been discarded if not devoted to medical research."
That is also not true.
Parents will be invited to consider donating their embryonic sons or daughters for research at the same time that they are considering whether to save them for their own later reproduction or donate them so another couple can have a baby. The new guidelines will encourage destruction of some embryonic human beings who could otherwise have lived and grown up to adulthood.
In key respects, these guidelines are broader than any proposed in the past for destructive embryonic stem-cell research by any president or Congress.
Through his executive order of March 2009, President Barack Obama also authorized the NIH to broaden the policy later, to include, for example, the use of stem cells from cloned embryos specially created for research. Tragically there is significant support in Congress for such further expansion as well, and pro-life Americans will be called upon to defeat such legislation.
Here Kmiec applauds Obama for taking "off the table" the option of "reproductive cloning." But that only means cloned human embryos will be created solely for stem cells and other research uses, and not be allowed to survive and be born. That cannot be called a sensitive or pro-life policy.
With all due respect to Kmiec, then, on this and other issues relating to the destruction of unborn human life, the federal government is not moving "in a noticeably more Catholic-friendly direction." Nor is it moving in a human-friendly direction.
The values and ideals of our nation on the equality of all human beings are at stake when we discuss such issues, for people of all religions or no religion.
While Cardinal Rigali is gentle in his rebuke of Kmiec, the fact is that Kmiec's treachery is going to cost untold lives and, I fear, souls. When comments made by an eminent Catholic law professor enrage a loyal, usually calm-and-cool prince of the Church such as Cardinal Rigali, something is terribly askew. It should tell us a great deal about the path dissidents are taking these days and the terrible disservice their ongoing misrepresentations are doing to the American public, particularly the Catholic laity. The scandalous nature of such tripe rivals anything I have seen in my lifetime, that's for certain.
My dear friend Mary Ann Kreitzer tells the readers of her blog,
Kmiec has illustrated over and over that he is a liar blinded by his support for Barack Obama. He is a mouthpiece for the George Soros-funded Catholics United which puts him front and center in the Pharisee's seat. Soros is one of the most anti-Catholic rich men in the country who sinks a fortune into making the Church a harmless eunuch. That the bishops assist this castration by allowing [Catholic News Service] CNS to pass on Kmiec's infected views is shameful and must be stopped. Heresy has no place in a Catholic newspaper or news service except to expose it and teach the truth. Cardinal Rigali has done a good job at correcting Kmiec's errors, but they should not have appeared in CNS in the first place. It's high time CNS was either cleaned up or closed down!
Amen! Kreitzer also says of Kmiec,
Doug Kmiec has a disease – CCSF (Cafeteria Catholic Swine Flu). It's a problem frequently found in cafeteria Catholics. The symptoms are brain fever illustrated by inability to think clearly (effect on the brain is similar to Mad Cow Disease), frequent vomiting of heresy, and full body rashness. This is not a new disease. It was seen in the entire bench of Catholic bishops under King Henry VIII with the lone exception of St. John Fisher. He was immune, vaccinated by courage, holiness and fidelity to Catholic truth.
I would expand her description to include any other so-called Catholic public figure that uses his or her soapbox to trash the Catholic Church and her teaching by advancing falsehood. CCSF is contagious. Let us hope that, at the end of the day, there are a growing number of Catholics who fight off this disease with the same courage, holiness and fidelity noted by Kreitzer in her praise of St. John Fisher. May such saintliness in fact become epidemic.