A great deal has been written over the years about wayward Catholics in public life and their deconstruction of Catholic teaching. By the same token, we have repeatedly noted the inaction of the Catholic bishops in dealing with this problem in a way that resonates not only with faithful Catholics but particularly with those who, because of their misguided actions, have put their own souls at risk.
The disobedient Catholic, if he does not repent of his failure to adhere to Church teaching, could be writing a one-way ticket to eternal damnation. After all, support for immoral acts as heinous as abortion is no laughing matter. In addition, the faithful Catholic who witnesses the inability or failure of bishops to do their duty and call these public sinners to task can be scandalized, can begin to lose hope and faith, and in many cases can and does leave the Church.
Yet the tragic scenario continues.
Most recently we heard the egregious statement of former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. During the course of an interview she denounced a bill dealing with late-term abortion, saying that the question of abortion is “sacred ground.” Pelosi stated, “As the mother of five children, my oldest child was six years old the day I brought my 5th child home from the hospital, as a practicing and respectful Catholic, this is sacred ground to me when we talk about this. I don’t think it should have anything to do with politics. And that’s where you’re taking it and I’m not going there.” Pelosi went on to accuse The Weekly Standard reporter of having an “agenda.” .jpg)
What is perhaps most incredible about this exchange, and Pelosi’s explanation of why she holds abortion in such high esteem, is that she is the mother of five children. She is also one of the pivotal players in the game of making the act of abortion anything but what it is. You see, by obfuscating the reality of what abortion does to a baby by hiding behind an unethical law, she is telling her bishops and the rest of us that abortion is a hallowed act.
She is suggesting that the intentional direct killing of a fellow human being is to be perceived as something holy, untouchable, and beyond politics!
Excuse me for feeling queasy in the pit of my stomach, but really, this woman is as misguided and as ignorant of truth as anyone I have ever heard of in my entire life. Yet she claims to be a “respectful Catholic” as she continues to condone the wholesale killing of innocent human beings. And as she repeatedly carries on her little charade, the bishops look the other way.
No wonder the Church is in so much trouble today.
This entire episode calls to mind the madness of the Irish bishops who recently condemned a “morally unacceptable” piece of legislation that would enshrine abortion into Irish law. At the same time, they gave assurances to Catholic politicians who support the measure that they would not “politicize the Eucharist.”
Pelosi says abortion should not be political, yet she continues to politically support the grave moral evil of direct killing of the innocent. It is as though for Pelosi, abortion, not the body of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, is the sacrament.
The Irish bishops, on the other hand, reflect the attitude of their American counterparts by shifting the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist from being the most sacred aspect of a Catholic’s spiritual life into the murky realm of politics so that they do not have to deal with politicians with whom they wish to curry favor later on.
In the interim, babies die, souls are lost, and the demons of hell are building an addition.