The latest news from Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) is nothing short of gravely misguided. Their theme is "Prevention not Prohibition" and the subject is, of course, abortion.
CFFC claims to speak for Catholics throughout the country who apparently do not accept Church teaching, do not believe that abortion is an act of murder and do not want anything to impede "mainstream" thoughts and positions on the subject of reproductive rights. Or should I say instant sexual satisfaction?
CFFC claims that 97 percent of Catholic women have used an artificial method of contraception and Catholic women have abortions at the same rate as others in the nation. Such statistics should not be a cause for celebration but rather a reason to challenge the status quo, challenge the misguided Catholics, beseech the bishops to teach and stick to spreading truth rather than pandering to sexual urges.
Of course CFFC has been at odds with Church teaching since its beginning. It has long advocated the "right to choose" to murder a preborn child. Yet CFFC has barely had its collective hand slapped by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In fact it has been eight long years since the bishops have said anything about CFFC at all, and when they did in 2000, it was not a warning that Hell awaits those who do not repent of support for the sin of abortion, but rather, "Catholics for a Free Choice merits no recognition or support as a Catholic organization."
How ridiculous; how embarrassing but trite in the politically correct world in which we find ourselves these days.
It's time to take the gloves off and CFFC's campaign is a very good place for the Catholic bishops to begin. The CFFC campaign is simply an extension of last November's CFFC ad addressing the fact that "Good Catholics Use Condoms."
The new ads simply carry the message forward, telling the reader that if one wants to end the abortion wars, then "prevention" is the best place to start … and they are not referring to chastity, my friend.
In my opinion there is a very good reason, in this pragmatic political world, why the bishops have not already challenged not only the arguments in the ads but the Catholicity of those behind them … it's called having to make public statements that the practice of birth control is sinful and that God's plan for families does not include products but rather trust in his will.
The bishops have a choice to make: leave Catholics confused and members of the useful statistics the pro-aborts are using or come out and teach and preach the good news. Birth control … no! Unselfish love and trust in the will of God … yes!
We pray the bishops will do what is needed and do it sooner than later. We trust in the mercy of God. We will continue to speak out in order to at least in some small way fill the void created by those ordained shepherds whose voices are currently missing from this tragic situation.
Let us ask God to embolden each bishop, each priest and each deacon to teach truth, protect Christ from sacrilege and assist the Lord in delivering us from evil.
