Terminology
Facts, Thoughts and Opinions
5
My response to the article Why you shouldn’t blame the clergy that a majority of Catholics support abortion on LifeSiteNews.com.
I personally blame the culture and the many Nancy Pelosi Catholics who define Catholicism in terms of their own ideologies. However, I do agree with you on the general point that we must examine our consciences. And by "we" I mean all Christians or pro-lifers, especially those of us who live in the United States. Many of us are in fact guilty of letting the popular culture govern our daily lives rather than our consciences. Our side stood by idly as the forces of evil transformed our society. Often we assumed that we could wish or pray it away without taking action. Now that the evil around us is unavoidable, we are finally starting to say something. Thankfully we're winning on the sanctity of life, but we may have lost in other important areas—noticeably the sanctity of sex, the family, the God-created distinction between male and female, etc. It's easy to blame "liberals," Obama, the political parties, voters who stay home, whoever. The fact is that change must start with us humbling ourselves before God and society, admitting our faults, and then taking action.
Catholics and Change
Surveys about celibacy, women’s ordination, and birth control have long found that most Catholics, including practicing ones, are open to change. In 1995, I commissioned a pollster to do a survey of Catholics on these issues. The question I was most interested in seeing the results for yielded a fascinating outcome: “If the Catholic Church did not change its positions as many have suggested, how would that affect your commitment to the church?” An astonishing 83% said they would be just as committed, if not more so (for weekly attendees the figure was 90%). In other words, while most Catholics are okay with making some changes, they value more highly the continuity of settled Church teachings.
Facts regarding the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal
- The sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church generally did not involve children. Less than 5% of the victims were prepubescent.
- The typical offense involved “inappropriate touching” of post-pubescent males. In other words, it was a homosexual scandal.
- The era of abuse ended by the late 1980s. Since 2004, the number of priests credibly accused has averaged in the single digits, among a population of more than 40,000. No religious or secular group can match that proportion today.
Must we sell the Church's art to help the poor?
To those Christians of other denominations who make similar complaints, I point them to the Bible where it describes the splendor of Solomon’s Temple. The Temple, like Churches, are meant to show something of the glory of God, to raise the minds of the worshipers Heavenward. We give our best to God because He is worth it.
Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment… But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” – John 12:3-5
I would suggest that if we find ourselves speaking like Judas Iscariot we might pause for thought…
No writings from Jesus?
The fact that we don’t have any writings from Jesus, or that he didn’t handwrite the Bible on his own is not a big problem for Catholics. While the Bible is essential, it is not the only means of transmitting the Faith from one generation to the next. For this, Jesus established his Church, which St. Paul calls “the pillar and bulwark of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15). This is why Jesus chose his disciples and groomed them. They would be the method of transmission.
Regarding the infallability doctrine
If the Catholic Church doesn't speak for God without error, then why should we listen to it? If the Pope doesn't have divine protection from error, why should we trust him to speak for God? Besides, infallibility applies only to matters of doctrine. The Pope can speak for himself erroneously (and I believe that the current one has done so multiple times).
Sell the Vatican's art?
Aside from the fact that many of the artifacts would be bought by private collectors and never see the public light of day again, this actually isn’t even possible! Due to a treaty with the Italian government, the Vatican isn’t allowed to sell or borrow against these great works of art. Furthermore, the European Union wouldn’t let such a thing happen anyway, since they would see the art as part of the patrimony of the Italian people and therefore mustn’t be sold.
Why Women Can't Be Priests
God gave women a facility to question authority that he did not give to men. This would explain why God would call women to be housewives and mothers and not priests, bishops or political leaders.
Images
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Sources & Bookmarks
Name/Link | ¶ | Date |
---|---|---|
Catholic, Gay and Feeling Fine | ¶ | 2013-03-26 |
Celibacy and the Priesthood | ¶ | 2013-09 |
Spanish Inquisition was 99% Myth | ¶ | Pending |
Why I Don’t Call Myself a Gay Christian | ¶ | 2013-03-26 |