Joseph Pecar
Is schism imminent in the American Catholic Church?
By Joseph Pecar
"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!" Jer 23:1
As Successors to the Apostles, most US Bishops abdicate their duty to teach!
The 2008 Presidential Election reveals that shamefully the majority of Catholics voted for the most prominent and now the most powerful pro-Abortion, pro-Infanticide and pro-Black-Genocide advocate in the world. Even Cardinal Francis George, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops acknowledged, "Something must have gone wrong." Just days after the election, at the USCCB November meeting, the Cardinal said, "We're going to discuss what worked and didn't work. We will have to come back and ask whether or not the way we've taught has been helpful."
Saint Gregory the Great, Pope from 590-604 in a homily on the Gospels identified exactly what went wrong in his plea, "Pray for us . . . . that after we have taken up the office of preaching our silence may not bring us condemnation from the just judge."
With the powerful force of modern media at their disposal and perhaps the greatest single opportunity to evangelize in all history, instead of clearly explicating and widely proclaiming the Church's pro-life doctrine to Catholics and others, during the campaign most Bishops remained silent — choosing to rely instead on the "hands-off" distribution of the USCCB Faithful Citizenship booklet.
Tragically, that booklet is so nuanced that its distribution had exactly the opposite affect by leading many readers to wrongly conclude that other issues, like the economy, could be used as an excuse to vote for Obama — despite his actions to fund legal and unrestricted Abortions and the Infanticide which often follows "botched" Abortions. Moreover, in a twisted sort of irony, his "pro-choice" stance now makes Obama de facto head of the eugenics program that has led to a veritable (and continuing) Black Genocide.
Appallingly, among 433 U.S. Bishops only 150 spoke up and explicitly declared the moral imperative of "not voting for candidates supporting or promoting the culture of death — whenever alternative life-affirming candidates are available" — perhaps a case in point of the Lord's admonition, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few."
Because of this, the principal reason the majority of voters supported Obama may very well be laid at the feet of the majority of Bishops, who by remaining silent led voters to wrongly conclude that "such practices could not truly always be intrinsically evil, because if they were, surely the Bishops would not remain silent."
To make things worse, based on the well-established civil law axiom that, "Silence equals Acceptance," many people concluded that the Bishops actively supported Obama's candidacy. Even when the Bishops spoke as a body, such as in their Faithful Citizenship booklet, there was confusion sown. Capitalizing on this unexpected political windfall, Obama supporters posted the booklet on various campaign Websites to sway pro-life voters to Obama's "camp" despite his radical anti-life record.
Thus, it was the grievous sin of omission — "silence" — that Gregory the Great preached against centuries ago, and the booklet's defects that directly corrupted the very center of a person's spirituality — the consciences of millions of Catholics and others, that misled and allowed them to justify voting for Obama — a man Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver characterized as "the most committed 'abortion-rights' presidential candidate of either major party since the Roe v. Wade abortion decision in 1973."
Here is how things could have easily been different had the Bishops not remained silent but heeded Christ's command to fearlessly preach the Gospel of Life. With McCain having lost by 8.5 million votes, if roughly 4.3 million more Catholics had voted for McCain — meaning 4.3 million fewer votes for Obama — then Obama would have lost the Election. In that case, instead of 44 percent of Catholics voting pro-life for McCain, 66 percent would have voted for him — certainly a doable feat had the Bishops been more committed and successful in inculcating the Catholic Church's Culture of Life doctrine within the hearts of just its own lay-members.
What is at issue here is how we deal with the most egregious moral evil of our time, namely the practice of "legal" unrestricted Abortion and the Infanticide and Black Genocide that Abortion gives rise to — evils so nefarious they have already wreaked ineffable suffering — resulting in more lost and maimed lives than the Civil War fought over slavery, the Nazi Jewish holocaust and the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars combined.
Surely the bishops must realize they literally hold the lives of millions of children — unborn and new born — in their hands. Properly articulated and promulgated, their Gospel of Life teachings have the potential to startlingly reduce the number of legal killings of babies — which at last count amounted to 50 million lost since Roe v. Wade. That being the case, it is hard to excuse their silence during the Election. Even more inscrutable is that since the election the USCCB has continued its intransigent silence.
For example, at their June 2009 USCCB meeting, instead of placing saving lives and righting ill-formed consciences at the top of their agenda, the meeting's focus was on new translations of Mass prayers and other such topics — a decision criticized by some of their own from the start. And, except for noting that some informal side discussions took place, the media reported no USCCB proclamations related to the legal practice of Abortion in America, nor the Infanticide and Black Genocide that Abortion gives rise to.
How can this be? It does not take a prelate or a doctor of Canon Law to recognize that while there may be benefits to inaugurating new liturgical prayers, or as in past USCCB meetings moving the feast of Ascension Thursday to Sunday, focusing on those or similar objectives while remaining silent on Abortion, Infanticide and Black Genocide is equivalent to the Bishops seeing the Church burning to the ground and using the only hose they have to water flowers — instead of trying to douse the fire.
It's as if they fail to recognize any obligation at all, much less understand the preeminent position that 1) saving the lives of our most defenseless innocent fellow infant humans (Christ's lambs) and 2) the ministering to and healing of the debased ill-formed consciences of tens of millions of adults (Christ's sheep) should take in prioritizing and shaping USCCB activities during these perilous times for the Church militant.
Beyond irresponsibly neglecting to deal with these pernicious moral problems at the June USCCB meeting was the Bishop's decision to once again remain silent in the midst of the scandal controversy surrounding Reverend John Jenkins' invitation to Barack Obama to be the principal speaker — and recipient of an honorary doctor of laws degree — at Notre Dame University's 164th Commencement Ceremony.
In support of Father Jenkin's offer, some pundits cite Notre Dame's pursuit of academic freedom and open debate, Notre Dame's tradition of honoring presidents, norms of protocol, financial prosperity, Government funding, tax breaks, and other secular goals as reasons justifying his decision to do so.
In view of the offer's evil consequences, those castigating Father Jenkins for extending the offer, see his, and therefore Notre Dame's, lack of moral rectitude as the principle reasons the offer should not have been extended, and once extended why it should have been rescinded. To them, clearly none of the secular issues can be more important, take precedence over or justify the hideous evils of willfully perverting people's consciences and the increased number of Abortion-related lost and maimed lives that have already, or will occur that can be directly attributed to Obama's appearance at Notre Dame.
In dissecting the controversy between secular justifications of Notre Dame's offer and honoring of Obama, and assessing the moral damage that action precipitated, it would be difficult to improve on the insight, clarity and poignant arguments presented in an article published in the Bulletin of St. Odilo Parish in Berwyn, IL on May 24, 2009, written by its Pastor Anthony Brankin. Here is what Father Brankin had to say:
"IN HOLOCAUST DEBATE, A CALL FOR OPEN MINDS ???
"Can you imagine the Tribune using these words in a headline expressing some president's call for open minds in regards to the Holocaust — Hitler's and the Nazis' extermination of 6 million Jews (not to mention six million Poles) during World War II?
"And yet that is exactly the comparison that must be made when considering the human, ecclesial and magisterial travesty that was allowed to happen at Notre Dame the past weekend as President Barack Obama preached, taught and persuaded — on national and international television — the Catholic people of America that the legal killing of children (at last count fifty million babies) was an issue that called more for open minds and discussion than condemnation.
"Fr. Jenkins, Notre Dame University's president, with no small amount of servile gushing (he should be ashamed of himself as a man and a free-born American for his obvious and visible prostration before another human being), gave the loudest possible pulpit and widest possible platform to the nation's foremost proponent of limitless abortion and infanticide.
"Obama in his few moments before the delirious and adoring crowd of Catholic students and Catholic faculty, taught as surely, smoothly and attractively as possible, that killing children, unborn or new-born just a small matter, really, that need not divide us from the more important goal of standing together on some sort of common ground. (Hats off on this one to Cardinal Bernardin [R.I.P.] for providing Obama with the facile terms of this discourse.)
"This is arguably one of the most disastrous moments in American Catholic history in the last hundred years as the moral teaching authority of the Catholic Church in America was passed from the Bishops to President Obama, the most popular president in a generation. Given the commencement rostrum of the most revered Catholic University in the nation, Obama taught a rapt and mesmerized American people — Catholic or not — that they could disregard and dismiss the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion (which goes all the way back to the Apostles) and consider the killing of children as something we need to learn to live with. He more than implied that the Church in her unequivocal condemnation of abortion and abortion promoting politicians was wrong.
"'When we open up our hearts and our minds to those who may not think precisely like we do or believe precisely what we believe, that's when we discover at least the possibility of common ground.'
"An open mind would be fine if we were talking about foreign policy or social security or even about some remote point of Catholic theology.
"But there is no discussion here because this is about the life of little babies.
"You cannot touch them! You cannot kill them! And you cannot let the state permit them to be killed! You just cannot! If those babies are human beings, then they possess as much right to life as any of us reading this!
"To deliberately take the life of a baby — born or unborn — is wrong — deeply, profoundly and desperately wrong! Abortion is something that does not call for open minds and hearts — but for broken hearts at the thought of the lives that are ruined and lost because of it.
"The killing of children in the womb no more calls for discussion than does the killing of inconvenient Jews. Would we ever be asked to open up our hearts and our minds to try to find common ground with Nazis? Would we consider not being so quick about our condemnations of gas chambers and death camps? There can be no common ground between human life and human death. There is only a line between those who stand for life and those who stand for death. It is the difference between yes and no. There is no 'maybe' when the question is human life. How could there be?
"But the Supreme Moral Teacher of the Country, President Obama has told us — at the University of Our Lady no less — that there is a 'maybe' when it comes to innocent human life.
"Unless a backlash of re-thinking and re-energizing and re-believing results from Obama's appearance, it was truly a train-wreck for the Catholic faith in America.
"Fr. Jenkins has done immeasurable harm — to babies for whom the womb will continue to be the most dangerous place in America — and to troubled women who will continue to be throttled between the demands of their mother's instincts and the evil blandishments of dishonest promoters of abortion.
"Above all, Fr. Jenkins has done incalculable damage to the very Body of Christ, the Church whose teaching authority has been so radically diminished and demeaned by Fr. Jenkins who in effect gave President Obama the First Chair of Moral Theology at Our Lady's University.
"After 'Notre Dame,' will American Bishops be able to teach authoritatively about anything let alone abortion? Sitting in thrall at the feet of Mammon and Abortion, and Obama, Notre Dame has proven itself to be the Church's implacable enemy."
The Reverend Hugh W. Cleary, C.S.C. Superior General of the Congregation of Holy Cross which oversees Notre Dame, confirms the above assessment of his appearance in a personal letter to Obama sent over a month before the graduation ceremony in which he said, "Your presence at Notre Dame, a premier Catholic institution, is regarded by many good Catholics as scandalous because of your support of abortion rights, regarded by us as an intrinsic evil. In awarding you this degree, they experience Notre Dame as undermining essential, intrinsic Catholic dogma which upholds the dignity of human life.
"They believe that in honoring you or in giving you a platform to speak, the University of Notre Dame is selling her soul for who knows what: perhaps, at best, for the prestige and glory of having the President of the United States on campus during his first year in office or perhaps at worst, giving an endorsement to your "anti-life policies."
The picture Fathers Brankin and Cleary compellingly paint is one of Obama eagerly jumping in to fill the void created by our Bishops remaining silent and adamantly refusing to clearly preach the Gospel of Life. Using his considerable rhetorical and oration skills as a means of seeking common ground, he essentially made a virtue out of pro-lifers putting aside their prior convictions that wantonly usurping an innocent person's right to life is always grievously evil.
To those who hold fast to the Gospel of Life, witnessing the delirious adulation of young graduating Notre Dame students and the rapt and enthusiastic response to Obama's "teaching" by the faculty — the very faculty that by the way contributed to warping the precious minds of those students — was indeed a chilling experience. Did these professors who are supposed to reflect Catholic beliefs forget that the Lord once said to his disciples "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!
It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin." [Luke 17:2]
And was it not heartbreaking to watch Father Jenkins and other Notre Dame luminaries smiling with glad words, glad-handing and fancy long robes, prancing around as the cause for life absorbed another brutal setback? Did not that scene remind one of the Lord chastising worldly, prideful rabbis when He said, ". . . for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long" [Matt 23:5], or "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth [Matt 23:27].
Surely Father Jenkins must have realized that in his commencement speech, Obama would seize the opportunity to cast his pro-Abortion agenda — to include his pledge to enact the Freedom of Choice Act — as reasonable, amoral and worthy of Catholic support.
In the last Congress, a FOCA was introduced that, if brought forward in the same form today, would outlaw any "interference" in providing abortion at will and result in legislation more radical than the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself.
Deplorably, as it turns out funding for FOCA's iniquitous provisions have already been incorporated into Obama's proposed Universal Health Care bill, which might more aptly be named Universal Death Care since it also includes language supporting rationing of health care services leading to euthanasia of elderly and hopelessly ill human beings.
If instead of servilely gushing praise after Obama's speech, Father Jenkins had borrowed some of Father Brankin's words — risen and himself said, "Although Notre Dame is honored to be visited by the President of the United States, please be advised, that while we can have open minds when talking about foreign policy, social security or even some remote point of Catholic theology, when it comes to achieving common ground about the life of little babies, there can be no discussion. You cannot touch them! You cannot kill them! And you cannot let the state permit them to be killed! You just cannot! If those babies are human beings, then they possess as much right to life as any of us standing here!
"To deliberately take the life of a baby — born or unborn — is wrong — deeply, profoundly and desperately wrong! Abortion is something that does not call for open minds and hearts — but for broken hearts at the thought of the lives that are ruined and lost because of it."
Tragically that did not happen, so the Notre Dame-Obama scandal and its utter disregard for moral sensibilities of anyone holding pro-Life beliefs — is forever inscribed in history.
Had such a forceful, direct response by Father Jenkins been announced ahead of time, or if similar responses were always "expected" from any Catholic institution worthy of the name, we know the politically astute Obama would have never allow himself to be "duped" into accepting an engagement in which the cards were not all stacked in his favor and he could preach without the threat of rebuttal. While Obama solicits deference, openness politeness and tolerance of others, so far such qualities have been one-sided and only exhibited on the part of feigning Catholic institutions to which he has been invited.
In Notre Dame's case Father Jenkins' demonstration of deference reached shameless proportions when he authorized the arrest and incarceration of Father Norman Weslin, an eighty-year-old priest, Norma McCorvey and others, and cordoned off the campus to keep out pro-Life demonstrators. These actions, and the refutation-free agenda provided Obama with a carte blanche opportunity to not only present and sell his secular pro-Death ideology, but also to benefit from the appearance of Notre Dame's endorsement of Obama and his policies.
In another astonishing incident, in preparation for an Obama speech, Georgetown University president Dr. John J. DeGioia ordered the very symbol of the Society of Jesus, IHS — which is the monogram of the name of Jesus — to be covered so that it would not be visible to the audience, or appear in videos or photographs. How in God's name can that action in any way be consistent with Georgetown's stated emphasis to "sustain and strengthen its Catholic and Jesuit identity"? It does just the opposite, it hides or denies Georgetown's Catholicity, its identity with the Jesuit Order, and hence, even the University's identity with Jesus Christ.
Are not actions such as the removal of crucifixes from classrooms, sponsoring of disgraceful plays like the "Vaginal Monologues", sponsoring campus organizations that foster homosexual practice, and other anti-Catholic concessions to secularism by Catholic universities, intentionally offensive to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and therefore every member of His Church? Is it really necessary to make supporting and exposing students to deviancy an integral part of a Catholic education?
In the words of Oliver Hazard Perry, as Catholics we must admit, "We've met the enemy and the enemy is us."
With the majority of Catholics having voted for a notorious pro-Death candidate, and so many Catholic politicians, Catholic institutions and even the USCCB Catholic hierarchy engaging in ever more scandalous behavior, this may very well be the most apocalyptic moment for the American Catholic Church in history. If there is to be any hope of avoiding a disaster, a determination of what or who exactly got us to this point must be made and urgent steps taken to extricate the Church from their influence.
Of course there is the temptation to blame those outside the Church who openly promote and support Abortion and its evil consequences, crediting their use of modern mass-media-based marketing, propaganda and other techniques for their success in directly influening Catholic voters. In practice, however, Catholics and others holding pro-Life beliefs, are naturally skeptical and generally ignore "direct" pro-Abortion arguments and appeals.
Because of this, politicians, like Obama, and the moguls and practitioners who promote limitless Abortion, Infanticide and Black Genocide, long ago decided they have a much better chance of changing believer's minds by inducing (seducing) Catholic politicians, Catholic institutions and the Catholic hierarchy itself to engage in conduct that implies that Abortion, or pro-Abortion candidates must not be as evil as they appear, else "prominent Catholics and Catholic Institutions would not engage in such activities."
Events of the last few years are a sign that Catholics have regrettably taken the bait and become willing pawns in insuring the success of the "scandal-strategy" of the most radical pro-Death proponents. So, it is not non-Catholics, but Catholic politicians, institutions and the Catholic hierarchy who through their scandalous conduct are the most likely to corrupt the consciences and change the minds of Catholics and others who previously deemed Abortion to be intrinsically evil.
In the realm of Abortion, Infanticide and Black Genocide, faithful followers of Christ are truly despondent and weep over the horrendous physical and spiritual harm attributable to Catholic misconduct. Sadly, in addition to Abortion related scandals, other forms of deviant conduct on the part of Catholics, such as documented acts of pedophilia or other sexual villainies committed by the clergy, also take a staggering toll. Perhaps in these cases, even more harmful and heartrending is the related incompetent, purposefully indulgent and often deceptive cover-up — again on the part of the hierarchy — that follows.
The consequences of scandals like these is that they lamentably cause many who consider themselves faithful followers of Christ — religious and laymen alike — to re-think calling themselves "Catholic."
Wittingly, or unwittingly, it seems because so many Shepherds have remained silent (or made statements so nuanced only a Pharisee could appreciate them), we may well be in the midst of a mass religious apostasy (if not THE mass apostasy) and an impending schism. Becoming fully aware of the tragic extent of the self-inflicted havoc the events and actions described above have wrought, and the horrifying condition in which they leave the Church, there arouses in one almost irrepressible feelings of despair and hopelessness.
In surmizing how what is going on today appears in the eyes of the Lord, it is consoling to recall that once before Mark [30:34] said, "He saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd." As members of His Church, we can and should have confidence that the Good Lord will again have compassion on us. No matter what happens did not Jesus say, "I, the Lord, am with you always, until the end if the world [Matt 28:20] and can we not take further solace in His proclamation that, "The gates of <\Users\jpecar\Desktop\New Advent\all\cathen\07207a.htm>hell shall not prevail against His Church [Matt 16:18]."
What can and must be done?
Unless something changes, Obama and his party are poised to enact FOCA — either as separate legislation or under the cover of his "Health Care" plan. In either case, if Obama has his way, consistent with his campaign promises, any semblance of existing or reasonable restrictions on the practice of Abortion, Infanticide and Black Genocide will be removed and specifically prohibited from ever being re-enacted.
Clearly, so long as the Bishops remain silent, the number of Abortion-related victims will continue to escalate far beyond even today's tragic million-plus per year rate — and the moral fiber of the members of the Catholic Church, and society in general, will continue to plummet. In short, a decision on the part of the Bishops to not break their silence on all of the above scandals is simply untenable.
Assuming the Bishops are now willing to clearly and explicitly proclaim the Church's pro-Life doctrine, here are some suggestions. Because the harm caused by the scandals was and is exacerbated by media hype and coverage, the Bishops should employ the same powerful major media in prime time for a series of programs — paying for the airtime if necessary — so that their propitiation and instructions reach the widest possible audience.
Obscure papers ladened with Canon Law detail, Sunday sermons from parish pulpits alone, articles in Catholic publications, EWTN presentations, booklets and the like while useful would be grossly inadequate in materially eradicating the damage done and enlightening the minds and consciences of the non-clerical public. To counter the charisma of Obama and other pro-Death promoters, the pro-Life messages should be delivered by an equally appealing and gifted rhetorician of the Bishop Fulton J. Sheen ilk.
While instructions should be designed for and address all Catholics and the general public, the first program should focus on the tens of millions of Catholics and others, whose consciences were debased by Catholic scandals. The Bishops might begin by passionately using and endorsing Father Brankin's words regarding "born and unborn" babies namely that, "You cannot touch them! You cannot kill them! And you cannot let the state permit them to be killed!"
In particular, when speaking to the vast number of Catholics whose impaired consciences allowed them to vote for Obama, the Bishops need to present a plainly spoken, doctrinal decree such as, "Because Obama has openly avowed his intention to continue and even increase legislation and funding supporting unrestricted Abortion, Infanticide and Black Genocide, no one in good conscience can vote for him when an avowed pro-Life candidate is an alternative." In defending the moral basis for that decree, the Bishops should then, one by one, explain in detail why none of the reasons postulated for voting otherwise, like the economy, social security, foreign policy, and others can ever "proportionately" take precedence over this proscription.
As the next highest priority agenda item, the Bishops should deal forthrightly with 1) Catholic politicians who openly support Abortion and legislation to fund it, and 2) the leaders of Catholic institutions that in contradistinction to established Church teaching give the appearance of, or actually do, legitimize Abortion, Infanticide, Black Genocide and other forms of deviancy, and even go so far as to "honor" those who foster and champion such abominations.
Catholic politicians supporting Abortion should be privately catechized by a Bishop representing the USCCB and instructed, as a penance, to publicly renounce their espousal of the practice of Abortion and the laws and funding that make it possible. Once catechized, if a Catholic politician refuses to terminate his support for Abortion, in the words of Matthew [18:15] the catechizing Bishop should "tell the Church." In this case the USCCB, acting as successors to the Apostles, should publicly "tell the members of Christ's Church" that such a politician has self-excommunicated himself and should no longer be regarded as a member of Christ's Church, nor should their actions in any way be assumed to be in consonance with Catholic Church teaching.
With respect to the leaders of institutions that represent themselves as "Catholic," and likewise have created sacrilegious scandals, they too should be privately catechized and instructed, as a penance, to publicly apologize for and retract the statements and administrative actions that caused the scandals — and when and wherever possible — to initiate actions of reparation.
Once catechized, should leaders of Catholic institutions refuse to retract their scandalous words and make reparations for their actions, then in Father Brankin's words, they should be regarded as "implacable enemies of the Church." In that case the USCCB, acting as successors to the Apostles, should again publicly "tell the members of Christ's Church" that such leaders have self-excommunicated themselves and they are no longer regarded as members of the Christ's Church nor can the institutions they represent any longer be affiliated with the Catholic Church.
Beginning with the USCCB silence during the 2008 Election, their pledge to not instruct Catholics "how to vote" their refusal to break that silence at their November 2008 and June 2009 meetings, and their refusal so far to comment on the Notre Dame and other scandals, the corrective and reparative actions outlined above may appear to have vanishingly small probability of ever being enforced.
Just as the early Christians did not give up to despair, neither should we.
However, members of the Catholic Church who still hold fast to its traditional pro-Life doctrine should not give in to hopelessness. Surely just after the Crucifixion, things appeared much worse. Back then because Christ's disciples were forced to watch the robed powerful and elite put Jesus through a mockery of a trial, nailed to a cross, and when He died laid in a borrowed grave — they must have been sorely tempted to despair.
And yet in the words of James Allen Francis we know, "Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure for much of the human race. All the armies that ever marched and all the navies that ever sailed and all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as this 'One Solitary Life.'"
It might be helpful to also recall that at the time of the Crucifixion all the Apostles, except one (John) not only remained silent but ran away, hid themselves, and even denied knowing Christ. Unlike today's USCCB — who are yet to be heard from on any of these recent incidents — the Apostles came out of hiding and fearlessly obeyed Christ's command to not remain silent but to openly preach His Gospel even though — as Jesus warned them — doing so placed them in imminent danger of dying a martyr's death.
Perhaps as a sign to us today of the grave perversity of preachers remaining silent is the fact that after Judas hung himself in despair, John was the only Apostle God did not call upon to make suffering martyrdom their last living act of preaching.
Nevertheless, we must face up to the fact that, "Catholics could not have been any more docile and willing to play into the hands of radical Abortionists?" If Abortion-supporting politicians and groups openly advise voters to vote for specific pro-Abortion candidates, why did the USCCB pledge to refrain from instructing Catholics to cast their ballots for pro-Life Candidates — and neglect to tell them that to do otherwise is a matter of grievous sin? And why are the Bishops yet remaining silent on these life and death moral issues?
If the majority of Bishops are determined to abdicate their Apostolic teaching role on this the most importunate set of faith and moral issues of our time, to avoid the catastrophe of a schism perhaps we can hope they will at least formally announce their intention to limit their ruling jurisdiction to administering the physical and material assets of the Church. In that way, at least the pro-Abortion, pro-Infanticide and pro-Black Genocide advocates are denied the "scandal benefit" that the Bishop's silence has given them in the past.
With such a decision on the part of the majority of Bishops who remained silent, it could open the door for the minority of Bishops, who did speak out and teach about the "life and death" faith and moral issues of this era, to be united and assume the role of today's true teaching successors of the Apostles — the official Shepherds to guide that remnant of the Church about which the Good Lord assures us He will never abandon.
Summarizing all of the above, it is apropos to recall that in the words of Edmund Burke, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." For all of us, in terms of resolving the problems outlined above and to avoid apostasy and schism, that means we — the hierarchy, religious people and the laity — should all do our best to see to it that respect for life triumphs over the evil proponents of death. In the words of my wise mother, all of us should "Pray as if everything depended upon God, but work as if everything depended on us." Remaining idle or silent is simply not an option.
Let us all hope and pray that literally millions of lay people will make their voices heard and flood the Catholic Bishops with impassioned pleas — via regular and e-mail letters — to break their silence, to use the most efficacious modern media to reach the widest possible audience, and to speak out and teach clearly and plainly the truth about all of the past events, and as well to provide continuing Culture of Life moral instruction, guidance, admonition and reproof as needed. For if the Bishops don't do that, who else will?
Let us also all hope and pray that every Catholic priest, and ministers of every faith who believe in the culture of life, will likewise express en masse their beliefs and plead with the Catholic Bishops to break their silence and honor their Apostolic duty to morally shepherd the flock of Christ's Church. We should also pray that priests redouble their parish level efforts to proclaim and defend the Gospel of life and explain how it applies to extant political and societal conditions.
In terms of prayer, everyone should storm Heaven that God's will, will be done! Since August 20 was the memorial of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a saint who worked tirelessly to restore peace and unity in a time of schism, in our time of trial is it not perfectly fitting to beg his intercession with the Lord on our behalf?
I'll close by saying that "If anything contained in this note is found contrary to the Catholic Faith because of any unintended error on my part, grammatical or otherwise, I humbly stand corrected in light of that same Faith passed down to us from the Apostles by the Grace of Our Lord who is the Truth..."
© Joseph Pecar
August 25, 2009
"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!" Jer 23:1
As Successors to the Apostles, most US Bishops abdicate their duty to teach!
The 2008 Presidential Election reveals that shamefully the majority of Catholics voted for the most prominent and now the most powerful pro-Abortion, pro-Infanticide and pro-Black-Genocide advocate in the world. Even Cardinal Francis George, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops acknowledged, "Something must have gone wrong." Just days after the election, at the USCCB November meeting, the Cardinal said, "We're going to discuss what worked and didn't work. We will have to come back and ask whether or not the way we've taught has been helpful."
Saint Gregory the Great, Pope from 590-604 in a homily on the Gospels identified exactly what went wrong in his plea, "Pray for us . . . . that after we have taken up the office of preaching our silence may not bring us condemnation from the just judge."
With the powerful force of modern media at their disposal and perhaps the greatest single opportunity to evangelize in all history, instead of clearly explicating and widely proclaiming the Church's pro-life doctrine to Catholics and others, during the campaign most Bishops remained silent — choosing to rely instead on the "hands-off" distribution of the USCCB Faithful Citizenship booklet.
Tragically, that booklet is so nuanced that its distribution had exactly the opposite affect by leading many readers to wrongly conclude that other issues, like the economy, could be used as an excuse to vote for Obama — despite his actions to fund legal and unrestricted Abortions and the Infanticide which often follows "botched" Abortions. Moreover, in a twisted sort of irony, his "pro-choice" stance now makes Obama de facto head of the eugenics program that has led to a veritable (and continuing) Black Genocide.
Appallingly, among 433 U.S. Bishops only 150 spoke up and explicitly declared the moral imperative of "not voting for candidates supporting or promoting the culture of death — whenever alternative life-affirming candidates are available" — perhaps a case in point of the Lord's admonition, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few."
Because of this, the principal reason the majority of voters supported Obama may very well be laid at the feet of the majority of Bishops, who by remaining silent led voters to wrongly conclude that "such practices could not truly always be intrinsically evil, because if they were, surely the Bishops would not remain silent."
To make things worse, based on the well-established civil law axiom that, "Silence equals Acceptance," many people concluded that the Bishops actively supported Obama's candidacy. Even when the Bishops spoke as a body, such as in their Faithful Citizenship booklet, there was confusion sown. Capitalizing on this unexpected political windfall, Obama supporters posted the booklet on various campaign Websites to sway pro-life voters to Obama's "camp" despite his radical anti-life record.
Thus, it was the grievous sin of omission — "silence" — that Gregory the Great preached against centuries ago, and the booklet's defects that directly corrupted the very center of a person's spirituality — the consciences of millions of Catholics and others, that misled and allowed them to justify voting for Obama — a man Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver characterized as "the most committed 'abortion-rights' presidential candidate of either major party since the Roe v. Wade abortion decision in 1973."
Here is how things could have easily been different had the Bishops not remained silent but heeded Christ's command to fearlessly preach the Gospel of Life. With McCain having lost by 8.5 million votes, if roughly 4.3 million more Catholics had voted for McCain — meaning 4.3 million fewer votes for Obama — then Obama would have lost the Election. In that case, instead of 44 percent of Catholics voting pro-life for McCain, 66 percent would have voted for him — certainly a doable feat had the Bishops been more committed and successful in inculcating the Catholic Church's Culture of Life doctrine within the hearts of just its own lay-members.
What is at issue here is how we deal with the most egregious moral evil of our time, namely the practice of "legal" unrestricted Abortion and the Infanticide and Black Genocide that Abortion gives rise to — evils so nefarious they have already wreaked ineffable suffering — resulting in more lost and maimed lives than the Civil War fought over slavery, the Nazi Jewish holocaust and the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars combined.
Surely the bishops must realize they literally hold the lives of millions of children — unborn and new born — in their hands. Properly articulated and promulgated, their Gospel of Life teachings have the potential to startlingly reduce the number of legal killings of babies — which at last count amounted to 50 million lost since Roe v. Wade. That being the case, it is hard to excuse their silence during the Election. Even more inscrutable is that since the election the USCCB has continued its intransigent silence.
For example, at their June 2009 USCCB meeting, instead of placing saving lives and righting ill-formed consciences at the top of their agenda, the meeting's focus was on new translations of Mass prayers and other such topics — a decision criticized by some of their own from the start. And, except for noting that some informal side discussions took place, the media reported no USCCB proclamations related to the legal practice of Abortion in America, nor the Infanticide and Black Genocide that Abortion gives rise to.
How can this be? It does not take a prelate or a doctor of Canon Law to recognize that while there may be benefits to inaugurating new liturgical prayers, or as in past USCCB meetings moving the feast of Ascension Thursday to Sunday, focusing on those or similar objectives while remaining silent on Abortion, Infanticide and Black Genocide is equivalent to the Bishops seeing the Church burning to the ground and using the only hose they have to water flowers — instead of trying to douse the fire.
It's as if they fail to recognize any obligation at all, much less understand the preeminent position that 1) saving the lives of our most defenseless innocent fellow infant humans (Christ's lambs) and 2) the ministering to and healing of the debased ill-formed consciences of tens of millions of adults (Christ's sheep) should take in prioritizing and shaping USCCB activities during these perilous times for the Church militant.
Beyond irresponsibly neglecting to deal with these pernicious moral problems at the June USCCB meeting was the Bishop's decision to once again remain silent in the midst of the scandal controversy surrounding Reverend John Jenkins' invitation to Barack Obama to be the principal speaker — and recipient of an honorary doctor of laws degree — at Notre Dame University's 164th Commencement Ceremony.
In support of Father Jenkin's offer, some pundits cite Notre Dame's pursuit of academic freedom and open debate, Notre Dame's tradition of honoring presidents, norms of protocol, financial prosperity, Government funding, tax breaks, and other secular goals as reasons justifying his decision to do so.
In view of the offer's evil consequences, those castigating Father Jenkins for extending the offer, see his, and therefore Notre Dame's, lack of moral rectitude as the principle reasons the offer should not have been extended, and once extended why it should have been rescinded. To them, clearly none of the secular issues can be more important, take precedence over or justify the hideous evils of willfully perverting people's consciences and the increased number of Abortion-related lost and maimed lives that have already, or will occur that can be directly attributed to Obama's appearance at Notre Dame.
In dissecting the controversy between secular justifications of Notre Dame's offer and honoring of Obama, and assessing the moral damage that action precipitated, it would be difficult to improve on the insight, clarity and poignant arguments presented in an article published in the Bulletin of St. Odilo Parish in Berwyn, IL on May 24, 2009, written by its Pastor Anthony Brankin. Here is what Father Brankin had to say:
"IN HOLOCAUST DEBATE, A CALL FOR OPEN MINDS ???
"Can you imagine the Tribune using these words in a headline expressing some president's call for open minds in regards to the Holocaust — Hitler's and the Nazis' extermination of 6 million Jews (not to mention six million Poles) during World War II?
"And yet that is exactly the comparison that must be made when considering the human, ecclesial and magisterial travesty that was allowed to happen at Notre Dame the past weekend as President Barack Obama preached, taught and persuaded — on national and international television — the Catholic people of America that the legal killing of children (at last count fifty million babies) was an issue that called more for open minds and discussion than condemnation.
"Fr. Jenkins, Notre Dame University's president, with no small amount of servile gushing (he should be ashamed of himself as a man and a free-born American for his obvious and visible prostration before another human being), gave the loudest possible pulpit and widest possible platform to the nation's foremost proponent of limitless abortion and infanticide.
"Obama in his few moments before the delirious and adoring crowd of Catholic students and Catholic faculty, taught as surely, smoothly and attractively as possible, that killing children, unborn or new-born just a small matter, really, that need not divide us from the more important goal of standing together on some sort of common ground. (Hats off on this one to Cardinal Bernardin [R.I.P.] for providing Obama with the facile terms of this discourse.)
"This is arguably one of the most disastrous moments in American Catholic history in the last hundred years as the moral teaching authority of the Catholic Church in America was passed from the Bishops to President Obama, the most popular president in a generation. Given the commencement rostrum of the most revered Catholic University in the nation, Obama taught a rapt and mesmerized American people — Catholic or not — that they could disregard and dismiss the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion (which goes all the way back to the Apostles) and consider the killing of children as something we need to learn to live with. He more than implied that the Church in her unequivocal condemnation of abortion and abortion promoting politicians was wrong.
"'When we open up our hearts and our minds to those who may not think precisely like we do or believe precisely what we believe, that's when we discover at least the possibility of common ground.'
"An open mind would be fine if we were talking about foreign policy or social security or even about some remote point of Catholic theology.
"But there is no discussion here because this is about the life of little babies.
"You cannot touch them! You cannot kill them! And you cannot let the state permit them to be killed! You just cannot! If those babies are human beings, then they possess as much right to life as any of us reading this!
"To deliberately take the life of a baby — born or unborn — is wrong — deeply, profoundly and desperately wrong! Abortion is something that does not call for open minds and hearts — but for broken hearts at the thought of the lives that are ruined and lost because of it.
"The killing of children in the womb no more calls for discussion than does the killing of inconvenient Jews. Would we ever be asked to open up our hearts and our minds to try to find common ground with Nazis? Would we consider not being so quick about our condemnations of gas chambers and death camps? There can be no common ground between human life and human death. There is only a line between those who stand for life and those who stand for death. It is the difference between yes and no. There is no 'maybe' when the question is human life. How could there be?
"But the Supreme Moral Teacher of the Country, President Obama has told us — at the University of Our Lady no less — that there is a 'maybe' when it comes to innocent human life.
"Unless a backlash of re-thinking and re-energizing and re-believing results from Obama's appearance, it was truly a train-wreck for the Catholic faith in America.
"Fr. Jenkins has done immeasurable harm — to babies for whom the womb will continue to be the most dangerous place in America — and to troubled women who will continue to be throttled between the demands of their mother's instincts and the evil blandishments of dishonest promoters of abortion.
"Above all, Fr. Jenkins has done incalculable damage to the very Body of Christ, the Church whose teaching authority has been so radically diminished and demeaned by Fr. Jenkins who in effect gave President Obama the First Chair of Moral Theology at Our Lady's University.
"After 'Notre Dame,' will American Bishops be able to teach authoritatively about anything let alone abortion? Sitting in thrall at the feet of Mammon and Abortion, and Obama, Notre Dame has proven itself to be the Church's implacable enemy."
The Reverend Hugh W. Cleary, C.S.C. Superior General of the Congregation of Holy Cross which oversees Notre Dame, confirms the above assessment of his appearance in a personal letter to Obama sent over a month before the graduation ceremony in which he said, "Your presence at Notre Dame, a premier Catholic institution, is regarded by many good Catholics as scandalous because of your support of abortion rights, regarded by us as an intrinsic evil. In awarding you this degree, they experience Notre Dame as undermining essential, intrinsic Catholic dogma which upholds the dignity of human life.
"They believe that in honoring you or in giving you a platform to speak, the University of Notre Dame is selling her soul for who knows what: perhaps, at best, for the prestige and glory of having the President of the United States on campus during his first year in office or perhaps at worst, giving an endorsement to your "anti-life policies."
The picture Fathers Brankin and Cleary compellingly paint is one of Obama eagerly jumping in to fill the void created by our Bishops remaining silent and adamantly refusing to clearly preach the Gospel of Life. Using his considerable rhetorical and oration skills as a means of seeking common ground, he essentially made a virtue out of pro-lifers putting aside their prior convictions that wantonly usurping an innocent person's right to life is always grievously evil.
To those who hold fast to the Gospel of Life, witnessing the delirious adulation of young graduating Notre Dame students and the rapt and enthusiastic response to Obama's "teaching" by the faculty — the very faculty that by the way contributed to warping the precious minds of those students — was indeed a chilling experience. Did these professors who are supposed to reflect Catholic beliefs forget that the Lord once said to his disciples "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!
It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin." [Luke 17:2]
And was it not heartbreaking to watch Father Jenkins and other Notre Dame luminaries smiling with glad words, glad-handing and fancy long robes, prancing around as the cause for life absorbed another brutal setback? Did not that scene remind one of the Lord chastising worldly, prideful rabbis when He said, ". . . for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long" [Matt 23:5], or "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth [Matt 23:27].
Surely Father Jenkins must have realized that in his commencement speech, Obama would seize the opportunity to cast his pro-Abortion agenda — to include his pledge to enact the Freedom of Choice Act — as reasonable, amoral and worthy of Catholic support.
In the last Congress, a FOCA was introduced that, if brought forward in the same form today, would outlaw any "interference" in providing abortion at will and result in legislation more radical than the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself.
Deplorably, as it turns out funding for FOCA's iniquitous provisions have already been incorporated into Obama's proposed Universal Health Care bill, which might more aptly be named Universal Death Care since it also includes language supporting rationing of health care services leading to euthanasia of elderly and hopelessly ill human beings.
If instead of servilely gushing praise after Obama's speech, Father Jenkins had borrowed some of Father Brankin's words — risen and himself said, "Although Notre Dame is honored to be visited by the President of the United States, please be advised, that while we can have open minds when talking about foreign policy, social security or even some remote point of Catholic theology, when it comes to achieving common ground about the life of little babies, there can be no discussion. You cannot touch them! You cannot kill them! And you cannot let the state permit them to be killed! You just cannot! If those babies are human beings, then they possess as much right to life as any of us standing here!
"To deliberately take the life of a baby — born or unborn — is wrong — deeply, profoundly and desperately wrong! Abortion is something that does not call for open minds and hearts — but for broken hearts at the thought of the lives that are ruined and lost because of it."
Tragically that did not happen, so the Notre Dame-Obama scandal and its utter disregard for moral sensibilities of anyone holding pro-Life beliefs — is forever inscribed in history.
Had such a forceful, direct response by Father Jenkins been announced ahead of time, or if similar responses were always "expected" from any Catholic institution worthy of the name, we know the politically astute Obama would have never allow himself to be "duped" into accepting an engagement in which the cards were not all stacked in his favor and he could preach without the threat of rebuttal. While Obama solicits deference, openness politeness and tolerance of others, so far such qualities have been one-sided and only exhibited on the part of feigning Catholic institutions to which he has been invited.
In Notre Dame's case Father Jenkins' demonstration of deference reached shameless proportions when he authorized the arrest and incarceration of Father Norman Weslin, an eighty-year-old priest, Norma McCorvey and others, and cordoned off the campus to keep out pro-Life demonstrators. These actions, and the refutation-free agenda provided Obama with a carte blanche opportunity to not only present and sell his secular pro-Death ideology, but also to benefit from the appearance of Notre Dame's endorsement of Obama and his policies.
In another astonishing incident, in preparation for an Obama speech, Georgetown University president Dr. John J. DeGioia ordered the very symbol of the Society of Jesus, IHS — which is the monogram of the name of Jesus — to be covered so that it would not be visible to the audience, or appear in videos or photographs. How in God's name can that action in any way be consistent with Georgetown's stated emphasis to "sustain and strengthen its Catholic and Jesuit identity"? It does just the opposite, it hides or denies Georgetown's Catholicity, its identity with the Jesuit Order, and hence, even the University's identity with Jesus Christ.
Are not actions such as the removal of crucifixes from classrooms, sponsoring of disgraceful plays like the "Vaginal Monologues", sponsoring campus organizations that foster homosexual practice, and other anti-Catholic concessions to secularism by Catholic universities, intentionally offensive to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and therefore every member of His Church? Is it really necessary to make supporting and exposing students to deviancy an integral part of a Catholic education?
In the words of Oliver Hazard Perry, as Catholics we must admit, "We've met the enemy and the enemy is us."
With the majority of Catholics having voted for a notorious pro-Death candidate, and so many Catholic politicians, Catholic institutions and even the USCCB Catholic hierarchy engaging in ever more scandalous behavior, this may very well be the most apocalyptic moment for the American Catholic Church in history. If there is to be any hope of avoiding a disaster, a determination of what or who exactly got us to this point must be made and urgent steps taken to extricate the Church from their influence.
Of course there is the temptation to blame those outside the Church who openly promote and support Abortion and its evil consequences, crediting their use of modern mass-media-based marketing, propaganda and other techniques for their success in directly influening Catholic voters. In practice, however, Catholics and others holding pro-Life beliefs, are naturally skeptical and generally ignore "direct" pro-Abortion arguments and appeals.
Because of this, politicians, like Obama, and the moguls and practitioners who promote limitless Abortion, Infanticide and Black Genocide, long ago decided they have a much better chance of changing believer's minds by inducing (seducing) Catholic politicians, Catholic institutions and the Catholic hierarchy itself to engage in conduct that implies that Abortion, or pro-Abortion candidates must not be as evil as they appear, else "prominent Catholics and Catholic Institutions would not engage in such activities."
Events of the last few years are a sign that Catholics have regrettably taken the bait and become willing pawns in insuring the success of the "scandal-strategy" of the most radical pro-Death proponents. So, it is not non-Catholics, but Catholic politicians, institutions and the Catholic hierarchy who through their scandalous conduct are the most likely to corrupt the consciences and change the minds of Catholics and others who previously deemed Abortion to be intrinsically evil.
In the realm of Abortion, Infanticide and Black Genocide, faithful followers of Christ are truly despondent and weep over the horrendous physical and spiritual harm attributable to Catholic misconduct. Sadly, in addition to Abortion related scandals, other forms of deviant conduct on the part of Catholics, such as documented acts of pedophilia or other sexual villainies committed by the clergy, also take a staggering toll. Perhaps in these cases, even more harmful and heartrending is the related incompetent, purposefully indulgent and often deceptive cover-up — again on the part of the hierarchy — that follows.
The consequences of scandals like these is that they lamentably cause many who consider themselves faithful followers of Christ — religious and laymen alike — to re-think calling themselves "Catholic."
Wittingly, or unwittingly, it seems because so many Shepherds have remained silent (or made statements so nuanced only a Pharisee could appreciate them), we may well be in the midst of a mass religious apostasy (if not THE mass apostasy) and an impending schism. Becoming fully aware of the tragic extent of the self-inflicted havoc the events and actions described above have wrought, and the horrifying condition in which they leave the Church, there arouses in one almost irrepressible feelings of despair and hopelessness.
In surmizing how what is going on today appears in the eyes of the Lord, it is consoling to recall that once before Mark [30:34] said, "He saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd." As members of His Church, we can and should have confidence that the Good Lord will again have compassion on us. No matter what happens did not Jesus say, "I, the Lord, am with you always, until the end if the world [Matt 28:20] and can we not take further solace in His proclamation that, "The gates of <\Users\jpecar\Desktop\New Advent\all\cathen\07207a.htm>hell shall not prevail against His Church [Matt 16:18]."
What can and must be done?
Unless something changes, Obama and his party are poised to enact FOCA — either as separate legislation or under the cover of his "Health Care" plan. In either case, if Obama has his way, consistent with his campaign promises, any semblance of existing or reasonable restrictions on the practice of Abortion, Infanticide and Black Genocide will be removed and specifically prohibited from ever being re-enacted.
Clearly, so long as the Bishops remain silent, the number of Abortion-related victims will continue to escalate far beyond even today's tragic million-plus per year rate — and the moral fiber of the members of the Catholic Church, and society in general, will continue to plummet. In short, a decision on the part of the Bishops to not break their silence on all of the above scandals is simply untenable.
Assuming the Bishops are now willing to clearly and explicitly proclaim the Church's pro-Life doctrine, here are some suggestions. Because the harm caused by the scandals was and is exacerbated by media hype and coverage, the Bishops should employ the same powerful major media in prime time for a series of programs — paying for the airtime if necessary — so that their propitiation and instructions reach the widest possible audience.
Obscure papers ladened with Canon Law detail, Sunday sermons from parish pulpits alone, articles in Catholic publications, EWTN presentations, booklets and the like while useful would be grossly inadequate in materially eradicating the damage done and enlightening the minds and consciences of the non-clerical public. To counter the charisma of Obama and other pro-Death promoters, the pro-Life messages should be delivered by an equally appealing and gifted rhetorician of the Bishop Fulton J. Sheen ilk.
While instructions should be designed for and address all Catholics and the general public, the first program should focus on the tens of millions of Catholics and others, whose consciences were debased by Catholic scandals. The Bishops might begin by passionately using and endorsing Father Brankin's words regarding "born and unborn" babies namely that, "You cannot touch them! You cannot kill them! And you cannot let the state permit them to be killed!"
In particular, when speaking to the vast number of Catholics whose impaired consciences allowed them to vote for Obama, the Bishops need to present a plainly spoken, doctrinal decree such as, "Because Obama has openly avowed his intention to continue and even increase legislation and funding supporting unrestricted Abortion, Infanticide and Black Genocide, no one in good conscience can vote for him when an avowed pro-Life candidate is an alternative." In defending the moral basis for that decree, the Bishops should then, one by one, explain in detail why none of the reasons postulated for voting otherwise, like the economy, social security, foreign policy, and others can ever "proportionately" take precedence over this proscription.
As the next highest priority agenda item, the Bishops should deal forthrightly with 1) Catholic politicians who openly support Abortion and legislation to fund it, and 2) the leaders of Catholic institutions that in contradistinction to established Church teaching give the appearance of, or actually do, legitimize Abortion, Infanticide, Black Genocide and other forms of deviancy, and even go so far as to "honor" those who foster and champion such abominations.
Catholic politicians supporting Abortion should be privately catechized by a Bishop representing the USCCB and instructed, as a penance, to publicly renounce their espousal of the practice of Abortion and the laws and funding that make it possible. Once catechized, if a Catholic politician refuses to terminate his support for Abortion, in the words of Matthew [18:15] the catechizing Bishop should "tell the Church." In this case the USCCB, acting as successors to the Apostles, should publicly "tell the members of Christ's Church" that such a politician has self-excommunicated himself and should no longer be regarded as a member of Christ's Church, nor should their actions in any way be assumed to be in consonance with Catholic Church teaching.
With respect to the leaders of institutions that represent themselves as "Catholic," and likewise have created sacrilegious scandals, they too should be privately catechized and instructed, as a penance, to publicly apologize for and retract the statements and administrative actions that caused the scandals — and when and wherever possible — to initiate actions of reparation.
Once catechized, should leaders of Catholic institutions refuse to retract their scandalous words and make reparations for their actions, then in Father Brankin's words, they should be regarded as "implacable enemies of the Church." In that case the USCCB, acting as successors to the Apostles, should again publicly "tell the members of Christ's Church" that such leaders have self-excommunicated themselves and they are no longer regarded as members of the Christ's Church nor can the institutions they represent any longer be affiliated with the Catholic Church.
Beginning with the USCCB silence during the 2008 Election, their pledge to not instruct Catholics "how to vote" their refusal to break that silence at their November 2008 and June 2009 meetings, and their refusal so far to comment on the Notre Dame and other scandals, the corrective and reparative actions outlined above may appear to have vanishingly small probability of ever being enforced.
Just as the early Christians did not give up to despair, neither should we.
However, members of the Catholic Church who still hold fast to its traditional pro-Life doctrine should not give in to hopelessness. Surely just after the Crucifixion, things appeared much worse. Back then because Christ's disciples were forced to watch the robed powerful and elite put Jesus through a mockery of a trial, nailed to a cross, and when He died laid in a borrowed grave — they must have been sorely tempted to despair.
And yet in the words of James Allen Francis we know, "Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure for much of the human race. All the armies that ever marched and all the navies that ever sailed and all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as this 'One Solitary Life.'"
It might be helpful to also recall that at the time of the Crucifixion all the Apostles, except one (John) not only remained silent but ran away, hid themselves, and even denied knowing Christ. Unlike today's USCCB — who are yet to be heard from on any of these recent incidents — the Apostles came out of hiding and fearlessly obeyed Christ's command to not remain silent but to openly preach His Gospel even though — as Jesus warned them — doing so placed them in imminent danger of dying a martyr's death.
Perhaps as a sign to us today of the grave perversity of preachers remaining silent is the fact that after Judas hung himself in despair, John was the only Apostle God did not call upon to make suffering martyrdom their last living act of preaching.
Nevertheless, we must face up to the fact that, "Catholics could not have been any more docile and willing to play into the hands of radical Abortionists?" If Abortion-supporting politicians and groups openly advise voters to vote for specific pro-Abortion candidates, why did the USCCB pledge to refrain from instructing Catholics to cast their ballots for pro-Life Candidates — and neglect to tell them that to do otherwise is a matter of grievous sin? And why are the Bishops yet remaining silent on these life and death moral issues?
If the majority of Bishops are determined to abdicate their Apostolic teaching role on this the most importunate set of faith and moral issues of our time, to avoid the catastrophe of a schism perhaps we can hope they will at least formally announce their intention to limit their ruling jurisdiction to administering the physical and material assets of the Church. In that way, at least the pro-Abortion, pro-Infanticide and pro-Black Genocide advocates are denied the "scandal benefit" that the Bishop's silence has given them in the past.
With such a decision on the part of the majority of Bishops who remained silent, it could open the door for the minority of Bishops, who did speak out and teach about the "life and death" faith and moral issues of this era, to be united and assume the role of today's true teaching successors of the Apostles — the official Shepherds to guide that remnant of the Church about which the Good Lord assures us He will never abandon.
Summarizing all of the above, it is apropos to recall that in the words of Edmund Burke, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." For all of us, in terms of resolving the problems outlined above and to avoid apostasy and schism, that means we — the hierarchy, religious people and the laity — should all do our best to see to it that respect for life triumphs over the evil proponents of death. In the words of my wise mother, all of us should "Pray as if everything depended upon God, but work as if everything depended on us." Remaining idle or silent is simply not an option.
Let us all hope and pray that literally millions of lay people will make their voices heard and flood the Catholic Bishops with impassioned pleas — via regular and e-mail letters — to break their silence, to use the most efficacious modern media to reach the widest possible audience, and to speak out and teach clearly and plainly the truth about all of the past events, and as well to provide continuing Culture of Life moral instruction, guidance, admonition and reproof as needed. For if the Bishops don't do that, who else will?
Let us also all hope and pray that every Catholic priest, and ministers of every faith who believe in the culture of life, will likewise express en masse their beliefs and plead with the Catholic Bishops to break their silence and honor their Apostolic duty to morally shepherd the flock of Christ's Church. We should also pray that priests redouble their parish level efforts to proclaim and defend the Gospel of life and explain how it applies to extant political and societal conditions.
In terms of prayer, everyone should storm Heaven that God's will, will be done! Since August 20 was the memorial of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a saint who worked tirelessly to restore peace and unity in a time of schism, in our time of trial is it not perfectly fitting to beg his intercession with the Lord on our behalf?
I'll close by saying that "If anything contained in this note is found contrary to the Catholic Faith because of any unintended error on my part, grammatical or otherwise, I humbly stand corrected in light of that same Faith passed down to us from the Apostles by the Grace of Our Lord who is the Truth..."
© Joseph Pecar
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
