December 22, 2013

Spero News: American Catholic bishops and their failure to excommunicate

"We tend culpably to evade our responsibility when we ought to instruct and admonish them, sometimes even with sharp reproof and censure, either because the task is irksome, or because we are afraid of giving offense; or it may be that we shrink from incurring their enmity, for fear that they may hinder and harm us in worldly matters, in respect either of what we eagerly seek to attain or what we weakly dread to lose…" (St. Augustine in City of God, quote from the article)

James Thunder is correct: it is a failure that so many Bishops - and not just in the USA - have failed in their duties to uphold Catholic teaching and Doctrine from its many assaults in the Modern World. None is more apparent than the continued blanket acceptance of pro-abortion, pro-same sex marriage politicians. Their unrepentant public actions alone demand severe punishment by the Bishops to halt the spread of open violation of Church Teaching and moral laws which endanger the Immortal Souls of so many people. Sins of omission and commission are Teachings of the Catholic Catechism to which all Catholics - lay or cleric - are culpable of if violated. And none can claim invincible ignorance as a defense...

American Catholic bishops and their failure to excommunicate

Can you name one elected Catholic official in the United States who is a convert from being pro-abortion or pro-same-sex marriage to the opposite view?
I can’t. There are, to be sure, pro-life and anti-same-sex marriage officials in both major political parties -- but I don’t know of any who converted to these positions. 
There are indeed people who have converted. For example, the Pro-Life Action League has hosted conferences (Click here) presenting former abortionists. Two most notable converts have been the late Dr. Bernard Nathanson (1926-2011), who had aborted thousands of unborn children, and Norma McCorvey, who was plaintiff Jane Roe in Roe v. Wade. Both of them became actively pro-life. Both became Catholic. But neither was a politician. 
There have been hundreds of elected Catholic officials, at the local, state and federal levels, largely of the Democratic Party, who have promoted abortion over the 40 years since the 1973 decision ofRoe v. Wade. I dare say there is an equivalent number now declaring their support for same-sex marriage. What does the abysmal failure by the Church – hierarchy and faithful -- to convert any elected officials mean? What does it mean for the Church in the United States? What does it mean for our bishops? What have we failed to do?
I am not approaching this question as a failure of the Church or its bishops to influence public policy successfully. It is one thing for us to fail to reverse Roe v. Wade or for us to fail to prevent the adoption of same-sex marriage. But having a Catholic presence in the public square, having a Catholic influence on public policy, is only one of our goals. Our other goal is the saving of souls – the souls of the elected officials who call themselves Catholic. We have failed them.

The balance of the full Spero News article is here. Because of its length I have only excerpted the first part, but it is well worth the read. I recommend you click now...

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