A Major Breakthrough - 3 of 3

A Major Breakthrough – 3 of 3
In pursuit of the truth – www.cinopsbegone.com – Thursday, September 24, 2009

Preface: The following is part 3 of 3 of an historical editorial written by Father Roger Landry, in the Sept. 11th, “The Anchor” of the Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

Many pastors have sought to exercise their teaching office, stating forthrightly what abortion is and what the responsibility of all legislators are with respect to it. All of their teaching has been trumped by the weightier educational value of the de facto “law” that has left everything to conscience, however ill-informed, of the pro-choice Catholic politicians. These men and women have learned over time that, regardless of what cannon law says, they are at liberty to ignore the Church’s teachings on life.

Even though the U.S. Bishops have taught with one voice that pro-choice Catholic legislators should not present themselves to receive Holy Communion, if they pay not need to that teaching and present themselves anyway, they have observed that in practice they will almost never be denied.

With Senator Kennedy’s funeral, they have now grasped that even a 100% pro-abortion voting record will not prevent them from having a Catholic funeral, but will not even stop them from receiving possibly one of the most publicly panegyrical Catholic funerals in U.S. history.

The upshot – these smart men and women have concluded – is that the Church’s practice is essentially “pro-choice” with respect to “pro-choice” Catholic politicians. The politicians’ own determination in conscience, erroneous or not, is given greater weight than, combined, the truth proclaimed by the Church, the duty to protect the politicians’ souls from a potential mortal wound, and the responsibility to do all that is possible according to one’s office to try to stop the killing. The education-alone approach has failed for the same reason that the personally opposed, publicly pro-choice position has led to massive abortion on demand: the nature of sin is that the easier it is to commit, and the fewer consequences for doing it, the more sin we’ll have.

JESUS SPOKE OF A DIFFERENT WAY IN THE GOSPEL (MT 18:15-18). IT INVOLVES NOT MERELY GENERAL EDUCATIONAL STATEMENTS THAT WE HOPE OFFENDERS WILL APPLY TO THEMSELVES IN CONSCIENCE, BUT THE TYPE OF ONE-ON-ONE INSTRUCTION TRADITIONALLY CALLED FRATERNAL CORRECTION. IF THAT FAILS REPEATEDLY, JESUS ENJOINED US TO REGARD THE OFFENDER AS SOMEONE WHO NO LONGER BELONGS TO THE COMMUNITY, WHO IS NO LONGER A MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING.

THIS MAY SEEM HARSH, BUT WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT JESUS ALWAYS SEEKS NOTHING BUT THE BEST FOR HIS CHURCH AND FOR INDIVIDUAL SINNERS, EVEN OBSTINATE SINNERS. IMPLIED IN JESUS’ STRATEGY IS THAT EDUCATION INVOLVES NOT JUST INFORMATION , BUT FORMATION, AND THAT YOU CAN’T FORM DISCIPLES WITHOUT DISCIPLINE. THIS IS A LESSON THAT, AFTER FOUR DECADES OF THE UNDENIABLE FAILURE OF ANOTHER APPROACH, WE NEED TO CONSIDER ANEW.

George H. Kubeck {Please Catholic writers follow through on the above editorial.}