In what can only be described as a Radical About Face, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, reverses his recent approval of abortion, announced only yesterday in a long interview with a Jesuit magazine, and proclaims -- in accord with 2,000 years of Catholic teaching -- that the direct killing of innocent life is morally evil.
The Vatican P.R. team couldn't be reached for comment on this unprecedented development. Neither could the anti-Catholic bigots in the MSM who couldn't be bothered to spend two minutes googling the Catechism.
Film at eleven.
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I certainly don't trust the MSM on anything having to do with my faith. But then again, its difficult to trust them with anything they report on these days.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to anything Church-related: NEVER trust a word they say or write. Not. One. Word.
DeleteI found it particularly difficult to hear the commentator on last evening's news refer to the Holy Father's strong words on abortion (and euthanasia as well) to be a "bone thrown to conservative Catholics who were troubled by the interview." Ugh. Watching the news has become a near occasion of sin!
DeleteI stopped watching the "evening news" long ago.
DeleteOn the page you link to, Ed Morrisey writes: "And in fact, none of what Pope Francis said in his lengthy interview this week is new, either, not for anyone who reads the catechism of the Catholic Church and understands the pontiff’s emphasis on evangelization. Unfortunately, that leaves out a vast majority of the secular media...."
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, that also leaves out many Catholics of good will, who read the Catechism but don't understand the pontiff's emphasis on evangelization. They get tripped up when he talks about living the Faith in a way they're not used to; maybe they should come back to that passage after they've come to grips with this one: "You can, you must try to seek God in every human life. Although the life of a person is a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God."
Tom, I've read this comments six, seven times. . .and I gotta say: uh?
DeleteOkay, two points concatenated.
DeleteThe first is that there a lot of Catholics of good will whose formation as Catholics has been in Culture War terms. A good Catholic? Why, that's someone who opposes abortion and gay marriage. Bringing Christ to the world? That means being active in the pro-life movement.
Pope Francis does not describe being Catholic in Culture War terms. He describes it in evangelical terms. We are to bring the mercy of God to the world. Opposition to abortion and gay marriage are second or third order corollaries, and must be put in the context of the person of Jesus Christ.
This baffles many Catholics. They've never heard this before (which is not to say recent Popes have not said it). They understand political action; they understand apologetical action. They do not understand evangelical action.
The second point is that it may be better to start understanding evangelical action by understanding the passage I quoted, rather than touching directly on the point of greatest shock and confusion.
OK. Now I see. And I agree. Though I do enjoy a good Culture War, those are not the best terms for evangelization. . .thus I don't preach using those terms, except to occasionally point out the some specific cultural sickness. I remember back in my Baptist days when commies were the enemy, preachers would often use cold war imagery or terms to cajole conversions. Not good.
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