The Catholic Church would have us believe that it simply cannot support any health care bill that might result in a single person getting an abortion, no matter how removed the cause might be from the effect. It’s a matter of principle, don’t you see. Just as millions of Africans must die for lack of a condom, thousands of Americans must die for lack of health care, rather than risk the immortal soul of the dying African, the dying American, or aborted embryo. It just won’t do to have flexible principles, at least it won’t do if you think you have a chance of “winning” by achieving the greater good for the lesser number.
But if you don’t? Well, apparently that’s when you can afford to be flexible. In fact, that’s when you keep your mouth shut. The last I looked, birth control was as much of a sin as abortion, (mortal, both. See some of my previous writings in which I expound on the level of sin) It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that the church should be insisting that any health plan that provides birth control coverage should also be expelled from the government exchanges. Yet we’ve heard nothing about that, since that’s a bridge too far. Holy Mother is perfectly willing to look the other way if another of its infallible pronouncements is transgressed, since outlawing birth control pills strikes a little too close to the center of middle America, not to mention the center of the homes of most cafeteria Catholics. Better to maintain a discrete silence on that issue.
This is nothing new for the Church, of course. Here’s an interesting bit of trivia: Did you know that the Catholic Church opposes the death penalty? When was the last time you heard about a Catholic Bishop denying communion to a pro-death politician? The Church also opposed the Iraq War, believe it or not, but we don’t see them lobbing grenades at the war mongers that brought us that war. Seems that the farther “life” is from being truly human, the more the Church cares about it.
Meanwhile, the Church is threatening to pull its charitable organizations out of D.C. if the District sanctions gay marriages. The pretext is that the church is frightened to death that it will have to extend benefits to same sex couples. Looks like the New Testament needs a re-write. How about:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me, unless of course, you would have had to grant benefits to same sex couples, in which case, you took a pass.
Just wondering, but how many openly gay people does the Church employ? I’m not talking about the priests of course.
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