Here are some highlights from Cardinal George’s address to his brother bishops this morning.
He tackled a variety of issues: immigration, the economy, sexual abuse and safe environments. Perhaps his strongest words were reserved for discussing the the healthcare reform legislation.
“Once political leaders and health care experts decided to use government subsidized insurance as the vehicle for providing more universal health care, it was our moral obligation as teachers of the faith to judge whether the means passed moral muster, whether or not the proposed legislation used public funds to kill those living in their mother’s womb,” Cardinal Francis George told the bishops. “Consistently, and ever more insistently since the sin and crime of abortion was legalized in the United States, our voice has been that of the bishops of the Catholic Church ever sicne the first Christians condemned the abortion practices of the ancient Romans. The act is immoral; and the laws that have permitted now fifty million children of our country to be killed in their mother’s womb are also immoral and unjust; they are destroying our society.”
Cardinal George said that there are three basic issues in the debate: empirical, ecclesiological, and practical.
“Who speaks for the Catholic Church?” he asked. “We speak for the apostolic faith, and those who hold it gather round. The bishops in apostolic communion and in union with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, speak for the Church in matters of faith and in moral issues and the laws surrounding them. All the rest is opinion.”
“For too many, politics is the ultimate horizon of their thinking and acting. As we know, fidelity to Christ in his body the Church calls for two responses on the part of those who would call themselves his disciples: orthodoxy in belief and obedience in practice…. Orthodoxy is necessary but not enough; the devil is orthodox. He knows the Catechism better than anybody in this room; but he will not serve, he will not obey. There can be mistakes in our thinking, but there can be no self-righteousness in our will, for this is the sin against the Holy Spirit. We should not fear political isolation; the Church has often been isolated in politics and in diplomacy.”
“The voice of Christ speaks always from a consistent concern for the gift of human life, a concern that judges the full continuum of technological manipulation of life, from the use of artificial contraception to the destruction of human embryos to the artifiical conception of human beings in a Petri dish to genetic profiling to the killing of unwanted children through abortion,” he said. “If the poor are allowed to be born, then the voice of Christ continues to speak to the homeless and the jobless, the hungry and the naked, the uneducated, the migrant, the imprisoned, the sick and the dying.”
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They don’t speak for me. Most of these bishops have only a bare minimum of theology, especially in the area of moral theology. A bishop’s mitre doesn’t come with more brains. I put my trust in theologians, who are highly educated and have experience in these matters.
James, as Cardinal George pointed out, as far as knowledge and experience go, Satan is the most-qualified theologian. You’re sure you’d like to put your trust in them?
Now, we ought not to put our trust even in the bishops, but in Jesus Christ. However, His will is not always immediately clear, and so we place our trust in His representatives. Some of them are poor representatives, true, but we work with them as we must - it is they who have the special guidance of the Holy Spirit and the grace of episcopal ordination. A magisterium of theologians, as it’s been called, would be even less decisive than a body of bishops, simply because there are so many more theologians and just as many more opinions. You place your trust in theologians? Which theologians? Boff and Küng or Novak and Hahn (not to use such a common name, but I was having trouble thinking of well-known orthodox theologians who aren’t bishops…hmm…)? What schools did they graduate from? What are their credentials? When we place our trust in theologians, it all becomes about these questions. So relative and self-serving (“I trust Hahn because he teaches at FUS!” “Well, I trust Curran because he stood up to the Vatican against Humanae Vitae!”). When we place our trust in the bishops, we need ask only two questions: 1) does he have the Sacrament of Ordination in the episcopal degree? and 2) is his teaching in line with the faith of the Church? You see, trusting the bishops makes it much more reliable based on the objective standard of truth rather than that misleading standard of “credentials.” We need reliable witnesses.
As Cardinal George pointed out, it is not enough to have education. Anyone can get an education. Anyone can be a “theologian” - even Satan - but only those who practice the faith, and practice it rightly, ought to be bishops. It was once said that the reason we have had so few theologian saints the last few centuries is that they’ve been more interested in being theologians than saints, in studying than praying, in being Martha’s than in being Mary’s.
Let’s put our trust in Christ, who ordained and guides these men, and not in Satan, who guides so many “theologians.”
Hey, James, do you mean you put your trust in dissenters like Charles Curran and other theologians who’s pride leads us against church teaching? It’s true not all bishops are theologians (although many are), but theologians are merely advisers. They are not ordained by the Holy Spirit to shepherd the faithful.
It was a large group of theologians who opposed Humanae Vitae and encouraged disobedience to it. The pope listened to their input, but after much prayer and study discerned the will of God on this and all matters of faith and morals.
The bishops in union with the pope have the charism, not the theologians.
Actually, Joanne, I do hold Curran in esteem. And I do think that the MAJORITY voice around humane vitae will be vindicated in the future. Look carefully at the history of how our church has treated its theologians and how it has come to regard them today. A perfect, very recent example is Newman. Almost silenced (like Curran) and later canonized. I’ll take a well-reasoned, intelligent theologian over a “yes-man” any day.
And Micah, don’t forget the recent sex abuse scandals. Our clergy and hierarchy ain’t outside the influence of satan.
Saintly theologians obey the Church even when they don’t agree with the reasoning. Newman had difficulties, but not doubt, remember. He submitted to authority. He placed his faith in the Magisterium. You say you place your authority in others. That is the difference: “the obedience of faith.”
As for the recent sex abuse scandals, it is true that the bishops are not outside Satan’s influence (I clearly implied that), but they still have the sacrament and we still owe them our obedience. Unless he repents, Curran will never be a saint. He just wants to be a theologian.
Whenever I hear someone support Curran, I have to ask why. Is it because the Church is too “difficult” or because we all need to experience Jesus’ revelation directly and for ourselves, taking the Magisterium out of the equation, or is it that ever-renewed false dichotomy between love and truth?
Do you owe Weakland or Law your obedience?
Neither is synonymous with the Magisterium and neither is my bishop, so the answer is no.
If one of them was my bishop, then it would depend on whether they were in line with the universal Church on the matter and whether it was a matter in which they had competent authority by virtue of their ordination.
However, I respect their dignity in persona Christi, even if they do not respect it enough to live it out.
As I was reading the comments - I am amazed at the idea that catholic think it is either/or - you have to support the bishops or the theologians - as if they are always opposed. That’s not the case - and while a bishop or a theologian may err (King for example - or Mahoney for another) the Una Sancta still finds its voice intact. Even with us Lutherans, or the Anglicans and Orthodox, the faith described in the Creeds has not deviated over 20 centuries. The moment you break the community down to individuals, and negate the communion of saints with God - you end up focusing on sin. God works through the church as one Body.
The bishop didn’t take into account the hundreds of millions of unborn babies killed by contraceptives (all hormonal contraceptives are abortifacient, plus IUD and morning after pill). Why?
Rev. Parker,
I support the bishops AND the theologians who are in union with them. It is good for me as a Christian to support the first and as a theology student to support the second.
Theologians in dissent from the Church do no good for anyone.
As a faithful and loyal Roman Catholic, I listen to what my Bishops have to say and the abortion issue is perhaps the most important moral discussion of today.
The Catholic Church IS the moral compass on the issue of abortion! Ours is the faith that has consistently defended the Human child developing in the Mother’s womb and we Catholics had better stop defending politicians and others who differ with the official teachings of the Church in regard to the immoral abortion providers.
If we continue to be passive about President Obama and his very open advocacy for abortion in this country, then, in good conscience, (one who calls himself a Catholic) should perhaps consider disassociating oneself with the Roman Catholic Faith, only because on this most important moral issue one is being downright dishonest to refer to oneself as a “good” Catholic! And this is an issue the Church can no longer give a pass to in regard to all politicians who call themselves Catholic and yet dishonor the Catholic Faith as an advocate for abortion.
Roman Catholics MUST ALWAYS defend life from the womb to the tomb! Period!
Interesting speech. I do not recall hearing these words before from Cardinal FG. Has something changed?
Since this group was funneling money through CCHD to ACORN only a few years ago, I remain cautious but hopeful.
James
Fr. Curran will not be vindicated, because Humanae vitae is in line with the constant teaching of the Church. If the Catholic Church were to cease teaching that contraception is evil, it would cease to be the Catholic Church, because its teaching on contraception has been clear and consistent from the beginning: it is part of the Faith as handed down by the Apostles. To deviate on such an issue would be to break with the Universal Faith: the faith would no longer be the same as it was 100, 200 or even 2000 years ago.
James,
Please follow your conscience and leave the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. There are any number of denominations who teach what you and the heretical Theologians such as Curran have decided is the truth.
Golfer:
You said it loud and clear. Thank you! Whoever thought the Holy Mother Church’s teachings were peanuts, clearly didn’t get the memo.
Check out the comments that follow essentially the same story over at the other NCR. http://ncronline.org/news/cardinal-reviews-health-reform-debate-wound-churchs-unity#comment-168120
We are indeed a divided church. There can certainly never be a “winner” with such deep seated animosity and outright ugliness being spewed from both sides. A parent would certainly hate to see his or her own children acting like this toward one another. How much moreso with God.
Abortion is murder plain and simple….even the abortionist will tell you that. Fifty million babies brutally murdered, many just seconds from being born. There is a God, and the silent screams of those innocent babies cry out for justice. I cringe at what is coming.
Empty empty words as long as he feeds the Body and Blood of our Lord to apostate catholic politicians. Typical!
How pathetically ridiculous people are when they try to put down the educational qualifications of bishops and archbishops in the church. Wake up folks,these people would not be where they are if they were less educated than the average person.
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