David Ancell / Sunday August 10, 2003
A lady on the Busted Halo forum was questioning whether bishops should expect politicians to go along with Catholic teaching in their voting. She said that it might cause Catholics to lose their voice in public matters. Well, here is my response:
To enter this discussion, let me begin by citing two passages from Sacred Scripture:
John 15:18 says that if the world hates us, we should be reminded that it hated Jesus first. The other passage, Matthew 10:38-39, reminds us of the necessity of taking up our cross and following Jesus. He even goes so far to say that whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for his sake will find it.
I could cite more, but my point is that one result of following Jesus is opposition. In a day and age when the idea of an absolute truth is extremely unpopular, it only follows that those who believe in the teachings of the Catholic Church as truth will also be unpopular. If this means sacrificing position, then that’s what one has to do. It does little good for Catholics to have a voice if they have to water down the message to get through. If one wishes to be Catholic, one must believe the teachings as truth. For example, if you believe that Jesus rose from the dead, then this belief is simply incompatible with the belief that he did not rise from the dead.
The problem with these politicians is that they want to claim to be Catholic while publicly opposing Church teachings on very serious issues. If the messages of our bishops is causing them to question their salvation, then it is working. The fact that a pro-abortion politician sides with the Church on “social justice” issues doesn’t negate the fact that he is pro-abortion. Such a one is in the deluded position of believing that one can advocate for better housing, medical care for the poor, etc. while meanwhile also advocating that some defenseless members of our society don’t even have a right to live.
Ultimately, the question is not a matter of accountability to hierarchy. The hierarchy are not an opinion body but guarantors of the truth that comes from God. They hold the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.
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