I have never known Christ to hold me accountable for things I genuinely couldn’t see.
I have never known him to not hold me accountable for things I dishonestly wouldn’t see.
And, in my experience, only he has known the difference and, even in the latter case, has been extraordinarily gentle in opening my eyes to what I was afraid to see. He works to soften hearts, not to break wills.
So when William Penn asked George Fox how much longer he would be permitted to wear a sword, Fox did not rail at him or order him on pain of hellfire to take off his sword.
Instead, he simply replied, “As long as you can.”
Not long after, Penn took off his sword and never put it on again.
The soul compelled by force but not by truth is never really won. The soul won by love is bound by a power stronger than steel.
About 8% of Americans want a national abortion ban. About 20% want abortion on demand without apology. The rest both dislike abortion and also want it to stay legal for reasons ranging from “It’s none of my damn business” to “I don’t buy that a clump of cells is a person” to “Jewish law says its okay under X conditions” to “I’m not gonna condemn my niece when her parents were going to kick her out of the house.” To entirety of this incredibly complex 92% the 8% have given a one-size-fits-all label: “babykiller”. And they have not lifted a finger to try to understand them.
Here’s the thing: The Church teaches (and I believe) that human life begins at conception and is to be protected. She also teaches that the Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of the living, incarnate, and risen Son of God and that he is to be worshipped and adored, not profaned and desecrated. Indeed, in the grand scheme of things, such an evil is worse than murder, because it violates the first and greatest commandment and not the second greatest commandment that is contingent on it.
But most of my neighbors don’t believe that. Many of them are not even aware that is what the Eucharist is. I could go around declaring them to be devils in human form and perpetually insulting them and accusing every non-Catholic on the fact of the earth of wilfully blaspheming God by not crossing themselves, or genuflecting when they pass a Catholic Church. I could gin up a movement to have them jailed or punished for failure to knuckle under to what is, for me, a more basic teaching of my faith than the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.
But such means, like all attempts to impose the faith by blood, iron, force, fear, and law will absolutely fail.
Yet that is the route that, with the exception of the Consistent Life Ethic folk, the “prolife” cult of MAGA authoritiarianism has committed itself to in its insane quest to impose the will of 8% of Americans on the other 92%, all while wielding the unborn as human shields for their radically selfish support for a rapist, felon, criminal, fraud, and aspiring dictator they corruptly hoped would do their bidding if they bowed down and worshipped him. And they have done so at the cost of agreeing to support their cult’s war on every form of human life the GOP and its orange messiah regard as disposable enough to rob, harm, oppress, deport, rape, defamed, disenfranchise, unjustly imprison, and murder.
And soon, they will will be confronted with the magnitude of their failure to obey Christ and instead try to achieve their aims by the corrupt means of this world.
It will take decades, perhaps centuries, to undo the damage they have done to the cause of human dignity and life with their spectacular selfishness, their vile lies, and their lust for nihilist power.
Advertisement
10 Responses
You are so right! The last time I was in Ireland it was pro-life Sunday. And the theme of the liturgy was spousal abuse. Who knew there was more that one pro-life issue. There certainly isn’t in the American church.
Amen! Thank you for summarizing this so well.
When the pro-life movement has no qualms to offer me as a sacrificial goat to achieve their “pro-life” aims, (align with racists who have made it no secret of what they will do to people of my race **if they could** ), then the pro-life movement is simply racists in disguise.
That includes the US Catholic Church and hierarchy.
The German Bishops were fine with Hitler’s scapegoating of the Jews — as long as Hitler put the communists and liberals in their place, it was all good…
I am certain that when everything is said and done in the US, the US bishops will come out saying we were never MAGA supporters and we did not support them, attempting to rewrite history. Hiding behind the fig-leaf of the few good resistors, while denying the institutional majority of supporters and appeasers of evil within, has been a genuine Catholic Tradition throughout history, more genuine than even the most ancient of traditions.
90% of Black Catholics won’t vote for the pro-life party – and 90% of white Catholics will. That should be enough proof of what I’m saying, but what do I know, right?
The success of abortion referendums across even the reddest states now gives me great satisfaction. The Church was willing to sacrifice me and my kin, to win the war on abortion. It bet on using racism and fascism to ban abortion. So when the Church loses on abortion and gets nothing in return for sacrificing its morals, it is a great hope for all who were unworthy of consideration as human beings, like me.
To see God’s justice – you should not do evil that good may come out of it – come down on the Church is indeed a consolation. May the Church go morally bankrupt, so that it can repent and reform
OMG Mark! I have been trying to formulate in my own mind how to phrase all this and YOU did it for me! Than you for your insights!
“The soul compelled by force but not by truth is never really won. The soul won by love is bound by a power stronger than steel.” Wise words, thanks.
You gotta get out more, Mark. You paint too broadly with your mile-wide brush. I know many people, including my own mother, who work countless, thankless hours helping pregnant women with medical care, counsel, food, clothing, cash, etc. Oh, and they are so busy, they even forget to call them names or condemn them. Because they are trying to change hearts and save souls.
Either these holy helpers are not part of the “pro-life movement”, or you owe them an apology.
I made very clear the target of my criticism: the MAGA cult. I don’t know your mother. If, as you say, she does not fit the profile, why are you insisting on forcing her to wear the shoe you insist she does not fit?
How clear? “Why the “Pro-Life” Movement is an Epic Failure” (your words, is that just clickbait) Dont see MAGA in there, unless epic is greek for maga.
There is a MAGA movement that is new, and probably temporary.
There is a prolife movement, that preceded the MAGA, and is eternal, like life.
Why confuse the two?
Pick one to attack.
Struggle as much as you like to shift the blame away from the MAGA “prolife” Death Cult. But the fact remains that with the honorable exception of the Consistent Life Ethic folk, the overwhelming bulk of the “prolife” movement is fanatically devoted to this rapist, felon, fraud, conman, traitor and authoritarian thug and that you are fighting to defend them. Repent.;
God bless! Have a nice day!