The Slander is Over

Inkfrog fixed the problem and the images are back. Phew!

In other news, a friend has offered to watch A. this afternoon for us, so G. and I can spend some time together. We have a private hot tub at Watercourse Way this evening, but we have no idea what we'll do until then. Probably talk about A.

Pleasant Surprise
Both G. and I were raised in the Catholic Church, and although that's not really where we find our spiritual connection to the divine anymore, we did have A. baptized by a fairly liberal priest whom we liked. I had been scarred by the teachings of 12 years of Catholic school and even though I've been told they closed Limbo down years back, I didn't want to take any chances.

When we first started thinking about baptism, we ended up involuntarily signing up for a local parish (we thought we were going to an information meeting about baptism, but we weren't). This is all by way of explaining why we receive the archdiocese's Catholic newspaper. We certainly don't subscribe. But I do glance over it when it comes in (the cover story this month is the makeover of the local cemeteries! Woo hoo!) and the most interesting part is the "letters to the editor" section. Most, as you would imagine, are very conservative in nature, except for the rare "the Pope needs to get with the times". But this one caught me off guard. I'm really pretty freakin' impressed.

Responsibility of free will
I am appalled that Bishop Michael Sheridan, the bishop of Colorado Springs, would deny the Eucharist to the faithful. Pro-choice politicians have not had an abortion, have not performed abortions and have not even advocated that any person have an abortion. What they have done is state that it is a choice women must make in consultation with their doctor and have declined to pass a law outlawing abortion.

Affirming free will, a gift of God, is not a sin. The right of choice, the right to make decisions in one's life was a gift of God when he granted free will to humanity. We have choices in life and each individual must make choices based on an informed conscience. Each individual must also accept the responsibility for their choices in life when they face Christ in the afterlife.

There is no disagreement that life is a precious gift of God and that abortion is murder. But abortion will continue with or without a law outlawing it. Because a secular politician does not enact a law outlawing abortion or any other act doesn't mean that an action is right and not sinful.

The Vatican and Church teaching have been very clear that the death penalty is wrong in contemporary society, yet I don't see a refusal of Communion to those who support the death penalty. What about supporting politicians who lead their country into an unjustified war based on knowingly false allegations and causing the just as damning deaths of thousands of innocent men, women and children? Or politicians who affirm greed in society and cause the loss of livelihood for millions of their citizens?

The role of a legislator in our nation is to pass laws for a diverse multicultural secular society, not to push Catholic teaching on to others of different faiths.

The hierarchy should be assuring that Catholic doctors, nurses and medical personnel understand the teachings of the Church, that those who counsel women would offer alternatives to women so that abortion is not carried out. Love, compassionate care and alternatives for women considering abortion are the answer and not threats.

Wayne Mortensen
via e-mail

It can be difficult to belong to a church where many of the members say you're not really a member if you believe something different, and at the same time, it can be difficult to leave if you were raised in it and consider it part of your culture and heritage. It's a relief to know there are others who don't want to abandon the church, but also don't agree with the direction it's taking. Now, I'm not entirely on the same page as old Wayne here. I don't think I have the right to tell women that abortion is sinful, and I also don't have the right to make that decision for anyone else. I wish the pro-lifers would take their energy and focus it on reforming services for the millions of children whose parents had them but can't take care of them. But I think I could have a discussion with Wayne, unlike all the rabid "you're not really Catholic" conservatives out there. I don't believe that Jesus would have denied anyone a place at his table.