Regarding Vance and immigration, I think a greater concern here is the VP's attempt to bully the bishops into condoning his boss's policies on immigration. I think the VP would do well to educate himself better on the rich social teaching of his own faith.
Additionally, I'm tired of any politician using the "I'm a devout Catholic" line to…
Regarding Vance and immigration, I think a greater concern here is the VP's attempt to bully the bishops into condoning his boss's policies on immigration. I think the VP would do well to educate himself better on the rich social teaching of his own faith.
Additionally, I'm tired of any politician using the "I'm a devout Catholic" line to justify every deviation from Catholic teaching they advocate.
I agree with your take, Colleen. Yes, as JD points out, the bishops need to take into account all the ways that Catholic Social Teaching touches upon the immigration issue and the most complete set of facts on the ground. Nevertheless, the VP was unjust and callow in his accusation towards the bishops. It sounded more like an online debater's trick than a serious reply, and it was deeply disappointing. Will we get the same from him when any questions are raised about federal funding of IVF as promised in the campaign?
I was especially nauseated by the "not being a good partner" comment—it hews too close to the dictatorial regimes that accuse the Church of being seditious or unpatriotic as soon as they dare say something out of step with the official line.
I disagree. Vance's phrasing treats them with kid gloves IMO. Your reading of this frankly comes off as a bit hysterical - it's a long way from "not a good partner" to "seditious."
I take the other side. Vance is spot on. Let's not leave the covers on this. (Eg, see my other comment on abortion.) If the Church isn't considering its bottom line then LET'S TAKE A STAND ON ABORTION FROM THE PULPIT. Enough of the Church/Politics excuse. There are dozens of topics pastors preach about that cover the Church/Politics spectrum....but almost never abortion. Gee, I wonder why....gimme a break.
Let me add one other comment. I sense what lies beneath the immigration position is folks are preaching their book, ie., whomever voted for Trump, or whomever voted for pro-Abortion/illegal immigration Biden.
I don’t think your latter point is accurate. I think there are many here who could not stomach voting for either candidate, as neither is a friend of the Church.
This attitude is a fundamental problem that too many Catholics espouse. A good many of us are nauseated and deeply disturbed by the vote for somebody so flagrantly pro-abortion in policy, whilst also nauseated and deeply disturbed by the vote for somebody who dehumanizes a wide and complex swathe of the population for political expediency. Frankly I'm nauseated and deeply disturbed that any Catholic feels right at home in either camp, but perhaps that's just me.
One of the most likely reasons why priests seldom preach on abortion is probably that they have women in their congregations who deeply regret any abortions they had and are already heart broken enough without hearing about how horribly they acted. It is must harder to forgive oneself, in my experience, than to forgive others.
I don't know what Catholic realm you live in but I *constantly*, **constantly** hear about abortion from the pulpit, closely followed by transgender issues, and it's not just at my parish.
I'm 71 years old and can count on 1 hand the number of times I have heard a priest preach on abortion...and that is in my ENTIRE life. Lucky for you, we need more of it. Even though as you say you CONSTANTLY hear about it in your area, I would guess that to not be a dominant subject of a homily in most parts of the world. Just my guess.
That very well may be. At this point I think roughly a third of all homilies I've ever heard have mentioned or alluded to the abortion issue, across two states I've lived in. Maybe I've just happened to land in some politically active dioceses. 🤷♂️
But yeah, only 1-5 in your whole life? That blows my mind. I'd probably be concerned too if that were the case for me!
> There are dozens of topics pastors preach about that cover the Church/Politics spectrum....but almost never abortion.
Why not personally ask your pastor to speak during his homily about the upcoming 40 Days for Life and to encourage everyone at the parish to sign up for hours? I assume you already know whether your parish has an organized group and if it does, you should probably clear this plan with the organizers of the group first. But if it does not have a group, perhaps you could even ask him to have interested people look in the bulletin for your contact info (so that you can tell them to get organized), and of course, you would then also put something in the bulletin. The squeaky wheels get the grease, if they are polite and work the system a bit.
I agree. Thanks for this thoughtful comment. JD Vance has shown a tendency on a few occasions now of having a very loose relationship with the truth; he’s a very smart man and knows what he’s doing is wrong.
Regarding Vance and immigration, I think a greater concern here is the VP's attempt to bully the bishops into condoning his boss's policies on immigration. I think the VP would do well to educate himself better on the rich social teaching of his own faith.
Additionally, I'm tired of any politician using the "I'm a devout Catholic" line to justify every deviation from Catholic teaching they advocate.
I agree with your take, Colleen. Yes, as JD points out, the bishops need to take into account all the ways that Catholic Social Teaching touches upon the immigration issue and the most complete set of facts on the ground. Nevertheless, the VP was unjust and callow in his accusation towards the bishops. It sounded more like an online debater's trick than a serious reply, and it was deeply disappointing. Will we get the same from him when any questions are raised about federal funding of IVF as promised in the campaign?
I was especially nauseated by the "not being a good partner" comment—it hews too close to the dictatorial regimes that accuse the Church of being seditious or unpatriotic as soon as they dare say something out of step with the official line.
I disagree. Vance's phrasing treats them with kid gloves IMO. Your reading of this frankly comes off as a bit hysterical - it's a long way from "not a good partner" to "seditious."
I take the other side. Vance is spot on. Let's not leave the covers on this. (Eg, see my other comment on abortion.) If the Church isn't considering its bottom line then LET'S TAKE A STAND ON ABORTION FROM THE PULPIT. Enough of the Church/Politics excuse. There are dozens of topics pastors preach about that cover the Church/Politics spectrum....but almost never abortion. Gee, I wonder why....gimme a break.
Let me add one other comment. I sense what lies beneath the immigration position is folks are preaching their book, ie., whomever voted for Trump, or whomever voted for pro-Abortion/illegal immigration Biden.
I don’t think your latter point is accurate. I think there are many here who could not stomach voting for either candidate, as neither is a friend of the Church.
This attitude is a fundamental problem that too many Catholics espouse. A good many of us are nauseated and deeply disturbed by the vote for somebody so flagrantly pro-abortion in policy, whilst also nauseated and deeply disturbed by the vote for somebody who dehumanizes a wide and complex swathe of the population for political expediency. Frankly I'm nauseated and deeply disturbed that any Catholic feels right at home in either camp, but perhaps that's just me.
One of the most likely reasons why priests seldom preach on abortion is probably that they have women in their congregations who deeply regret any abortions they had and are already heart broken enough without hearing about how horribly they acted. It is must harder to forgive oneself, in my experience, than to forgive others.
I don't know what Catholic realm you live in but I *constantly*, **constantly** hear about abortion from the pulpit, closely followed by transgender issues, and it's not just at my parish.
I'm 71 years old and can count on 1 hand the number of times I have heard a priest preach on abortion...and that is in my ENTIRE life. Lucky for you, we need more of it. Even though as you say you CONSTANTLY hear about it in your area, I would guess that to not be a dominant subject of a homily in most parts of the world. Just my guess.
That very well may be. At this point I think roughly a third of all homilies I've ever heard have mentioned or alluded to the abortion issue, across two states I've lived in. Maybe I've just happened to land in some politically active dioceses. 🤷♂️
But yeah, only 1-5 in your whole life? That blows my mind. I'd probably be concerned too if that were the case for me!
Well said, my friend...
> There are dozens of topics pastors preach about that cover the Church/Politics spectrum....but almost never abortion.
Why not personally ask your pastor to speak during his homily about the upcoming 40 Days for Life and to encourage everyone at the parish to sign up for hours? I assume you already know whether your parish has an organized group and if it does, you should probably clear this plan with the organizers of the group first. But if it does not have a group, perhaps you could even ask him to have interested people look in the bulletin for your contact info (so that you can tell them to get organized), and of course, you would then also put something in the bulletin. The squeaky wheels get the grease, if they are polite and work the system a bit.
Food for my thoughts, B, thank you...
I agree. Thanks for this thoughtful comment. JD Vance has shown a tendency on a few occasions now of having a very loose relationship with the truth; he’s a very smart man and knows what he’s doing is wrong.