It is a shame that the Catholic voices of those who speak out most strongly on behalf of the unborn are typically the most Trumpified, Burkified, and Viganized in our Church, and have aligned themselves with schismatic conspiracy theorists against the Church and human dignity.
(And I'm only about halfway through, so I'm saying all this while acknowledging that it might get weird later on.)
I know it's in the midst of a controversial time in our country, and the reception and reaction will likely be a train wreck (I haven't looked, but I can imagine.) But I mean, come on, we can't totally ignore the unborn because political expediency demands it.
There's a lot of truth in the statement that’s uncontroversial.
THAT SAID, it's focused on the moral and legal aspects of abortion, and ignores the systemic. For one thing, it seems to equate "promoting" abortion exclusively to one’s political views on the legality of abortion.
A weakness of the doc was, coming in the wake of a US election where many Catholics voted for a pro-choice candidate for “proportionate reasons” for the 1st time in their lives, that Cordileone failed to sharply criticize those who support policies that increase abortion rates.
This omission comes across as an admonition to those faithful Catholics who could not vote for Donald Trump in good conscience. Yes, they wanted to support a candidate who promotes the dignity of all human life, but that wasn’t an option in 2020.
And so as long as you lobby for (or just give lip service to) even the most ineffectual legal restrictions on abortion, you’ll walk away from it feeling affirmed in your righteousness. Even if you have no serious intent to end abortion or can’t reduce it in any large-scale way.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Why do so many Catholics on the left think pro-life conviction on the Catholic right is insincere?
Are conservative pro-life Catholics exploited? Certainly.
Can they be blind to other evils? Absolutely.
Do most of them TRULY believe it's murder and want to save lives? YES. 1/
I'm in total agreement with those who point out that some Catholics have a very myopic view of abortion, and neglect (and often reject) other vital social issues.
But it's also wrong to downplay the gravity of abortion, which @Pontifex has compared to "hiring a hit man." 2/
Failing to take abortion seriously is a betrayal of a consistent ethic of life.
Working to build a home for future generations that is more just, more peaceful, that serves the poor and needy, that respects human dignity, and has a healthy ecosystem is not optional. 3/
This isn't a flippant question, by the way. I believe that both Küng and Burke, at their core, were ideologically motivated to reject traditional Catholic teachings on magisterial authority on doctrine and discipline. Both developed theories of authority to justify that dissent.
Obviously, Küng's theories were much better developed and were written over a longer period of time, but Burke has developed his own sort of "Theology of Disobedience" in the last several years, most comprehensively articulated in a 2018 speech.
"If, a member of the faithful believes in conscience that a particular exercise of the fullness of power is sinful and cannot bring his conscience to peace in the matter, 'the pope must, as a duty, be disobeyed'"
It's not just liberals and progressives who should be challenging the increasingly reactionary views of Archbishop Chaput. His public statements have, at many points, put him at odds with Pope Francis and in certain cases have clearly sought to contract the pope's mission.
He tries to put forth a public image of support for Francis, but anyone who was watching closely noted his dissenting view of Amoris Laetitia, attempts to cancel the youth synod, and support for Viganò (and absence of support for the pope) in Aug 2018.
Furthermore, he inexplicably praised giving an award for Catholic lay witness to Bill Barr at the National Catholic Prayer breakfast, received during a 1-day break between Federal executions Barr scheduled.
"This crisis calls for concerted efforts by all to take necessary steps, including an equitable distribution of vaccines for everyone." @Pontifex in Iraq last Friday