Attack on Religious Liberty Contined...

Faith, Hope, Charity, with Sophia
(Wisdom) as Virgin Martyrs

"We will therefore continue—with no less vigor, no less sense of urgency—our efforts to correct this problem through the other two branches of government." 

--USCCB statement on the so-called heath care 'Compromise'

I find it incomprehensible that any Christian would not understand the recent attack on religious liberty.  A "friend" on facebook said she didn't see attack on religious liberty at all.  Really?  Are you that blind?  An acquaintance at church really thought that Obama's so-called compromise was a change of heart on Obama's part?  Really?  Are you that blind?  I have a hard time comprehending why seemingly intelligent Christians don't get what is going on.

The issue for Catholics on "Obama Care" is the forcing of Catholic organizations to pay for something Catholics find morally reprehensible.  And this "compromise" ain't a compromise.  He says that Catholic organizations won't have to pay for abortifacients or sterilizations but the insurance companies will.  Huh?  You don't think the insurance company isn't going to pass on that expense to the employer buying the insurance, really?  It's not a compromise; it is a bait-and-switch.  So, yeah, most of the bishops are now saying they will make sure we do not pay for it.  IF  it comes down to that Catholic organizations (ie, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, charities, etc) will be FORCED to drop insurance coverage.  That is how serious it is!  Bishops would rather Catholic organizations pay the huge fines than be forced to pay for things Catholics (real, orthodox ones anyway) find reprehensible--it is against God law.

"Catholics should not be misled into accepting feeble compromises on issues of principle. The HHS mandate is bad law; and not merely bad, but dangerous and insulting. It needs to be withdrawn – now."
--Archbishop Chaput


Do some reading, please!
USCCB's reaction statement, In depth analysis: The Bishops Response to the Obama 'Compromise' mandate, Catholic World News article on the "Compromise", Recent Catholic New Service article, January Fox News item, Archbishop Coakley's letter, Fr. Z's blog listing all the Bishops and Archbishop's letters, messages, etc. out so far.

This is worth repeating:

"First they came for the Socialists and I didn't speak out because I was not a Socialist. 
Then they came for the trade unions, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me."
--Martin Niemoller, German pastor interred in Nazi concentration camps from 1938-1945.

More later...

God is a Trapeze Artist

Today I attended a sponsor/ candidate confirmation class with my son. No, I am not his sponsor but his sponsor cannot come to every meeting as he lives about 6 hours away by car. Anyway... today they played one of those silly games that always seem to be current for youth groups. It was a game of either/ or decisions. You decide if 'God is more like _______ or ________' and then give a reason for your choice. Well, the choice was 'Is God more like a trapeze artist or a circus clown?' (Remember, I said it was silly) My son's answer actually moved me almost to tears. He said that God was like a trapeze artist. God is on one trapeze and we are on the other. God stretches His hands out and waits for us to come to Him. We have to let go of our 'bar' fly through the air and grab His hands in order not to fall. God, unlike a real trapeze artist will always catch us....Wow, I don't think there could have been a prouder parent in the room. One of the other parents said we (his parents) must be doing something right. I say that my contribution was minimal. I think the Holy Spirit moves in that boy; quickly turning him into a very good man.

Pope John Paul II, Darwin, and Evolution Catholic Opinions on Evolutionary Origins

By Austin Cline, About.com

In America one is accustomed to seeing religious figures condemn evolutionary theory and argue that teaching evolution is incompatible with Christianity. Catholicism, however, not only doesn’t reject evolution but in fact has supported evolutionary theory for quite some time - Pope John Paul II even expressed some support for it. This continues to surprise people because it’s simply not reported in the news very often.

In 1950, Pope Pius XII wrote in his encyclical Humani generis:

“The Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, insofar as it inquiries into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter.”
[The full encyclical can be read here: http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius12/P12HUMAN.HTM]

On October 23, 1996, Pope John Paul II said in a speech to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences:

“[N]ew findings lead us toward the recognition of evolution as more than a hypothesis. In fact it is remarkable that this theory has had progressively greater influence on the spirit of researchers, following a series of discoveries in different scholarly disciplines. The convergence in the results of these independent studies—which was neither planned nor sought—constitutes in itself a significant argument in favor of the theory.”

“A theory is a meta-scientific elaboration, which is distinct from, but in harmony with, the results of observation. With the help of such a theory a group of data and independent facts can be related to one another and interpreted in one comprehensive explanation. The theory proves its validity by the measure to which it can be verified. It is constantly being tested against the facts; when it can no longer explain these facts, it shows its limits and its lack of usefulness, and it must be revised.”
[To read Pope John Paul II's words on the matter: http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP961022.HTM]

None of this necessarily means that Pope John Paul II accepted evolution as a fact and it certainly doesn’t mean that Catholics are required to accept evolution as a fact. John Paul’s address was designed to explain the Vatican’s theological position on human origins, not the Vatican’s position on science. The address wasn’t meant to be either an endorsement or (obviously) a condemnation.

Instead, the address was meant to lay out for Catholics a basis for accepting evolutionary theory. There are many scientific facts that the Catholic Church doesn’t require Catholics to accept — that the Sun in as the center of the solar system and that the Earth is round, for example. The truth of these statements is obvious to everyone, but that doesn’t make them appropriate for religious doctrine either.

On a practical level, evolutionary theory is taught without reservation at Catholic educational institutions. This has been a problem because the general anti-evolution trends in American society has made teaching evolution more difficult, even at private Catholic schools. This has led to calls for more detailed teaching about evolution in these schools. David Byers, executive director of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Science and Human Values from 1984 to 2003, has said that, “Denying that humans evolved seems by this point a waste of time.”



My note: He expressed the Catholic position on the subject of evolution very well. This author is a contributor to About.com is an Agnostic/Atheistic 'guide'. I wanted to show that someone who is NOT Catholic grasps the Catholic concept of the acceptance of the THEORY of evolution. I, even as a Catholic, am free to make up my own mind about it. As I have said, I believe there is a lot of validity to evolution within species, however, the THEORY of evolution does NOT account for the beginning of life nor does it account for the complexity thereof. [bolding, italics, brackets mine]

Trick or Treat

What do you believe in?

"Tell us straight that you do not believe in the Gospel of Christ; for you believe what you want in the Gospel and disbelieve what you want. You believe in yourself rather than in the Gospel."

~St. Augustine
http://faithofthefatherssaintquote.blogspot.com/