Replies

I live in Mass., so I know Kennedy and Kerry. Their bishop knows them too. I do not want to engage in any Catholic bashing, but I think it is obvious that the Church tolerates them for a simple reason: power (and money) is the primary focus of the church. Attention to doctrine and the plight of mens' souls is secondary (at best).

If you disagree, please explain why Kennedy's can be so pro-abortion without repercussion, and how they can get divorced (excuse me, annulled) so easily.

I'm not so convinced that it's simply about power. The Catholic Church dreads schism more than anything else in the world. (The reason they've been so tough on SSPX is precisely because they know that SSPX doesn't *want* to go schismatic!) The US Catholic Church was dangerously close to informal schism during Bernadin's reign. Although that situation has improved, the sex-abuse scandals keep the overall picture very difficult. The tough thing is that so many church-going American Catholics are so deeply heretical, that informal schism is easy.

Whether or not I agree with the choices Rome is making, I believe that they are preferring heresy to schism. Heresy can be corrected; history has proven that once a schism forms, the schismatics go further and further into anti-Catholic doctrine. (case in point: Luther was *much* more Catholic than 99.9993% of Lutherans.)

Americans think in terms of election cycles; Rome thinks in terms of millennia.

Your frustration is understandable, and your dissent from the choice Rome appears to be making is reasonable, even possibly correct. I encurage you to get active in righting the situation you perceive to be wrong. Correct evil actions, but please refrain from ascribing evil motives to Church officials.

If you disagree, please explain why Kennedy's can be so pro-abortion without repercussion, and how they can get divorced (excuse me, annulled) so easily.

(1) Because many bishops are weak and afraid of controversy.

(2) They are afraid that if many nominal Catholics are forced to choose between the Democrats and the Church they'll choose the Democrats because so many Catholics in the pew have been so poorly catechized.

This means an open schism in the Church, and no bishop wants to be accused of mishandling a situation and giving occasion for a schism.

Trust me, if the bishops were motivated purely by money, every scandal-ridden priest would have been immediately defrocked and excommunicated, if only to avoid multi-million dollar lawsuits.

In reality, bishops want to smooth things over - even things that simply cannot be smoothed over.

If you disagree, please explain why Kennedy's can be so pro-abortion without repercussion,

I can't. But I'd bet on plain cowardice and rationalization.

...and how they can get divorced (excuse me, annulled) so easily.

That's an easier one. If at the time of the wedding Ted didn't consider marriage to be a lifetime commitment, then grounds for an annulment exists.

The Catholic Church long ago lost any moral authority it may have had. The bishops are too worried about being politically correct - afraid to offend and drive away donations?
The Church should be the voice of Morality in the morass of immorality so prevelant in our society - yet it's silence reverberates loud and clear.
I spent 15 years in Catholic schools, and can only imagine that the teachers I had would be mortified to find themselves in the Catholic Church that is the church of today!