Posted on 01/20/2004 8:44:49 AM PST by NYer
By barring Holy Communion to Catholic politicians in the La Crosse, Wis., diocese, Bishop Raymond Burke drastically changed the focus of discussion. Now, the bishop is challenging not only the morality of abortion but the morality of American citizenship.
Bishop Burke, who will become archbishop of St. Louis on Jan. 26, told his priests not to give Communion to prominent politicians until they "publicly renounce" support of abortion rights. U.S. Rep. David Obey, a Democrat, and some state lawmakers in the La Crosse area got the notification.
To the bishop, the morality of abortion is plain: It is a grievous sin. He and others are under pressure from some of their flocks to take harsher action against Catholic politicians who waffle. He acted. He placed politicians between the rock of their oath to uphold the Constitution and the hard place of his decision. The Supreme Court, the semifinal arbiter, has held that the Constitution bars governments from interfering in a woman's choice to have an abortion.
That leaves women free to choose, which is not all that different from the way the creator left them when he made them. "Choose life," he commanded, but the verb indicates that another choice is left open. Like the creator himself, the Constitution permits defiance.
Bishop Burke and many others would like to change that, but practicing politicians know it's not so easy. A government that has the power to ban abortions would have the power to command them for specific cases or races. Until fairly recently, some states commanded sterilization for some people, to which right-to-lifers would object, and New Jersey has flirted with effectively requiring welfare mothers to seek abortions. Government regulation in this case is a can of worms that a smart politician would be wary of opening.
Additionally, if Roe vs. Wade were to be simply overturned by the Supreme Court, the law would revert to the pre-1973 status quo. Then, abortion was regulated on a state-by-state basis, and some states had legalized it, while others were moving toward legalization. That's not what Bishop Burke is looking for, either.
Because of the deep opposition of Catholics and others to legal abortion, it has become a political wedge issue. Politicians whose constituents allow them to oppose it keep bringing up abortion in Congress and legislatures for votes to separate the sheep from the goats. But until and unless the nine Supreme Court justices change their mind under pressure of the final arbiter -- public opinion -- lawmakers are just voting for laws the court will overturn on constitutional grounds.
No one who takes his oath seriously can engage in charades. And, in some cases, legislation badly needed by the poor has been held hostage to sheep-or-goat amendments.
Just as there are some districts where abortion opponents can win, there are districts where a vehement opponent can't win. Under those circumstances, and considering that lawmakers don't interpret the Constitution anyway, Catholics soft-pedal their personal views on abortion. Bishop Burke has told the ones in his diocese to stop it.
Bishop Burke has just told Catholic politicians what to do. That's something that Al Smith, in his losing 1928 campaign for the presidency, and John F. Kennedy, in his 1960 winning campaign, said bishops wouldn't do.
In October, in a document called "Faithful Citizenship," the U.S. bishops outlined positions on a whole range of political issues, including better pay for farmworkers. The question that non-Catholics will ask is: On how many of those issues would a Catholic face excommunication for failing to vote the bishops' way?
Bishop Burke's action puts his friends as well as foes at risk in elections if the general public asks that question. In the Jesuit magazine America, Bishop Burke is reported to have been asked what will happen if his position disqualifies Catholics from running for office. He replied, "Then there won't be any more Catholic politicians."
It would be an unsustainable anomaly if Catholics were permitted to serve in the armed forces of a country that claims the right to wage preemptive war, even in the face of passionate denunciations by the pope, while being barred by their religion from serving in Congress, where they could vote against such wars. But that is the logic of Bishop Burke's current position.
The next leader of the church in St. Louis needs to think deeper and consult his peers. Also at their October meeting, the bishops appointed a committee chaired by Bishop John Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee to consider the issue in depth. They are frustrated that their prophetic words are not being heard -- a not unusual frustration of prophets -- but the frustration won't be solved and may be aggravated by threatening Catholic politicians.
Actually, the Schiavo case is quite instructive in this regard.
In this sentence, the editorialist is correct.
Exactly. These are all reasonable things - and, incidentally, reflect positions held by many non-Catholics as well - and none of them conflicts with the Constitution or in any way prevents a Catholic from holding public office.
Well, at least until the time comes when the pro-abortion contingent makes the personal performance of an abortion to be a requirement for anyone who wishes to run for office in the US - something I think they would dearly like to do (if they're Dems, at least).
And that would be who.....???? Please, Bishops have been consulting for years and look where it got them. How about some old fashioned silence and deep prayer and reflection, and why not throw in some commen sense for a change. God Bless Bishop Burke for doing and saying what should have been done years ago! Too many people have run out of patience with so-called Catholic politicians pro-choice views.
Actually, the Schiavo case is quite instructive in this regard.
In this sentence, the editorialist is correct.
What government has commanded the murder of Terri Schiavo?
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