Posted on 04/27/2007 4:22:40 AM PDT by Kaslin
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The editorial cartoon appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer in the wake of the Supreme Court decision upholding the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. It featured the nine justices sitting on the bench. The five Catholic justices who voted to uphold the ban are depicted wearing bishops’ mitres. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is Jewish, is staring at them with a horrified look. So are the three Protestant justices.
The cartoon’s message was clear: The Catholics had voted, not to uphold the law, but to impose their personal religious views. It’s a graphic example of anti-Catholic bigotry.The Philadelphia Inquirer was hardly alone. Now, it’s not surprising when irresponsible commentators like Rosie O’Donnell make bigoted remarks about Catholics—as she did. Well, at least she won’t be on ABC for a while. But it is shocking when more respectable observers do so.
For instance, Geoffrey Stone, former dean of the University of Chicago law school, writes that “all five justices in the majority in [this case] are Catholic. The four justices who either are Protestant or Jewish all voted in accord with settled precedent”—note that. And then he adds: “The five justices in the majority [that is, the Catholics] . . . failed to respect the fundamental difference between religious belief and morality.”
If you uphold a law approved by both parties in Congress and supported by most Americans, you are imposing your morality. But if you vote against the ban, you have nobly kept your religious views from interfering with your job. The ugly implication here is obvious: that it is not possible for faithful Catholic judges to carry out their responsibility to interpret and uphold the law.
Imagine the reaction if a cartoonist had suggested this of other religious groups—if they had portrayed justices wearing yarmulkes or holding the Koran. Joseph Cella, head of a Catholic pro-life group, is right in saying that the Philadelphia Inquirer cartoon is “venomous, terribly misleading, and blatantly anti-Catholic.”
Protestants have a special duty to condemn anti-Catholic bigotry. Shamefully, at one time many Protestants accepted the vile teachings of Paul Blanchard, author of American Freedom and Catholic Power. They supported the anti-Catholic agenda of the group for which he was general counsel: Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Our Catholic brethren should not have to wait to hear our voices forcefully raised against the bigotry now directed against them.
That’s why I am circulating with some other Christian leaders a statement calling on Protestants to join us in condemning this bigotry.
We also call on groups that present themselves as the enemies of prejudice to join us as well. And in particular, we invite Americans United to do so. Let us know once and for all: Are they selective opponents of prejudice? Do they regard anti-Catholicism as an acceptable form of bigotry?
It is appropriate to demand an apology when people in public life use their position to engage in bigotry—just as we did with Don Imus. Subscribers to the Inquirer ought to drop their subscriptions, or boycott the products of their advertisers, until an apology is forthcoming.
All forms of bigotry are vile and must be exposed for what they are: attacks on the very character of a civil society. Apologies are called for. |
Excellent! My son is 17, and my daughter will be 15 this summer. We're in the same boat. How has the college thing been working out?
She will be begin college this August (she was born in October, so she started school "late" and is graduating HS this May).
We will see how it turns out. Her choices seem to change every other week. But she has a good scholarship and is a good student. Also, she works a lot.
Why wouldn't you want to seek the sermons of what the apostles were teaching to understand scripture better? Are we wiser than they that the Holy Spirit descended upon? Not I!
Don't take the last words of John's gospel lightly. Did not the apostles ask why Christ spoke in parables and seek the understanding of their meanings? They are your servants, do not be proud.
I never got a chance to thank Mr. Colson for his Christian behavior for I found myself derailed and I allowed myself to fall from my first instinct instinct of gratitude and so I do so now.
Thank you kindly sir,
ArchA27
"It's not personal. It's strictly business."
In reality, what's going on is that Protestants, historically, have engaged in hyperbolic rhetoric against the eeeeevil Romish Papists. (The Pope is antichrist, Rome is the Whore of Babylon, etc.) (Now, of course, Rome hardly had clean hands either, but that is neither here nor there for the purposes of this article.) There are still a lot of people who repeat half-truths and misinformation about Catholicism in Protestant churches. Sometimes this lurks in dark corners; other times it's proclaimed from the pulpit.
What Colson is saying is, given the recent history of Protestant Christianity to be downright bigoted against Catholicism, it is imperative that we stamp out any incipient bigotry that still lingers in our churches and in our dialogue as Christians. You may never have held an anti-Catholic position in your life - but undoubtedly, your denomination did as recently as fifty years ago.
We have the completed Canon of Scripture, and that is our final authority, not the opinions of men.
Even the Apostles made mistakes (Gal.2) and the church of Thessalonica was commended for searching the scriptures when Paul was teaching them. (Acts.17:11)
1Jn.4:1 tells us not believe every spirit but to try to them since there are many false prophets.
2Pe.2:1 warns us of many false teachers in the last days.
Excellent! Congratulations on her graduation which must be around now. I pray for the very best for her success in college. My son is finishing his junior year now so this summer we will be doing the "college tour". We were reading through the Barron's the other day and were having some trouble identifying a generic college major that would likely cover his interests. Off the top of your head, would you happen to know what to look for, given that he is interested in Flash, Action Script, Web Design, and PhotoShop? I'm not sure of how to approach the problem of identifying 4-year colleges that train well in these areas.
FK, my older daughter changed her mind several times, and I am not sure she will stick with her latest choice. It ranged anywhere from wanting to be a doctor, veterinarian, lawyer, chef with a TV show, to fashion-ralted business.
I was confident she had no interest in history, philosophy, religion, political science, physics, math (although she loves math!), psychology, biology, chemistry, and other natural sciences (I never really believed she wanted to be a doctor or veterinarian even though I could see where the fleeting motivation came from), etc. She does like performing arts, but she is too "realistic" about her chances of "making it" in that field.
In other words, it's easier to know what they are not going to pursue, and narrow the potential career fields that way than trying to find a definite subject he will eventually choose.
Thanks.
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