TEPID CATHOLICS

I’ve commented several times in The Diner about the Catholic Church developing a backbone lately and telling the “pro-choice” members of the Church to mend their ways for they are risking their very souls. Agree or be wrong on the abortion issue, but I think everyone can agree the Catholic Church has always stood on the pro-life side and expects the faithful to do the same, so the recent actions shouldn’t seem so alien.

Yet, the “Catholics” on the receiving end seem flabbergasted that the Church should be trying to save their souls. I mean...hello?...saving souls is what the Church is supposed to do, right? It’s not like they're trying produce personal watercraft here. The latest caught off guard by the Church’s action is Missouri Congressman Rep. William Lacy Clay. Congressman Clay hails from St. Louis, home of one of the most vocal Catholic Bishops, Bishop Raymond Burke, who received national attention for telling John Kerry not to try to receive Communion in the Bishops diocese.

In typical modern, liberal, Catholic fashion, Rep. Clay opened his mouth and made a fool of himself several times over. The Associated Press reported Clay as saying:

"I think Archbishop Burke has gone too far; he is now delving into politics," Clay said in an interview on Friday. "Perhaps the Catholic Church should surrender their 501-C status."

Abortion is not a political issue, it is a matter of life and death. And even if it was, Bishop Burke is not trying to tell you to vote, he’s saying if you decide to vote a certain way (pro-killing), then you need to go to confession before receiving communion. The good Bishop is only controlling things in his realm (the Church) not Washington. Starting off with such idiocies, you know that Clay was only going to get better. And he did:

Clay, who attends St. Nicholas Catholic Church, said that if a priest refused him communion, "I would stand there."

"That's such a personal thing, between my God and me," he said. "I think it's an intrusion into uncharted waters that the church has never been in. They don't have the luxury of driving people away from the church right now. It's difficult for them to find priests and nuns, and if they continue on this track, they're going to drive people away from the church."

Let’s take these Three Freedoms to be Stupid comments one by one.

1. “I would just stand there” So, acting like a stubborn four year old will help you how? You’ll just be forced to tell the people in the Church you support the death of children. Not that you would have the guts to do it, anyway. You're obviously all bluster and no guts.

2. "That's such a personal thing, between my God and me," he said. "I think it's an intrusion into uncharted waters that the church has never been in.” Uh, dude, the Priest is God’s representative on Earth, he’s the closest thing to God you’ve got. If you go to receive communion, bread that has been transfigured into the body of Christ being given to you by God’s representative, you aren’t going to get closer to God than that.

3. "They don't have the luxury of driving people away from the church right now. It's difficult for them to find priests and nuns, and if they continue on this track, they're going to drive people away from the church." You imbecile, the Church does not act for political expediency, it doesn’t act as the will of the majority. The Church teaches God’s wisdom and has for two millennia, through times it had the majority opinion at it’s back and times when it didn’t. Only a two-bit, hypocritical politician would say the things that come out of Rep. Clay’s mouth.

Yet, even after all of that, Clay wasn’t done:

Clay said, "I don't represent just Catholics; I represent a very diverse district filled with all types of religious denominations, so I cannot function in an official capacity just as a Catholic politician."

A common refrain from the tepid Catholic politicians. Look, the Church doesn’t give two hoots who you represent, what the Church is saying you can’t be “pro-choice” and still receive communion. If you feel the need to represent “pro-choice” constituents, than at least don’t receive communion. If you insist that you are still a Catholic and have the power to make laws, then you cannot support, encourage and enable abortionists. It was laid out very clearly in CHRISTIFIDELES LAICI saying it was especially important for lay people given “particular title to the task...who hold...political power”

Unfortunately, that’s you, Clay.