Of anti-Catholic bigots and attacks on the Catholic Church

A couple legislative items to ponder…

At Fox we read about the Party of Death, enslaved to Big Business Abortion:

Dems block ‘born alive’ bill to provide medical care to infants who survive failed abortions

Senate Democrats on Monday blocked a Republican bill that would have threatened prison time for doctors who don’t try saving the life of infants born alive during failed abortions, leading conservatives to wonder openly whether Democrats were embracing “infanticide” to appeal to left-wing voters.

All prominent Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls in the Senate voted down the measure, including Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. The final vote was 53-44 to end Democratic delaying tactics — seven votes short of the 60 needed.

Three Democrats joined Republicans to support the bill — Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Doug Jones or Alabama. Three Republicans did not vote, apparently because of scheduling issues and plane flight delays — including Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Tim Scott of South Carolina.

The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would have required that “any health care practitioner present” at the time of a birth “exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age.”

[…]

Next, we read at CNA about a bill introduced in California:

California bill would remove reporting exemption for priests in confessional

Sacramento, Calif., Feb 21, 2019 / 09:00 am (CNA).- A state senator in California introduced a bill Wednesday which would seek to force priests to violate the sacramental seal of confession in suspected cases of child abuse or neglect. Clergy are already mandatory reporters in the state of California, but there is a legal exemption for material disclosed in the confessional.

Senator Jerry Hill announced Bill 360 in the California senate on Feb. 20.

“Individuals who harm children or are suspected of harming children must be reported so a timely investigation by law enforcement can occur,” Hill said in a statement announcing the bill.

More than 40 professions, including clergy, are already covered by state law requiring them to notify civil authorities in cases of suspected abuse or neglect of children. The current legislation provides an exemption for “penitential communications” between an individual and their minister if the requirement of confidentiality is rooted in church doctrine.

The Code of Canon Law states that “The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason.” A priest who intentionally violates the seal incurs an automatic excommunication.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “every priest who hears confessions is bound under severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him,” due to the “delicacy and greatness of this ministry and the respect due to persons.”

Despite the centrality of the sacramental seal to Church teaching and discipline, Hill insisted that there should be no recognition of the privileged nature of confession in the law.

[…]

And also, from Media Report:

Latest State Witch Hunt: Michigan AG Nessel Proudly Makes Her Hatred of Church Known, Catholic Media In Hiding

When she was elected Attorney General last November, Dana Nessel became the first openly ‘LGBTQ’ candidate to win a statewide office in Michigan. She had been a fierce advocate for gay marriage in the state and then married another woman. The pair have custody of two children.

And when Nessel ran for office, she even touted the fact that she “didn’t have a penis” as a primary reason to vote for her. (Don’t believe it? See for yourself.)

These indisputable facts alone give pause as to whether Nessel might have some animus against the Church in light of its teachings on sexuality.

But then last week at a press conference in which she announced the continuation of a criminal investigation against the Catholic Church over allegations of abuse from many decades ago, it was a remark from Nessel that left little doubt about where her mind is. Nessel announced:

“If an investigator comes to your door and asks to speak with you, please ask to see their badge and not their rosary.”

Obviously, a public official could never get away with such a clearly bigoted remark against another religion. If a law enforcement official investigating a Jewish group said, “If an investigator comes to your door and asks to speak with you, please ask to see their badge and not their yarmulke,” the outrage would be rightfully swift and furious. That individual’s career would be finished. Kaput.

But when it comes to the Catholic Church, anything goes. Nessel clearly has it out for the Church. In a television interview a couple weeks ago, she even referred to the Church as a “criminal enterprise.”

And the cowardly Catholic media stays cowardly

In the 1950s, historian Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. called anti-Catholicism “the deepest-held bias in the history of the American people.” That was not only true then, but the bias has clearly become much, much worse as liberals get angrier and angrier that the Church keeps resisting their demands to accede to the latest fads in human sexuality.

And in reviewing so-called “Catholic” media, we have yet to see a single voice criticizing Nessel’s bigoted remark. This is a problem.

Dear Catholic media: Stop being such cowards. The Church is under relentless attack, and just like the apostles on the day of the trial of Jesus, you all are nowhere to be found.

Man up.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in Si vis pacem para bellum!, The Coming Storm, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice. Bookmark the permalink.

19 Comments

  1. monstrance says:

    Concerning the abortion bill – So called Republican Murkowski was conviently absent.
    As far as the Church in Michigan – our so called Shepherds had it coming.
    What a mess…

  2. OrdinaryCatholic says:

    Why are we surprised by this anti-Catholic sentiment? This is where our society has led us, to this point in our history. Christ himself was rebuked, molested, persecuted and put to death and we think as members of His body we will escape what he suffered? We have Judas’s at every position in our Church be it bishops, priests and laity however it is easier to bear persecution from outside our Church than from the hands of so called Catholics who are poised to do great damage from within our ranks.

    I have to ask however why Catholics continue to vote for Democrats with all their vile stands on issues such as destroying unborn children, and now live children who survive the attempt on their lives, pushing euthanasia, assisted suicides, promulgating LGBT ‘s perverse acts and destroying lives in order to push their agenda (Kavanaugh hearings)? Am I so wrong to believe that one who votes for candidates who support such things are subject to answer for this before God?

    We will see worse, but it will end. At some point this madness will end and it will end badly for many of us.

    Pray for our nation

  3. The left isn’t opposed to harming children. The left likes harming children. At one and the same time, they come out openly in favor of infanticide and violating the sacramental seal in the name of “protecting children.” All the years our shepherds were busy cosying up to politicians, instead of preaching the Gospel, they were squandering the political capital of Catholics, until no one takes us seriously as a force to be reckoned with.

    And once again, it seems like our ancestors were on to something when they set up anonymous confessionals.

  4. teomatteo says:

    Two women who pretend to be married in front of these children– amounts to abuse.

  5. LeeGilbert says:

    “For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?”
    (1 Peter 2:19)

    It is more or less normal for the Church to be under attack, for we are the body of Jesus Christ, whom the world rejects. The really painful thing is that we are “receiving a beating” for doing wrong, and to some extent are justly a stench in the nostrils of the people among whom we live because of the scandals. Who can blame “the world” for thinking badly of us? They can hardly be expected to listen patiently as we make nice distinctions between the Person of the Church and the personnel of the Church. Many of our compatriots are furious with the Church, and livid over our explanations. It is perfectly natural and to be expected that this receive political expression. It is blind bigotry on the one hand and completely understandable on the other.

    Honestly, I wonder who has more need of repentance, we or the bigots. We have fallen very far from what we were and what we should be, and our stench has attracted flies. Virtually all our Catholic disciplines are a thing of the past, together with a sense of sin. In how many families that still consider themselves Catholic are not many things permitted that Catholics of old would have found completely appalling and stupefying? We are in a very bad way at many different levels. Since the Lord has no prophets to send us, he gives us bigots .

  6. monstrance says:

    Ordinary Catholic,
    You wonder about lay Catholics voting Dem.
    I’m betting that 50% or more of the clergy vote Democrat.

  7. OrdinaryCatholic says:

    Oh absolutely monstrance! I know of bishops that still do as well as priests. I do not know how on God’s green earth they can do that with a clear conscience.

  8. Grabski says:

    Pretty clear that police will show up to “confess” then arrest priests who don’t tell the “authorities”. They have liscence to fish out the whole pond

  9. GHP says:

    OrdinaryCatholic writes, “…Oh absolutely monstrance [sic]! ….”
    You mean “monstrous.” (^__^)

    Monstrance would be fabulous!

    –Guy

  10. mharden says:

    Wouldn’t Confession behind the screen make the entire issue of breaking the seal moot due to the anonymity? All priests should exercise their canonical right to INSIST upon Confession behind the screen, penitents have the same right.

  11. OrdinaryCatholic says:

    mharden?? Let me shake your hand! That is an excellent solution to something that should not be a problem in our nation but now is. Well done! I never understood this ‘face to face’ confession option anyway but…whatever.

  12. Gab says:

    So it’s start with reporting child abuse or neglect – (oh but killing a child seconds before it is born is not murder ) – then it will move to reporting on someone confessing to murder, then theft, then whatever the state decides should be reported. Drip, drip, drip and down the slippery slope we go. There will be no end to this except that those who want to repent and confess their grave sins will not go to confession. The devil’s end game.

  13. OrdinaryCatholic says:

    Receiving funds or cooperating with the state has never been in my opinion a very smart thing to do. The state will ALWAYS call in it’s favors whether you like it or not.

  14. JesusFreak84 says:

    OrdinaryCatholic: Methinks most “catholic” Democrats are Democrats first and “catholics” a distant second and when the Party isn’t quite producing enough warm fuzzies yet.

  15. SKAY says:

    The Governor of New York is supposed to be a Catholic and look at the horrible
    abortion bill that he gleefully signed to cheers. There are many leftist “catholics”
    who vote for Democrats who are now supporting infanticide. There is no hiding from that.
    I am not sure how they sleep at night. Are they just pretending to be Christian and
    that they believe there is a loving but just God in heaven watching all of this evil that they are supporting?

  16. JabbaPapa says:

    Here’s a horror story :

    https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/this-mad-sexual-brainwashing-must-be-resisted/

    The World Health Organisation in 2010 published its Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe – a model of how to pass off an ideological manifesto of pansexuality as neutral science. ‘Sexuality education is based on a (sexual and reproductive) human rights approach,’ it explains. ‘Sexuality education is firmly based on gender equality, self-determination and the acceptance of diversity.’ Very importantly: ‘Sexuality education starts at birth.’

    The document sets out what children of different ages should be introduced to and taught, including encouragement to masturbate from as young an age as possible. Here’s a summary of the recommended curriculum, courtesy of the Stop RSE campaign (Warning: explicit language).

    Age 0-4: right to explore nakedness and the body and gender identities. Learn to differentiate between good and bad secrets and learn ‘my body belongs to me’.

    Age 4-6: name each body part – caregivers are instructed to ‘wash each body part’ and ‘talk about sexual matters in sexual language’. Children should be given information about enjoyment and sexual pleasure when touching one’s own body in early childhood masturbation, taught about friendship and love towards people of the same sex, secret love and first love and an awareness of rights.

    Age 6-9: informed about menstruation and ejaculation, choices about pregnancy, different methods of contraception, sex in media, enjoyment and pleasure when touching one’s body, difference between friendship, love, lust, same-sex love, STDs. Children should examine their body, use sexual language and accept diversity.

    Ages 9-12: 1st sex experience, variability of sexual behaviour, contraceptives and their use, pleasure, masturbation, orgasm, differences between gender identity and biological sex, learn about STDs, HIV and sexual rights. Acquire media competence using internet, phones and deal with pornography. To talk about sex and make decisions to have sex experiences or not.

    Age 12-15: learn skills to obtain and use a condom (in reality this is taught in primary schools in UK), communication skills to have safe/enjoyable sex, deal with shame, fear, jealousy, disappointments. Modern media competence and deal with porn.’

  17. OrdinaryCatholic says:

    SKAY,
    I believe most Catholics who are democrats and vote as such do not believe what they are doing is wrong. I truly believe they feel in their hearts that they are doing right and that they feel they have NO right pushing their Catholic beliefs on others. They see all legislation(good and bad) in the light of separation of church and state. They bought that lie hook, line and sinker.

    JFK copped out of his faith to get elected instead of letting it guide him. Politicians were told by some liberal clergy that a politician can be against something such as abortion but allow it to happen in the course of their duty and responsibility so as not to push their faith on others as well.

    I do not believe Catholic politicians who vote for such vile legislation are really ‘into’ their faith but use it when it is expedient for them by giving their argument gravitas by using cherry picked scripture verses to convince semi-Catholic voters who don’t know their arse from their elbow when it comes to what the Church teaches.

  18. desertcatholic says:

    Yes, the Attorney General of Michigan said in public that the Catholic Church is a “criminal enterprise.” This was in the context of answering questions from the press regarding her ongoing investigation into clerical child abuse. “Criminal enterprise ” is a legal designation used by prosecutors to trigger RICO, a federal criminal statute. If convicted under RICO, the state can confiscate the property and assets of the defendant. The purpose of RICO is to destroy the enterprise. This is what the AG’s intends to do. Do not confuse this with name-calling.

  19. Moro says:

    This is not surprising at all. I remember the Boston sex abuse crisis vividly. The church’s moral credibility was gutted in the public’s viewpoint, especially in the Boston area. It´s no surprise that this environment was such that it allowed, two years later, homosexual marriage in Massachusetts by judicial fiat. Efforts at a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage couldn’t even get 25% of the State House and Senate to vote in favor of just putting it on the ballot. Why? Because the church was too weak to fight back, people were mad, coffers emptied, pews emptied, and the remaining faithful who actually cared were demoralized. So it shouldn’t be surprising that these things are popping up all over the place and will, I hate to say it, likely succeed.

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