COMMENTS ON RELIGIOUS REPORTING

    AS I write this there is a (potentially) significant controversy.  It regards Church and State relationships and the issue of Freedom of Religion.  The current administration has (“reportedly”) decided to enforce (directly or indirectly) a provision of its “health care” program that will compel Catholic institutions to pay for pregnancy prevention devices and chemicals, as well as non-clinical abortions.  As everyone knows, such evil things are against God’s teachings, as presented by the Church of Rome.

    There may or may not be a compromise that has been worked out.  I do not know, as it is my policy not to trust the Mass Media on most subjects.  When it involves religion---and Catholic religious matters!----the lack of credibility is extreme to absolute, as the reporters’ inherent incompetence is combined with their fanatical bigotry.  So, I repeat, maybe this difficulty has been resolved.   Maybe the facts will be distilled from the reports in a few weeks.  It often takes this long.  Sometimes it takes a lot longer.     

     Let me now freely admit that I believe that a majority of Catholics have sinned by using contraceptive devices.  I also believe that the majority of Catholics are also sinners in other ways.  So what?  Catholics are quite capable of going to Hell.  So what?  Most police officers take free food and sleep on the job.  So what?  Individual exceptions or failings, no matter how widespread, do not affect an issue such as this one.  This issue is abstract, legal and moral.  It is a matter of principles.  It is not personal and individual.  It needs to be examined in this way.  It is not because of anti Catholic bigotry. 

    The issue is also political.  The “experts” judge it to be a political mistake by Bambam.  He is antagonizing the “Catholic vote,” when his reelection is not quite certain.  To the contrary, his reelection is guaranteed.  Not even his death will stop him from being sworn in as the first (re)elected tyrant of the USA.  Second, there probably is no such thing as a Catholic vote.  Catholics should vote as a monolithic unit, based upon moral issues, child murder being the most prominent.  But, as best I can surmise, they do not.  They vote based upon their own sinful interests, as do other Americans. 

    I offer an aside here.  Lots of polls tell us that “Catholics” have abortions, disagree with Church teachings, vote for Liberals, etc, in overwhelming numbers.  This MAY be true, but there is no way to know.  Unlike the invisible character imprinted on the soul at Baptism, there is no outward evidence of one having been, or currently is, a member of the Church of Rome.  It is my belief that non-Catholics hate the Church.  Many non-Catholics probably claim to be Catholic, simply to embarrass the Church when they can.    

    One motivation is jealousy.  In all normal humans there is a strong need to be part of “something beyond humanity.”  Religion is the only thing on Earth that can satisfy this desire.  And there is only one religion, namely Catholicism.  But Catholicism, unlike Protestantism, has “side effects,” namely reformation, submission and guilt.  To be a real Catholic, to satisfy the need, costs.  For most the price is too dear.  It requires a life long (and longer!) soul exhausting struggle.  Other so called religions require nothing more than lip service, and often not even this much.  It is impossible to give lip service to non-existent doctrines. 

    The difference between Catholicism and Protestantism (that is, everything else) is similar to the difference between earning a PhD in physics from MIT and getting an honorary doctorate degree from a small college.  One could call himself a doctor in either case but the reality would not let an honest man do so.  Unfortunately reality is not cherished by non-Catholics. This installment has primarily served as a background for the next installment. I intend to comment further on the “controversy."   I shall take a most contrary position.  You should be interested, as I shall be most interesting. 

 Works by Vincent Lewis are available on line via Amazon and Lulu.com.  

 

 

Comments

[Chris Perry]

Much to their chagrin,I have said time and time again to that strange breed called 'protestant conservatives' that Obama would be re-elected, but until I divined the essense of what protestantism itself was (with your help) I didn't understand why. Thanks again.