The Bishop of Scranton misleads his flock

My sister, who is both a devout Catholic or a devout Conservative, sent me an e-mail of a message from Joseph Martino, the Bishop of Scranton, to worshipers. In his letter, he directs them to vote against those that are pro-choice.

I thanked my sister for the letter, but told her that this internal fight within the Catholic Church does not involve me. I left the Church twenty years ago and have taken my own spiritual journey outside the context of Christianity. However, I was struck by the raw fury of this battle for the soul of the American Catholic and I felt compelled to respond anyway.

This Sunday marks the Roman Catholic Church's "Respect Life" observance and there is internal strife in the Church. More liberal Catholic organizations are urging other Catholics to vote with their conscience, and they recognizes that the while the Republican Party is anti-abortion, it is far from pro-life with its Dickensian viewpoints on the war in Iraq, poor, the sick, and the elderly.

It is a contest for credibility among observant Catholics, with each faction describing itself as a defender of “life.” The two sides disagree over how to address the “intrinsic evil” of abortion.

The escalating efforts by more-liberal Catholics are provoking a vigorous backlash from some bishops and the right.

In Scranton, Pa., every Catholic attending Mass this weekend will hear a special homily about the election next month: Bishop Joseph Martino has ordered every priest in the diocese to read a letter warning that voting for a supporter of abortion rights amounts to endorsing “homicide.”

The text of the Bishop's letter borders on threatening. Here are some excerpts and my comments below:

Forty years ago, Pope Paul VI predicted that widespread use of artificial contraceptives would lead to increased marital infidelity, lessened regard for women, and a general lowering of moral standards especially among the young. Forty years later, social scientists, not necessarily Catholics, attest to the accuracy of his predictions. As if following some bizarre script, the sexual revolution has produced widespread marital breakdown, weakened family ties, legalized abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, pornography, same-sex unions, euthanasia, destruction of human embryos for research purposes and a host of other ills.

I don't understand what contraception has to do with same-sex unions and euthanasia, and I must say that the Bishop doesn't quote a single non-Catholic social scientist to back up his viewpoint. Surveys have shown that marital infidelity has actually decreased in recent years. Sexually transmitted diseases have plagued man for centuries, only to return to the closet for 50 years because the more virulent of them, syphilis and gonorrhea had become easily controlled by antibiotics. STDs reemerged from the closet only when even stronger ones, namely HIV/AIDS and herpes emerged.

You can also ask any woman who's been in the workforce for several decades if we, as a country have become more demeaning towards women. Sexual harassment and discrimination laws—mostly opposed by Republicans—have greatly improved the respect we give women in this country. If there is any party that is demeaning to women, it is the Republican Party, which has consistently blocked equal pay for equal work laws.

And once again, a religious argument bashes homosexuals. This is especially ironic considering that this hate is coming from the Catholic Church, which in recent years has been rife with priestly pedophiles who take advantage of underage boys.

The bishops lies and hypocrisy are stifling.

More from the bishop:

The finest health and education systems, the fairest immigration laws, and the soundest economy do nothing for the child who never sees the light of day. It is a tragic irony that “pro-choice” candidates have come to support homicide -- the gravest injustice a society can tolerate -- in the name of “social justice.”

Once again, the good bishop won't let the facts get in the way of a good argument.

Many people—including myself—are morally opposed to abortion, but recognize that this as a health and safety issue, as women seeking abortion would go back to unsafe abortion methods that would imperil their health, as was true before Roe v. Wade. If abortion would become illegal, it would create a great health crisis in America. Women have been having abortions since before recorded history. If we were to illegalize abortion, some women would go back to drinking bleach, throwing themselves down stairs, trying to abort the baby themselves using crudely fashioned tools, or even go to illegal and dangerous back-alley abortion clinics. In our regard for the life of the unborn, we would disregard the health and well-being of the living. Deaths from botched abortions would again become an epidemic. Do Catholics want this blood on their hands?

A glaring omission from the bishop's message is that he neglected to show due respect for other aspects of life that Catholics should be concerned about, like coming to the aid of the poor and the sick, which is tantamount in the teachings of the New Testament in the Christian Bible. So, using the standards that the Bishop of Scranton used, I would think that any Catholic would also think twice about voting for any party that has shown no regard or pity for the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged and threatens to do even less going forward. It is probably just as great of a sin for a Catholics to vote for Republicans who want to cut and even eliminate programs like food stamps, medicare, medicaid, unemployment benefits, social security, and welfare. And killing our sons and daughters in an illegal war based on a litany of lies is murder just as well.

The bishop did mention a few issues (economic security, oh please) in short and almost technical comparisons, but he did not call the congregation to act upon them. Nowhere did he mention the atrocity of this war. Who is this bishop to weigh the worth of these problems? He is no greater person than myself or of you. His opinions hold no more significance than many of the Catholic laity that disagree with him. The greatest attribute of man is his ability discern and reason for himself and his greatest freedom is his right to act upon his own reason. To be so dogmatic is to deny Catholics of their own reasoning in regards to their vote.

It is obvious from this homily that the bishop gives too much weight to one moral issue over many others Catholics should consider. But instead of dictating the importance of political issues to his flock, he should ask them to search their own souls before they vote. This is what a spiritually liberated person would do. Religion should not be dictatorial, it should embrace the differences of its believers, even if it disagrees with them.

Relying purely on Catholicism in deciding your vote puts you in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. The teaching of the New Testament says to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and render unto God what is God's.

That's what should be foremost in the minds all people of faith when they vote on November 4.