Has the Catholic Church Lost Its Focus?

Has the has the Catholic Church lost its focus? The following article, which was part of a reading assignment in my Old Testament Theology class seems to suggest that.  

https://onepeterfive.com/gaia-church-love-the-earth-heaven-can-wait/

While I agree with the author that Pope Francis is not  the Anti-Christ, I also agree that he could do so much more to focus on eternal things such as getting to heaven and less on the temporal and transient things. 

Too often, I think that there is a related problem.  I  strongly believe that Pope Francis and even some of our  bishops are too worried about politics and not enough about getting people to heaven.  I honestly think that they try too hard not to be a church of "no". They are afraid to point out our sins such as homosexuality and abortion,  maybe because the people in the pews are experiencing those things. Instead of pointing out those sins,  I think that too often they look the other way when  Catholic politicians are not faithful and support those sins. The focus should be on getting to heaven.  We do that by repenting of our sins and asking for forgiveness, not by sweeping them under the carpet and hoping that nobody notices them. 

Back in June about 6 weeks before President Biden dropped out of the Presidential race, I sent the following letter to Archbishop Cardinal Gregory,  the  Archbishop of the Diocese of Washington DC, calling him out for looking the other way when,  Biden, a Catholic supported abortion and transgenderism.  

                 June  7, 2024

His Eminence 

Wilton Cardinal Gregory 

Archbishop of Washington DC 

PO Box 29260

Washington, DC 20017-0260

Your Eminence,  

I am a 5th Grade PSR (CCD)  teacher in the Diocese of Wichita. 

When we studied the Sacrament of the Eucharist,  the following questions came up...  

"For what reason should a Catholic not receive Communion? Why is this appropriate? What must a person in this state do in order to receive Communion again?"

The answer that our workbook contained was...

"Because they are in a state of mortal sin. If we are in the state of mortal sin and receive the Eucharist, we commit sacrilege, treating a sacred object unworthily, as if we don't care. Confession restores grace to the soul and purifies the soul for the Eucharist."

That goes with what Cannon 915 teaches...

"Can. 915 ...and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion."

What should I tell my students when they find out that you don't actually enforce this? In fact, you look the other way when Catholic politicians obstinately support abortion, same sex marriage, contraception use, and transgenderism.  

What am I talking about?  President Biden who ran for President on a pro abortion platform. The record shows that he is the most pro abortion president ever. Most recently at State of the Union he invoked the name of God when he said...

"My God, what freedom else would you take away?"

Then he made a promise to restore Roe v. Wade when he said... "If you — if you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again."   

More recently he declared Easter Sunday to be "Transgender Day of Visibility."  During a recent pro abortion rally in Florida,  Biden blessed himself making the Sign of the Cross (What a slap in the face.) and then doubled down on his promise to make abortion the law of the land.  He has also campaigned with the promise to reinstate the Contraception mandates, and is also requiring any insurer or physician receiving federal financial assistance to cover or provide sex-reassignment surgeries and therapies on the grounds that refusal to do so would constitute discrimination based on sex. 

And your response, Cardinal Gregory...

To go on the CBS news show  "Face the Nation " and assert 

that President Joe Biden “picks and chooses” elements of the Catholic faith to follow, that he is “sincere” in his faith but he refuses to engage with some of the “challenging” aspects of it. 

Did you go far enough? Probably not. You could do more.  

In May 2022, Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone decided to bar Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi from Communion in the San Francisco Archdiocese. Cordileone invoked canon 915 writing that a "Catholic legislator who supports procured abortion, after knowing the teaching of the Church, commits a manifestly grave sin which is a cause of most serious scandal to others. 

Your silence and inaction are scandalous.  

You have two jobs here:

1. You must protect the Sanctity of the Holy Eucharist.  By looking  the other way, you bring scandal upon yourself and upon the Church.  That's because Biden  is obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin by supporting procured abortion. Jesus didn't look the other way when he told a woman accused of adultery: He told her... "Go, [and] from now on do not sin any more."

What are faithful Catholics sitting in the pews supposed to think when you look the other way? What are faithful Catholics supposed to think when you ingore Cannon Law? 

Can they "pick and choose" what they want to believe? Looks like they are already doing that!

While the Catholic Church itself holds that abortion is wrong and should not be legal, 6 in 10 U.S. adult Catholics say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a newly released profile of Catholicism by Pew Research.

Pew reports that many U.S. Catholics would welcome more change. Some 83% say they want the church to allow the use of contraception, 69% say priests should be allowed to get married, 64% say women should be allowed to become priests, and 54% say the Catholic Church should recognize same-sex marriage. No wonder only one third of Catholics believe in the Real Presence.  What are they supposed to think when the leaders of their church fail to defend the Eucharist? 

2. Your other job is to get to heaven and take as many people who you can with you. How are Biden (and all of those other Catholics who are picking and choosing) supposed to get to heaven when they are allowed to receive Holy Communion while in a state of mortal sin? Are they  committing sacrilege as my workbook suggests? 

What a teaching moment, Cardinal Gregory! You need to do the same thing  that Nancy Pelosi's Archbishop did with her. Invoke Cannon 915. Once Biden has made a good Confession and  promised to avoid the near occasion of sin, he could  receive Communion again.  

In the meantime,  what am I supposed to tell my 5th graders?

Sincerely,  

Terry Brennan 

President Trump is not the Anti-Christ

During the run up to the presidential election this past fall  a Catholic friend of mine accused President Trump of being the Ant-Christ.  Here's what I told him. 

The Ant-Christ?  Really? You have to be kidding me. You sure do take a lot of liberties.  You sure do make a lot of false assumptions.  You sound like a liberal.  They tend to put false labels on people.  You might not like President Trump and he might have done some evil things in his life, but doing evil things  doesn't make a person to be the Ant-Christ.  Do you really know anything about the Anti-Christ? Obviously he didn't. It is important that if people are going to throw labels around they should understand them and know what they mean.  

Here's a talk by Fr Chris Alar from the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. This is one of two places where I go when I have questions about what Catholics believe. Here's a talk by him about the Ant-Christ that you might want to watch. I suggest that you watch the whole thing before you comment.  You might learn something.  

https://www.youtube.com/live/t85obRrSLQE?si=XYm-fa5f6vFluMpp 

Fr Alar tells us that there are four Bible verses that refer to the Ant-Christ.  

1 John 2:18-19

18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist 

was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour.

19 They went out from us, but they were not really of our number;* if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number.

Father tells us that that he's talking about people who have left the faith.  Those are Anti-Christ.  He's talking about apostates: people who have left the Christian faith.  They are apostate Christians because he says, " they  went out from us."   The Catechism of the Catholic Church  defines apostasy as "the total repudiation of the Christian faith;"

2089 Incredulity is the neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent to it. "Heresy is the obstinate   faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him."11

This article from EWTN tells us...

"The same is true of apostasy. The person who leaves not just the Catholic Church but who abandons Christ Himself is materially an apostate. He is formally an apostate through willful, and therefore culpable, repudiation of the Christian faith."

https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/answers/heresy-shism-and-apostasy-24761

1 John 2:22-23

22 Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist.

23 No one who denies the Son has the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.

Fr Alar tells us that this is why we profess at every Mass,  The Father, The Son,  and The Holy Spirit.  This is consistent the apostate nature of the many  antichrists.  For they have denied that Jesus is the Christ and in denying the Son, they have implicitly denied the Father.  

1 John 4:3

3 and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world

This spirit does not acknowledge God. Father tells us that the spirit had already been in the world from the beginning because sin entered the world but there will be coming the main Ant-Christ at the end.  

2 John  1:7

Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the deceitful one and the antichrist.

Father tells us that this clarifies the specific deception being perpetrated by the spirit of the Ant-Christ and its human collaborator, the one who is to come suggesting that it involves a denial of Jesus in the flesh.  He goes on to tell us the beast, who you also mention, best understood and its initial, literal fulfillment as one of the early Roman emperors. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church  talks about this.  There are often multiple fulfillments of a single prophecy the Beast also may point forward to an individual at the end of time is also possibly correct such an individual is easy to identify when we turn to Paul who calls him the "man of lawlessness" who appears to be a future individual who does things like the Roman emperors did in the past,  will one day manifest himself in the temple in Jerusalem, and want to be worshipped such as Caligula. He was a prerveted one claiming to be God.   He attempted to have an image of himself put in the Jerusalem temple The many anti Christ's are identified as apostate Christians meaning they rejected God the Father and the Son. 

CCC 2113 Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, "You cannot serve God and mammon." Many martyrs died for not adoring "the Beast" refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God.

Father goes on to explain that future antichrists may also becan apostate Christian or at least from an apostate family.  Future emperor like individuals may have a personal family or national Christian background that went apostate. The Roman emperors were Pagans.  Apostate is the most serious sin. You completely reject God.  The Church Fathers identify the anti Christ as the man of lawlessness in Paul.  They understood him to be a political ruler who would oppose the Church, rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, and demand to be worshipped as God. He was understood to be a person of Jewish ancestry from the now lost tribe of Dan.

There is no infallible consensus. It isn't dogma. There are speculative theological viewpoints, but none has been the final anti Christ, the final persecutor of the church. the Catechism explaines that there will be a superior supreme  religious deception before the second coming of Christ, and that supreme form of deception is that of the anti Christ Matthew 24:15.  There will be false Christs that will lead the elect astray.

Father defines the "apostasy from the truth" as...

• Life is not sacred 

• Redefining marriage 

• A girl can be a boy 

• A boy can be a girl 

CCC 675 Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh. 

CCC 677 The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.

What's obvious by the Biblical definition, there's no way that Trump is the Anti-Christ. When is the last time that you heard him reject the Christian faith? When is the last time you heard him fail to acknowledge Jesus Christ? Have you ever heard him deny Jesus Christ? Have you ever heard him reject God? You may not like him but I've never heard him, do those things. And he's never glorified himself in place of God. Those are characteristics of the Ant-Christ.  

The only thing close in American politics to the Biblical definition of Anti-Christ that I've seen was at 2012 Democrat Convention when they voted to deny God three times from their platform.  

https://youtu.be/YtKd005fxnM?si=X42JmhCt2NF4s12-

I'm Going Back to School

Here's something that you might  find interesting. I'm going back to College to get  a Masters degree in Theology. So why would a sixty-six year old retired dude want to do something like that? Shouldn't I be kicking back, taking it easy?

I am a cradle Catholic. I first became interested in Theology many years ago, at a family Thanksgiving dinner, my older brother announced that he was agnostic. He eventually left the Catholic Church and now identifies as an atheist.  I didn't have any answers to my brother's objections, but promised myself that I would attempt to find answers.  A lot of his beliefs came from Bart Ehrman. He would also read: Sam Harris,  Raymond Brown,  Hans Küng and others.  In my mission to find answers,  I would  listen to and watch EWTN radio and TV. I would read The National Catholic Register. Father Corapi and Catholic Answers Live were some of my early sources for information.
I began attending the Midwest Catholic Family Conference and reading books by  Steve Ray,  Tim Staples,  Dr. Scott Hahn, Trent Horn, Peter Kreeft, David B Currie, Carl E. Olson, Marcus Grodi, CS Lewis, and Dr. Brant Pitre. I've watched videos and listened to talks by Fr. Chris Alar, Fr. Michael Schmitz, Dr. Edward Feser, Fr. Spitzer. Fr. John Riccardo, William Lane Craig, Dr. Craig Blomberg, Gary Habermas, Mike Licona,  Gregory A Boyd, and Lee Strobel. I always wanted to learn more

When I retired almost three years ago  I made a commitment to teach PSR at my parish. For those of you who aren't Catholic or don't know, PSR stands for Parish School of Religion.  It's what used to be called CCD  (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) when I was growing up. The definition of confraternity is a brotherhood. We had our CCD on Sunday mornings between the 9 and 11 O'clock Masses. It's for kids who don't have a Catholic school  or for kids who go to public school. PSR is how these kids learn their Catechism. At my parish we have classes on Wednesday nights from 6:30 - 7:30pm. Classes started after Labor Day and go until May.   I teach 5th Grade.  We teach them about the Sacraments.

I made this commitment because over the years,  it has hurt me to see too many Catholics who don't know their faith.  They don't know how to explain what the Catholic Church teaches.  Why do we believe what we believe?  I had two choices.  I could sit back and complain about it,  or I could get up and do something about it. I love learning about my faith.  I love sharing my faith. I love Jesus Christ! I love the Catholic Church.  I believe it to be the OneTrue Church that Jesus Christ started.  Jesus Christ is my ticket to heaven. The Catholic Church is my vehicle to get there.

Going back to school and studying Theology is a great way to learn about my faith.  I can't think of a better way to: 1) Come up with answers for my atheist brother,  2) become a better Catechist and PSR  teacher, and  3) learn how to improve my spiritual life and share it with others.  The best part is that I am receiving a tuition free scholarship  to get a masters degree at Newman University. 

So back in August,  I  spotted the following advertisement on the Facebook page of a friend who worked in the Admissions department at Newman University here in Wichita.

One of the requirements was to be a Catechist, a PSR teacher or OCIA  teacher in the Wichita Diocese.  Check.  I would meet that requirement. The Facebook post that led me to this program/scholarship  said "any bachelor's degree". My degree was in Business Administration and Economics.  My GPA  was 3.094. Check. It looked like I would qualify for this scholarship.

Excited and interested,  I went to the  Newman  University website to check it out and it said... "Bachelor’s degree in theology or related field, such as philosophy or history from an accredited college or university with a GPA of 3.0 or higher."  That confused me because her Facebook post said "any degree." I pointed that out to her and she put me in touch with the Dean of Catholic Studies. He told me that was a misprint on the website  and they would take any BA degree. I was definitely interested  but after talking to the  Dean,  I found out that their quota was full for the fall  semester but they put me on a list and I would get in on the next opening if someone drops out,  or possibly in the summer or fall semester next year.  

Well, I couple of weeks later,  he called me back and told me that an opening had come up and I could get in mid semester.  I would have to move quickly. I needed to go online and register,  get my  transcript  sent from my previous school to Newman, write an essay telling them why I was interested in the program, get a letter of recommendation from my pastor,  and go online and enroll. Got all of that done, hope I didn't forget anything.  Then  I got an email officially welcoming me to the program and I started on October 13th and still needed to get my textbooks

I am in the MTS program,  It's not as intense as the MA program. The program is 30 credit hours. That's 10 classes.  Watch the short  6 minute video below which explains how it works. Students take  one class at a time.  Each class lasts 8 weeks. In all including summer semester,  it's a little over 2 years. Most is online  and there are textbooks required for each class.  Each week, there are two video modules, assigned reading,  and discussion in study groups on the course website. Three weeks into the program  students come to campus for an intensive weekend. We also had to do a six to eight page research  paper. 

https://youtu.be/PoxyuxsTjUg?suCPe4b-q3E3QnUNt

The Master in Theological Studies degree (M.T.S.) is intended to deepen the theological understanding of diocesan catechists and teachers of religion. It prepares students to explore and explain the Catholic theological tradition and provides a solid grounding in that tradition. The program is intended for those working in catechetical ministry in a Roman Catholic context and anticipates questions that frequently arise in the classroom and during the RCIA process. The MTS program prepares students to teach in Catholic high schools, apply to hospital chaplaincy programs, or work in parishes or diocesan offices. It also prepares lay people to teach classes in Parish Schools of Religion (PSR), teach or direct the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) and participate in other parochial ministries.

The Department of theology offers two degrees in its graduate program of theology. The Master in Theological Studies (MTS) provides a solid grounding in the Catholic theological tradition and is intended for those working in parish ministry in a Roman Catholic context. 

The Master of Arts (MA) in Theology  has more rigorous requirements and is intended to prepare students to teach theology in a classroom setting as well as preparing those interested in pursuing doctoral work in theology. The MA degree requires some different course work than the MTS degree; it also requires the completion of a thesis and a comprehensive examination, as well as foreign language requirements, none of which are required for the MTS.

The tuition free scholarship is made possible through the Catholic Diocese of Wichita... The St. Maria de Mattias Endowment is a fund of the Catholic Diocese of Wichita which is intended to support innovative catechetical programs in order to help strengthen religious education in the Wichita and Dodge City Catholic Dioceses.

Through the support of the St. Maria de Mattias Endowment and the through the generosity of the Most Reverend Carl Kemme, Bishop of Wichita, a limited number of full-tuition scholarships are available to qualified catechists of the Wichita and Dodge City dioceses. To qualify for a full-tuition scholarship, students must be active in the catechetical ministry within the Diocese of Wichita or Dodge City at the parish level and must also have the approval of their pastor. DRE’s; RCIA catechists; Youth Catechists; Adult Education Catechists and any other catechetical ministry at the parish level supported by the local pastor qualify a student to receive a full-tuition scholarship from the St. Maria de Mattias Endowment.

https://newmanu.edu/academics/graduate-programs/theology/scholarships

Thanks to Newman University, Bishop Kenme, and the Diocese of Wichita for making this opportunity possible. 

And so I've completed my first class, a study on saints Athanasius, Augustine,  and Aquinas.  My first thought is to admit a preconceived notion that I always had, that Catholic Doctrine was "set in stone." That's one thing that I  always liked about the Catholic Church.  You could read the Bible and even some of the early Church Fathers and see something similar to what we have today. Boy was I wrong.  I had skipped over these three outstanding theological minds. While today, I will admit that Catholic Doctrine is not "set in stone, it does  have a strong foundation and is very stable on its its established teachings.

The Church has adapted and evolved over time. That's where the A-Team, as Professor Papsdorf calls them come in. It is exciting to see how they were all responding to issues of their time, addressing new societal issues or interpretations of scripture. But in the end it all fits together like, solving a jigsaw puzzle.  How exciting it was to see how things developed historically and how we got from point A to point B. I think what we can learn today is that teachings can and do change, although today,  probably more cosmetic changes. I don't think we're going to see any new major doctrinal changes. Hopefully we shouldn't get too troubled when things like the recent Church Synod take place, because in the end, I think that the Holy Spirit is watching over us. Just in case, I hope that we will always have some strong minds similar to the A-Team who are ready to step in and defend the faith should modern day heritics come forward.  And didn't Jesus give us a guarantee that the Church would not be overcome with evil?

Matthew 16:18 And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,* and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

What I liked most is that all of their teachings gave me a handbook, setting goals, kind of like a road map, on how to achieve perfection and get to the end. But too often we get off the road. We have temptations in our journey. Fr Aaron at Mass a couple of weeks ago, gave us a golf analogy. He tells the story of his uncles going golfing. ⛳ Occasionally they would take their grandmother with them.  One time she made the comment that she couldn’t understand.  The flag is over there, but you hit the ball that direction, and you hit it the other direction.  Why don't you hit it towards the flag? He says that's the last time grandma went with them.  But isn't that the way our journey is? Even though we know what the ultimate goal is, we make choices that take us off course. 

What I like about the readings  form  the A-Team is that they also showed us how to fight temptations that we will encounter in our daily journeys. They gave us a road map. Some of my favorite readings were Life of Antony,  Augustine against the Pelagians, City of God,  the Summa Theologica,  especially St Thomas Aquinas Five Ways, and the chapters on Vices and Virtues. And the Sacraments which I will definitely take advantage of in my 5th Grade PSR class.  I also enjoyed figuring out Faith and Reason. Wow! So much there. While eight weeks is just enough to wet the appetite,  hopefully,  someday I'll have time to sit down and really soak all of this in.

The spring  semester starts on January 19th.  The two classes that I will be taking ar "New Testament Theology" and "The Four-Fold Gospel".

Why Catholics Can't Vote For A Pro-abortion Candidate

 

Why Catholics can't vote for a pro abortion candidate, and why  I still support Donald Trump.

Back in 2016 I wrote an article.

"From a Catholic Perspective: Why I support Donald Trump"

In 2020 I updated it and posted it on my blog.  You can read it here...
https://terrysbits.blogspot.com/2021/03/from-catholic-perspective-why-i-support.html

Donald Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden and is running against his Vice-President Kamala Harris this year and I still support Donald Trump.  Here's why...

The issue comes up every election season.  What does the Catholic Church teach on Voting? One of my favorite priests, Fr Chris Alar with the the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception answers the following questions.  Do we have a moral obligation to vote? Are there Non-negotiable Voting Issues?  What is the Preeminent Voting Issue? You can watch the video here...

https://youtu.be/gn_C8lRwY_w?si=sBxQXhDQGrlY59-R

Do we have an obligation to vote?
The answer is yes. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church...
2240 Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one's country:

Are there Non-negotiable Voting Issues?
Yes, Pope Benedict gave us three. 

1. The Dignity of Life
Abortion
Euthanasia
Stem Cell Research

2. Sanctity of Marriage Between a Man and a Woman

3. Preservation of Religious Liberty

All other issues are considered negotiable. Issues such Immigration,  The Economy,  Racism,  Healthcare,  and the Environment are important but how a candidate stands on the Non-negotiable Issues is determines worthiness. 

Doesn't that mean that as Catholics, we're Single issue voters? Not at all. Some issues can disqualify a candidate.  For instance if a candidate was a member of the  KKK or a Neo-Natzi, but promised to fix the Economy,  Healthcare Immigration  and the Environment.  His involvement in the KKK or as a Neo-Nazi would surely disqualify that candidate.  The Non-negotiable issues are intrinsically evil.  They can never be justified.

The Church teaches that if there is a viable option for a political candidate, meaning one who supports one or more of the Non-negotiable you have a moral obligation to vote.  Personal moral  character is not important, but it is the stated commitment to public policy in keeping with the common good of the Non-negotiables which is most significant. 

What if all the candidates are unworthy? Then you must choose the one who is most supportive of the Non-negotiables. First you vote on Non-negotiables and only then, evaluate their views on the other issues such as Environment. Healthcare, Economy,  etc.
We are not voting to canonize these candidates but to give them temporary power to do the will of God. 

Formal Cooperation with evil would be:
• directly doing an abortion
• Driving someone to,an abortion clinic
• Paying for an abortion
• Murdering someone
Remote or material cooperation with evil would be shopping at a store that you find out supports  abortion/Planned Parenthood. 

Ratzinger  tells us that a Catholic would be guilty of Formal Cooperation in evil if they deliberately vote for a candidate because of the candidate's permissive stand on abortion or euthanasia.  But votes that candidate for other reasons would be considered  Remote Material Cooperation which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons are not your feelings.  "I don't like the way this candidate looks." A proportionate reason cannot be found in comparing Non-negotiables with negotiables. You can't say: "Yeah,  I know that they are pro life and they defend marriage,  but they are racist, or they are hurting Healthcare or they are not worried about the economy."
You cannot put negotiable issues in proportionate reasons above Non-negotiable Issues.  It doesn't mean that those issues aren't important.  They are. But how to fix them is negotiable.  There is no time that you can allow Non-negotiables!  They are always wrong.  Only comparing two candidates regarding Non-negotiable reasons establishes a proportionate reason.

What is the Preeminent Voting Issue?
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) tells us that abortion is the preeminent issue among the Non-negotiables.  It can never be allowed!
All of the single issues (Healthcare,  Environment,  Economy,  immigration and even racism) depend on the most fundamental human right, the right to life.

We are obligated to inform our consciences and then follow it. St Thomas Aquinas says that we have to follow our conscience or we can be condemned.  Conscience is the activity of your intellect judging actions as right or wrong.  Feelings don't matter.  Conscience is the voice of truth.  Not your feelings.  Your opinion has to be in harmony with the truth.  I can't have an opinion contrary to the truth. My opinions can't be... "Well, I'm going to vote for this guy even though the truth of the matter is  that he stands for everything that's wrong."

Conscience only works when we inform it. When we learn the moral truth.  As a Catholic,  how do you do that?  The Magisterium gives us the Catechism but tells us what the moral issues are and why they are based on scripture.

You don't have to vote for a person who is pro-life, but you may not vote for a candidate who supports abortion.  Voting for a pro abortion candidate can be a mortal sin.  Do not vote on party affiliation lines or appearances. Don't vote for someone just because they say that they are Catholic.  Don't vote on you own interests or opinions. Don't vote for those candidates who support the lesser issues but don't  support the Non-negotiables. 

We are Catholics first, Americans second,  and Democrats or Republicans third.

The abortion stance is not new. It goes back to the first century.  Letter of St. Barnabas. 
Chapter 19

"You shall not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shall you destroy it after it is born."


Deuteronomy 30:19
"I call heaven and earth today to witness against you. I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live,"



At this point I will emphasize that The Catholic Church is not trying to tell us what political party to belong to or vote for. Their job is to simply help us form our consciences. As most Catholic Bishops will tell you, it is not their duty to tell you for whom to vote, but they do have an obligation to speak out on moral issues. In 2012 the Catholic bishops of Kansas said: 

“The Church has a constitutional right, like other organizations, to express its viewpoint on matters of public policy. However, the Catholic Church is not a political interest group. Rather than instructing Catholics who to vote for, the Church’s role in the political process is to illuminate the moral dimension of the various political issues, and to form the consciences of Catholics so that they can make morally informed judgments as both voters and elected officials


Now let's apply this to the upcoming election.
Let's take a look at the Candidates and see how they stack up against the Non-negotiable Issues. 

The Dignity of Life

As I said four years ago...
Joe Biden claims to be Catholic, but goes against the teachings of the church. He supports abortion. President Biden ran for President on a pro abortion platform. The record shows that he is the most pro abortion president ever. At State of the Union he invoked the name of God when he said...
"My God, what freedom else would you take away?"
Then he made a promise to restore Roe v. Wade when he said... "If you — if you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again."    
During a recent pro abortion rally in Florida,  Biden blessed himself making the Sign of the Cross and then doubled down on his promise to make abortion the law of the land. 

Actions speak louder than words.  Here are a couple of articles about Biden's executive orders reversing Trump's pro life policy. 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/28/politics/biden-abortion-executive-orders/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/28/politics/biden-abortion-executive-orders/index.html

Also, a White House briefing bragging about Biden's pro abortion policies. 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/03/07/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-continues-the-fight-for-reproductive-freedom/

HARRIS AND WALZ ARE ALSO  EXTREME ON ABORTION. 

Since I wrote this,  Biden has dropped out of the race.  Harris has disenfranchised 14 million Democrat voters, taking over as the party's nominee.  She is just as extreme as Biden.  She has promised to restore Roe v Wade even if it means eliminating the filibuster. 

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/23/nx-s1-5123955/kamala-harris-abortion-roe-v-wade-filibuster

And Harris’s selection of Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate doubles down on her extreme strategy to put abortion at the top of the ticket. The Harris-Walz ticket is the most pro-abortion in U.S. history, openly advocating for zero regulations on abortion and even denying healthcare to babies who survive abortions. 

In Minnesota, Walz removed a requirement for doctors to report cases where babies survived abortions, an act so extreme that even former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) advised him to tone it down — advice he publicly rejected.

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4837181-harris-walz-abortion-issue/

Check out some of her lies about abortion.


https://americafirstpolicy.com/issues/kamala-harriss-extreme-abortion-policies-hurt-women

Earlier this year she went as far as to visit a Planned Parenthood clinic.


https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2024/08/kamalas-abortion-extremism







TRUMP IS PRO-LIFE!



Meanwhile Trump was probably the most pro life  presidents ever. He was the first president to attend at the March For Life. You can see his speech  here...

https://youtu.be/3RjuADPBo-Q?si=xa9XF4F-0Ej6xLOM

Once again,  actions speak louder than words and Trump has a record to run on. Check out the list of pro life accomplishments as noted by Priests For Life. 


https://www.priestsforlife.org/elections/trump-prolife-accomplishments.aspx


This article from the National Catholic Register also does  a great job of summarizing Trump's accomplishments...

https://www.ncregister.com/news/trump-pro-life-legacy

Whataboutism: Priest Abuse

When is the last time that you were having a heated discussion or debate with someone about Catholic teaching and were winning the debate?   Your  opponent, backed into the corner, doesn't have an answer  so they responded  by changing the subject or making a different accusation.  Usually it comes in the form of an attack against the Catholic Church  such as priest abuse.  Here's a couple of examples that I recently found on Facebook. 

"Hmmm. 450 clery abused 2000 kids in illinois..which is probably a conservative estimate.  multiply that by 50 states.  Hmm seems to me Bill you have way bigger issues to deal with."

"Youre right..Its Catholic clergy abusing little kids..and bloated old messes like Bill D ignoring that."

"Breaking News: More than 1,900 minors were abused by people in the Catholic Church in Illinois over almost seven decades, the office of the state’s attorney general said Tuesday in an investigative report"

The tactic actually has a name. "Whataboutism".

Whataboutism is defined as the technique or practice of responding to an accusation or difficult question by making a counteraccusation or raising a different issue.

But never fear.  I have done my research and have an answer for this these accusations.

In the words of  Bishop Fulton Sheen

"There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be."

Many people reject Jesus because of bad experiences with religious people. But here's the thing... Jesus had bad experiences with religious people, too! Infact they killed Him. Most organizations  have scandals at one time or another.  Even Jesus Christ's ministry had a scandal when Judas  sold him out. The thing to remember is that people will let you down. Jesus won't.  

These accusations  don't  change the fact that Catholic Church is still the one true church started by Jesus Christ.  As the Apostles answered Jesus Christ in John 6, when they didn't understand His teachings on the Eucharist and all of His followers were leaving.  “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." These accusations don't change the fact that Jesus died  on the cross for our sins. The grace that we receive through the sacraments will still save us.  

Any time children are abused, it is serious stuff and we should be concerned. What you're not being told is that the Catholic Church has fixed, those problems. What you're not being told is what the Catholic Church has done to fix the problem.  

Many people including the mainstream  are critical of the Catholic Church. It is sad anytime a child, teenager or adult  is sexualy abused.  What they don't tell you is that most of the cases that you read about in the mainstream media are decades old. The mainstream media sees the Catholic Church as an easy target and likes to recycle old news. What they also don't tell you about are the great strides that the Catholic Church has done to correct the problem. They have settled many of those cases out of court.

After the Church reforms articulated in the Dallas Charter and Essential Norms (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2002a, 2002b), the number of new cases in the United States averaged about a dozen per year; during the past five years, it went down to about one new case per year. The Church has gone from averaging about 660 new cases of abuse per year during the 1970s to about 1 new case per year since about 2014 (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2011; Steinfels, 2019; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2018).

There are about 25,000 Catholic Priests  in the United States.  What they don't tell you about is all of the good priests who don't abuse children. What they don't tell you that a higher percentage of  public school teachers abuse children. Do you support public schools?  What  they don't tell you  that there are far more children sexualy abused in their homes. Why not? Maybe because the Catholic Church is an easy target. 

The Catholic Church does background checks on anyone who works with children. I just retired from my job last year and signed up to be a catechist teaching kids religion class at church.  They take it  very serious.  I had to take a  class on child abuse.  They also do a background check.

Check out the following article from the Catholic Diocese of Oklahoma City for more information on this subject. 

https://archokc.org/myths

Answering an Atheist: Postscript-Part 9 of 9

This is my last response to your blog post. 

Mike said the following:
Postscript - The billboard in the photo gives decidedly mixed messages. Presumably Christians can agree that Jesus is Lord—whatever that means. But as we have seen, the claim of  "coming soon" is decidedly suspect. Extending the incongruity, John 3:16 has nothing to do with the lordship of Jesus, nor of his return. It succinctly explains that God's great salvific act is an act of love; it is through love that God sent his Son, so that all who believe in him can be saved. It's a nice thought, even if it's unclear why "belief" is the criterion for salvation, and even if there's no evidence that it's true.

Why isn't it true? What's your proof? Only someone who doesn't believe in God would make that statement. Just because you've made the statement doesn't mean its not true. There is plenty of evidence proving that the Bible is true. You just have to know where to find it. There is only one truth. Something cannot be true and not true at the same time. Something that is true, is true whether you like it, want it, or believe it. Your personal feelings don't make it false.

I've made the argument that Jesus Christ is who He claimed be. I've made the argument that Jesus Christ is true God and true Man. I've made the argument that He is divine and human. He makes the rules. His Church makes the rules. If He says it, then its true whether you like it, want it, or believe it.

Jesus Christ says it's true! 

Matthew 10:32-33
32 “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

Salvation is more complicated than just believing in Him. That's a good start. There's a lot more.

Scripture teaches that one’s final salvation depends on the state of the soul at death. As Jesus himself tells us, “He who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt. 24:13; cf. 25:31–46). One who dies in the state of friendship with God (the state of grace) will go to heaven. The one who dies in a state of enmity and rebellion against God (the state of mortal sin) will go to hell.

This article also tells us that that we can lose our salvation. Paul confirms that.
“See then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off” (Rom. 11:22; see also Heb. 10:26–29, 2 Pet. 2:20–21).

But there's more...Salvation is a life long process, not just a one time event.
“Are you saved?” asks the Fundamentalist. The Catholic should reply: “As the Bible says, I am already saved (Rom. 8:24, Eph. 2:5–8), but I’m also being saved (1 Cor. 1:18, 2 Cor. 2:15, Phil. 2:12), and I have the hope that I will be saved (Rom. 5:9–10, 1 Cor. 3:12–15). Like the apostle Paul I am working out my salvation in fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), with hopeful confidence in the promises of Christ (Rom. 5:2, 2 Tim. 2:11–13).”

https://www.catholic.com/tract/assurance-of-salvation

Here's the deal. Belief is just one of many criterion. That's where it starts. The Bible tells us that there are many criterion. The Bible also tells us that the opposite is also true. The opposite is to disobey the Son. That means to obey Him is part of believing.

John 3:36
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.
Jesus Christ confirms that.

Matthew 10:32-33.
32 “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

Steve Ray explains salvation in this video...He tells us that there are many criterion for salvation. Nobody ever said it would be easy. We have to work on it every day of our lives.

https://youtu.be/rY0MIEsvOes

Here are the criterion for salvation.

• By believing in Christ.
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

Acts 16:31
30 Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 

• By repentance.
Acts 2:38
The First Converts
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers,[i] what should we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 3:9
8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you,[a] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 

• By Baptism.
John 3:5
 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
1 Peter 3:21
18 For Christ also died[b] for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

Titus 3:5
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water[a] of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 

• By work of the Spirit
John 3:5
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:6
5 Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, 6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

• By declaring with your mouth
Luke 12:8
8 “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; 
Romans 10:9
9 because[b] if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

• By coming to knowledge of the truth
1 Timothy 2:4
3 This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 
Hebrews 10:26
26 For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 

• By works
Romans 2:6,7
 6 For he will repay according to each one’s deeds: 7 to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 
James 2:24
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 

• By grace
Acts 15:11
11 On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
Ephesians 2:8
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—

• By his blood
Romans 5:9
9 Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.[
Hebrews 9:22
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

• By his righteousness
Romans 5:17
17 If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:1
To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:[c]

• By his Cross
Ephesians 2:16
16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body[c] through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.[d
Colossians 2:14
14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 

Father Mike Schmitz keeps it simple in this short video. 

https://youtu.be/TT4JAxfhgcQ

He asks the question...

Good people go to heaven when they die, right? 
Well according to the Gospels,  not exactly.  

Fr Schmitz points to at least 4 things Christ says we need for salvation.  

1. Baptism (John 3)

2. The Eucharist  (John 6)

3. Faith  (Romans 10:9)

4. Doing the Father's will (Matthew 25:31-46)

There you have it. That all comes straight from the Gospels.  It's true because Jesus Christ says it's true.  Not something like this fairy tale that you give your readers.
Nowhere,  as you have stated in the past,  do the Gospels say to, "be a good person" and its probably better that way because everyone has a different idea of what is good. If Jesus Christ will be judging us, what criteria will He use? But what is His definition of good? Where is that in the Gospel?

Christ has given us everything we need to achieve salvation.  His life and His teachings are well documented. When we do His will, we are being good.  Being a good person comes as a result of our love for God. This is all about His Love for us, and our love for Him. When we love Him, we do all that He commanded through His teaching in the Gospels. It starts with believing in Him. How do you  love someone if we don't believe in them?

Get to know Him! Not by your standards,  but by those of His Holy Church as professed in the Bible!  

Links to other posts in this series:

1. Answering an Atheist: Introduction

2. Answering an Atheist: Part 1 of 9

3. Answering an Atheist: Part 2 of 9

4. Answering an Atheist: Part 3 of  9

5. Answering an Atheist: Part 4 of 9

6. Answering an Atheist: Part 5 of 9

7. Answering an Atheist: Part 6 of 9

8. Answering an Atheist: Part 7 of 9

9. Answering an Atheist: Part 8 of 9

Answering an Atheist: Part 8 of 9

 

Mike said the following...

Point is, if someone pretends to have an idea about timing, you should be suspicious. What we do know for sure is that nothing has happened for two thousand years. So if you tell me Jesus is "coming soon," first thing I'm gonna ask is what do you mean by "soon?"

Of course we should be suspicious if someone tells you that they now when He will return. The main theme that runs throughout the Bible has always been that only the Father in heaven knows and that we should be prepared and live our lives as though He will return any minute. One article suggests that Jesus is patiently waiting to come back, because He is giving humanity as much time as possible to choose and follow Him. Jesus wants as many people as possible to repent and return to heaven with Him.

2 Peter 3:8-9 says, 
8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you,[a] not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

Peter is talking about people like you, Mike. People who have denied Him all of their adult lives. He's being patient hopeful that you'll see the light and come back to Him. All it takes is yours repentance.  All you have to do is ask for forgiveness from the many times that you have denied Him.  A two thousand year wait doesn't take away from the fact that Jesus Christ is God. Its Him being patient with you. He is your Lord and Savior. He is merciful and will take you back right up till the end. Matthew 20:1-16 tells you that. 

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage,[a] he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5 When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6 And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’  8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’  9 When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.[b] 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.[c] 11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’  13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?[d] 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’[e] 16 So the last will be first

All you have to do is repent from your past sins and ask for forgiveness. There are many good priests in Pittsburg who could help you with that. I would think that you could still get your marriage blessed by the church. There are lots of people including your family who are praying that you do.  

Links to other posts in this series:

1. Answering an Atheist: Introduction

2. Answering an Atheist: Part 1 of 9

3. Answering an Atheist: Part 2 of 9

4. Answering an Atheist: Part 3 of  9

5. Answering an Atheist: Part 4 of 9

6. Answering an Atheist: Part 5 of 9

7. Answering an Atheist: Part 6 of 9

8. Answering an Atheist: Part 7 of 9

9. Answering an Atheist: Postscript-Part 9 of 9