In a front page article above the fold in the Akron Beacon
Journal Congressman Tim Ryan made the announcement last week that he was no
longer pro-life. Though I am disappointed
in his decision and vehemently opposed to his position, I was appreciative of
the fact that he made his view know without vitriol. Where he crossed the line was using his
Catholic faith to bolster his position.
His presentation at this point became misleading and manipulative.
There are a couple of points he used to explain his change
of heart but there is one in particular that was just flagrantly wrong. Ryan, who the article describes as, “a practicing
Roman Catholic,” said, “The church (sic) has taught me to be compassionate and non-judgmental.” He said this in reference to women who seek
abortion. It did teach him to have
compassion. It did not teach him to
through good judgment out the window.
The new Gospel of Tolerance has only one passage in
Scripture, “Judge not lest ye be judged.”
This passage has been misinterpreted as meaning that we cannot be
opposed to what another person does (unless of course you disagree with Gospel
of Tolerance which will not be tolerated.)
Any number of Scriptures passages would adjure us to use wise judgment
when discerning the actions of others. The
caution in this passage is referring to a tendency to overreact, which may
recoil and end up bringing condemnation on ourselves, or the wrong temptation
to judge the state of a person’s soul rather than the value of their
action. But to use this passage as a
club to stop conversation (though he says otherwise) is an abuse of the
passage.
“This is really about the role of the government in all of
this,” Ryan states, “and the government’s involvement seems like a major
over-reach.” But of course the
government always has been and continues to be involved in such matters. When things go wrong; when one person is an
unwilling participant, when one is underage, when things are done in an inappropriate
place or way, when one wants to be married to more than one person, the
government is there. With the new Affordable
Healthcare Act, not only is the government involved, it is dragging in others
who do not even want to be involved. The
government’s fingerprints are all over this intimate moment. So with Ryan, I would agree that the
government should be less involved.
That is until another underrepresented, voiceless,
vulnerable person is involved. For when
a government starts deciding who has a soul and who does not, when it ceases to
protect the weakest members of its people, that government is failing.
I respectfully submit that this is what your faith was
trying to teach you Congressman Ryan. If
you want to continue to hold your new position, please do not mistakenly use
your faith for your justification.
14 comments:
Fr V, your homily on the same topic has been on my mind all week. I've been trying to come up with the words to say to Mr. Ryan myself. Instead,do we have permission to print this and mail it to Congressman Ryan? You say it in a much more eloquent way than anyone. Thank you. Thank you. A voice of reason in the wilderness.
To change from the support-for-abortion position to a pro-life position may come at a political price for some, or the loss of a job.
The pro-life position is not really endorsed by Mr. Ryan's political party at this time. Thus, changing from the pro-life position to the support-for-abortion position might bring an improvement in political standing within his party.
Mr. Gore, Mr. Clinton and the Reverend Jesse Jackson are three public figures whose position on abortion changed. All of them seemed to be pursuing more prominence within their political party.
What thoroughly disappoints me is the way we can have two distinct philosophies in our minds and think we are sane. As Screwtape mentioned in the Screwtape letters, my paraphrase, " we have taught the creatures to entertain two distinctly opposite thoughts in their heads and think there is nothing wrong with it. " His changing his mind in the name of compassion is the dark thread. Compassion moved Mother Theresa to Calcutta but she maintained the Gospel and it's truth. He is literally killing people with kindness in this argument. CS Lewis argued the same point that eventually men who start putting creatures out of their misery because of grave injury would start to find less and less injury to incur his kindness and therefore kill more and more to be kind.
Send your message directly to Ryan
Well said, Fr. V. As a resident of his District, from what I can see, Mr. Ryan's past position was not necessarily purely pro-life, as some have claimed. It sounds uncharitable, but it seems the only time he proclaimed his faith was at election time, probably to garner votes from other Catholics. It is time for Catholic politicians to remember their duty to others and to themselves. If he believes in his heart that abortion is murder, why would he promote it to others and endanger their souls and his? And if he does not believe that abortion is murder, why does he remain a Catholic?
The only reason for him to declare his faith was to garner votes. That's the problem. Apparently anyone who says they're catholic in the median view is. God forbid we hold them to the catechism as a sign of their faith. If you're going to be public about your faith then the faith should be clear on what it is and what it is not to the uninformed public.
Thank you Fr. V! The faithful desperately need clarification on how to interpret the Holy Father's "Who am I to judge?" Many, even within the Church, misunderstand and thus mislead souls, all the while passing judgement on and being intolerant of those of us who attempt to discriminate between right and wrong.
We may judge actions or ideas. We ought not judge people.
We need not tolerate actions or ideas. We ought to tolerate people.
Thank you Fr. Valencheck for your letter to the editor in today's (2-9-2015) Akron Beacon Journal. I wish more clergy would do the same or at least speak on the subject during homilies. I am stunned by what I hear Catholics understand about the faith. There was a time when it wasn't so. I'm especially sadden by the younger Catholic ... they don't know what they don't know.
Thank you for your letter to the editor Fr. V (however, they edited some of your best lines! ). As Mr. Ryan is a public figure, making a public statement which goes against Church teaching and using his "Catholic faith ", he should be denied communion. Until he publicly recants his position and goes to confession Canon Law 915 should be enforced. The scandal Mr. Ryan is bringing upon the faithful is unconscionable
From Ripp: Thank you Father V for your letter to the editor! It made my day!
PS THANK YOU, too, for the Sunday Latin Mass! We have to drive across town for it, but it is well worth it!
It is even more upsetting for a Congressman to change his views while he is already in office. He has been elected to represent the people based on his portrayal of himself as Catholic and pro-life. Not only is this a betrayal of the unborn, but a betrayal of the people who has cast their vote to put Ryan in office. Don't I, as a pro-life Catholic, have a right to a voice in Congress?! Where is my representation?!
Also, Ryan touts himself now as pro-choice, even while saying that he himself acknowledges that the baby is human life from conception. ...So, my question would be, does this newly-embraced pro-choice thinking of newly progressive and enlightened Congressman Ryan now extend to other areas? For example, if a family has a disabled child with high-intensity special needs, does Mr. Ryan now embrace allowing each family to decide for themselves whether or not they will kill their child?
...We are certainly in the midst of demonic influence being unleashed as never before in history. All civilizations have intrinsically recognized that human life is sacred in the womb.
He's pulling a Mario Cuomo... "I can't impose my Catholic faith upon the electorate ". What a crock. They seem to have no problem imposing their other views on them....
Also thank you so much Fr. V for the Latin Mass on Sunday. It is so worth the trip to be able to receive communion kneeling and from the priest in our ancient and universal language! From Lori
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