Priority Check
It certainly has been a difficult year, but I think we members of Concerned Catholics for Consistency in Messaging can be proud of what we’ve accomplished. With Donald Trump back in office, we knew everyone would be watching to see what values American Catholics truly stand for. They got their answer when Sen. Dick Durbin decided not to accept an award for his advocacy in support of immigrants at a benefit hosted by the Archdiocese of Chicago. The integrity of the Catholic Church in America remains intact.
Yes, this was a close call. Cardinal Blase Cupich was actually planning to tell a room full of people what a great friend Durbin had been to immigrants, and what a valued partner he had been to the Church in its mission to advocate for their dignity, from authoring the DREAM Act to protesting ICE detention of pregnant women in conditions that led to miscarriage. If Bishop Paprocki hadn’t published an article in First Things to object, we might never have known it was happening! Imagine the scandal that could have caused—assuming anyone did find out about it, I mean! Without the intervention of Bishop Paprocki and nine other courageous bishops—all of them acting independently and without coordination of any kind that you could fairly describe as “political”—the public might have seen the Church honoring a legislator for doing something good and not even stopped to think about abortion! What a betrayal of our people, who look to us for clarity in these polarizing times.
Sometimes it seems like no one wants to talk about abortion anymore. But just because we got Roe v. Wade overturned doesn’t mean we can take our eye off the ball. There are still people who think legal abortion restrictions are dangerous, just because women keep dying of complications from pregnancy that an abortion-related procedure could have prevented. As long as people insist abortion is a complicated issue, we must stand firm, saying “No, it isn’t,” as our faith demands.
We’ve all heard the confusion. Our fellow Catholics turn to us, asking, “Shouldn’t we speak up for our immigrant neighbors when they come under attack?” Or, “Didn’t the Dobbs decision oblige the Church to take concrete steps to ensure that its pro-life advocacy doesn’t negatively impact women’s access to life-saving health care?” Or even, “How many Nazi salutes and memes will it take before we recognize this administration’s intentions for what they are, and respond to them accordingly?” It can be hard to keep your focus. Why, on the very same day Cardinal Cupich announced that Durbin would not accept the award, armed federal agents stormed an apartment building in Chicago, dragging people from their beds and throwing them into unmarked cars, laughing as they zip-tied naked children who had been torn away from their parents. In the midst of all this turmoil, it’s so important to provide a concrete example of what it means to live the Gospel with integrity. And that’s why, when we saw a man who tepidly favored abortion rights and also consistently advocated for immigration reform being honored for the second thing, we said, “What about abortion, though?” so loudly and insistently that we forced that man to back out of receiving the award. In such moments, everyone can see our priorities.
Not that we can afford to let our guard down! Every day brings a new threat to our clarity, and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that the latest distraction came from the pope himself. A reporter asked him about Durbin getting this award from Cupich, and instead of condemning it clearly, Leo said, and I quote, “Someone who says ‘I’m against abortion but I’m in favor of the death penalty’ is not really pro-life. Someone who says ‘I’m against abortion, but I’m in favor of the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States’—I don’t know if that’s pro-life.” Who ever thought we’d hear the pope sounding so much like a Chicago Democrat? And I don’t just mean the accent. Well, Pope Leo can change the subject all he wants. As long as we’re talking about a pro-choice politician, none of his examples are relevant. I mean, really, what does the death penalty have to do with being pro-life? And surely “inhuman” treatment is a matter of prudential judgment.
So, yes, there are still challenges ahead. But we will keep our eyes fixed on the prize, which used to be overturning Roe v. Wade. Now, it’s a little less concrete. But we remain fixated! It is our duty to make sure people know where the Catholic Church stands on abortion, and we’ll keep making life miserable for any so-called Catholic who stands up for anything else.
No comments:
Post a Comment