Arlington Diocese parishioners question fidelity oath

Kathleen Riley, left, and Alison Carroll
resigned as teachers at St. Ann's
Sunday School.

Michelle Boorstein at the Washington Post has written another in a long string of articles misrepresenting and/or disparaging Catholicism, not that an anti-Catholic story in the Post isn't regular fare. In this installment it seems that two catechists at St. Ann's Parish in Arlington felt put upon by the Bishop when they were asked to sign a Profession of Faith in conjunction with their role of teaching Catholic children. Hmmm, really?  I would only ask how professing that you will teach the authentic Catholic faith somehow controversial? They ARE charged with teaching the Catholic faith as the Church teaches it after all. Would this be a story if a Presbyterian Pastor asked the same thing of his staff? Would it be newsworthy when Baptist Pastors disassociate themselves and their churches from other Baptist churches over doctrinal issues? Uh...somehow not. But when it's the Catholic Church, somehow the rules of the game change for our intrepid newshound. A friend put it well in a Facebook com box this afternoon,

"...Michelle Boorstein is notorious for cherry-picking her stories, her quotes and her sources. She stuffs the first 75% of the article with things she likes and saves the "fair and balanced" stuff for the end when nobody's reading anymore."

That sort of covers it concerning Boorstein's brand of journalism.

The current slate of American Bishops aren't making up new stuff here. They aren't inventing teachings out of whole cloth, you know, like Salvation by Faith Alone or something. If you disagree with the Church's teaching on salvation, abortion, contraception, so-called same-sex marriage, etc, etc, then the issue is yours not the Church's isn't it? For the church, despite Boorstein's innuendo to the contrary, has been utterly consistent. Open your heart and educate yourself. Yes, you have a right to your conscience, but shouldn't it be a well-formed conscience?  If you, in all humility, still don't believe what She teaches, there are tens of thousands of other options available to you. It is, after all, still a free country...for now.

All of that said however, as a Catholic, I EXPECT to be taught (and to ensure my children are taught) what the Church teaches. The teachers have the obligation to teach what the Church teaches and not confuse people with their opinion when it differs from settled teaching. And we, as parents, are our children's primary catechists. Make sure you are ALWAYS driving the bus that is their faith formation! Get to know your catechists and most of all, endeavor to KNOW AND GROW IN YOUR FAITH!

I'm sure it would be very telling to know what specific issues these (thankfully former) catechists have with Church teaching.

Technorati Tags: Catholic, Catechists, dissent, Freedom

Obama endorses Gay Marriage

Not that his statement comes as a surprise to anyone, but I think we definitely get a clearer view of President Obama's value system from it. For me it is the antithesis of the Pope's quote running in the masthead of this blog. Quoting the Washington Post article on his announcement,

"Obama hinted at the rapidly shifting political fault lines on Wednesday, saying he had weighed the teachings of his Christian faith against a growing pro-marriage consensus among younger Americans — a key target group for his reelection campaign."

He has confirmed me in my belief that he has no objective moral compass. In utter contrast to the Holy Father's quote above, our President believes that "truth" IS in fact, determined by majority vote. Additionally, it seems to me that he, in much the same way he has with the HHS mandate, is gambling. In this case on his base being energized more than the supporters of traditional marriage. In my opinion, his statement isn't coming from conviction but is instead motivated by political expedience. And as he did with the HHS mandate, he's made a serious tactical error. He is escalating the culture war that, if North Carolina's vote yesterday can be any indicator, will cost him the Presidency.

If we haven't already, we need to come to terms with the multiple front assault on this nation's traditional Christian values that has been underway since January of 2009. Take heed from Cardinal Dolan's response to the President's announcement,

"...we cannot be silent in the face of words or actions that would undermine the institution of marriage, the very cornerstone of our society. The people of this country, especially our children, deserve better."

Some might consider that hyperbole, but it is plainly the unfortunate reality we face...don't be silent...

Technorati Tags: Gay, Marriage, Religious, Freedom, Morality, Natural, Law

Sebelius, with friends like these...

Dazed and Confused?

I am sure by now that many of you have seen the video of Rep. Trey Gowdy's (R-S.C.) April 26th questioning of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius regarding the balance standards used in the Administration's propagation of the HHS Mandate. Outside of the fact that Representative Gowdy is dead right, what struck me most about this video is that "the law" and by extension the Constitution clearly had no relevance to the Secretary or the Administration in their decision. Let's grant, for a moment, that the Administration HAD actually done proper due diligence and in their view determined that a proper "balance" was struck between the "rights of women" and religious freedom. Don't you think that with the inherent constitutional issues surrounding the mandate that they could have better prepared their HHS Secretary to answer what should have been expected, not to mention reasonable, questions?  I may be crazy, but was it incompetence or were they simply not anticipating that someone would have the audacity to question them? Either way, it's scary.

If the HHS mandate withstands Supreme Court review a great travesty will have been perpetrated on the American people and the Constitution blatantly ignored. Once there, a slippery slope that will be my friends. I may be being naive, but I don't believe that will happen, for exactly the reasons outlined by Rep. Gowdy. As sad a public example as Sec. Sebelius has been for her fellow Catholics, she just may be our ace in the hole. With friends like her representing his position, the President's attempt to usurp the First Amendment will certainly fail. I say keep her testifying on the Hill until, say, November...

Technorati Tags: religion, politics, HHS