Friday, September 26, 2008

Catholics Don't Believe the Bible: Who Knew?

I grew up in a sincerely non-Catholic part of the country, and so I learned quite a great deal about the Whore of Babylon (I see it's the Queen of Whores now): how Catholics worship Mary, and are generally pretty ignorant. At best.

Nothing new there. There's a long tradition in America, from the early colonies through Maria Monk and Thomas Nast, to quite a few contemporary churches, that are convinced that Catholics aren't, well, American.

(I know: Maria Monk's best-seller1 was set in Canada, where it was very popular, but her description of the horrors of a nunnery sold like hotcakes in the United States. And isn't doing badly now, commercially.2 )


(From Thomas Nast Portfolio, Ohio State University, used without permission.)
Look out! Here come the Catholics!

Growing up in a place like that, going to a non-Catholic church, it's a little surprising that I decided to become a Catholic myself. How that happened is another story, one that'll probably come out bit by by bit as this blog progresses.

This post is about some of the things people know, that just aren't so. I think it may help show how, ah, interesting it can be, being a Catholic citizen in America. I'm not complaining: this situation keeps me aware of what I believe, and why.

This may help you find your way around:

Contents

The Catholic Church Doesn't Believe in the Bible, Right?

Wrong. Flat wrong. I refer a great deal to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, because it's a good reference. That doesn't mean I don't believe the Bible. The Catechism itself is dripping with Biblical quotes and references.

Back to Contents

Catholics Aren't Allowed to Read the Bible, Right?

Hardly.

"The Church 'forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful . . . to learn 'the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ,' by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. 'Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.' "
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 133)

I've read the Bible twice, cover to cover. No bragging: just following orders.

Back to Contents
1The official title is "The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk, as Exhibited in a Narrative of Her Sufferings During a Residence of Five Years as a Novice and Two Years as a Black Nun, in the Hotel Dieu Nunnery in Montreal," but the book is usually called "The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk," for obvious reasons. People seem to have liked their titles long, back then.

2 I checked, and there are quite a few affordable reprints at Amazon.com, including one published in 2003, and another in 2007. Their sales rank was 1,478,318 and 1,405,186 in Books: Which isn't too bad, considering the size of Amazon's catalog.

More, at "Who Knew? Assertions, Assumptions and Assorted Weirdness from All Over"

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Elections and Citizenship, Catholic Style

Between the news and political advertising, I sometimes get the idea that it's 'all politics, all the time' here in America. Sort of like the end of football season, back before cable television brought some relief from the interminable pre-pre-post-pre-game shows and commentaries on the post-game commentary.

Despite my urge to walk away from campaigns that make get-rich-quick infomercials look stodgy and reasonable by comparison, I can't.

There's a presidential election coming up, and as a practicing Catholic I need to think about how to vote.

That's "and as a..." not "but as a...." As a Catholic, I don't have much of a choice. We're required to be good citizens. It says so in the Catechism: 2199, 1915, 2238-43, for starters:
"It is the duty of citizens to work with civil authority for building up society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2255)
That's a pretty good summary of what's expected of a Catholic citizen.

America's government is a constitution-based federal republic with a strong democratic tradition, voting responsibly is one of a citizen's duties. So, I vote. Responsibly, to the best of my ability.

The Catholic Church, Forms of Government, and the Myriad Ways of Humanity

I'm not saying that God favors the American political system. Again with the Catechism: 1901 and 1902 are summed up a little later:
"The diversity of political regimes is legitimate, provided they contribute to the good of the community."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1922)

You Mean, I Have to Think?!

The Catholic church doesn't believe in making life particularly easy for Catholics. We're supposed to use our brains, experience, and a well-formed conscience, to decide which candidate to vote for.

That's a lot of work. Happily, American bishops put together a website, Faithful Citizenship, with resources and information that tell us how to decide who to vote for. One of these is a 42-sheet statement, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. (It's in 'pdf' format, but odds are that you have that free Acrobat reader already.)

Bishops Luring Catholics With iPods!

Sounds pretty suspicious. Anglers use lures to catch fish, predators lure children away from playgrounds, and Catholic bishops are luring voters.

It must be true: I read it in the news.

Actually, it is true. In fact, the editorial piece with "lure" in the headline was what I think was a well-intentioned effort to discuss that Faithful Citizenship website.

The free iPod is given to a few people, chosen at random, who sign up for the Faithful Citizenship e-mail list. You don't have to sign up to use the website's resources.

I was impressed with how different news services handle similar stories:
  1. "U.S. Bishops Offering iPod to Faithful Citizen"
    ZENIT.org News Agency (September 22, 2008)
    • "WASHINGTON, D.C., SEPT. 22, 2008 (Zenit.org).- As the U.S. presidential elections approach, the nation's bishops are seeking new ways to reach citizens with guidelines for voting according to conscience.
    • "To encourage people to visit its website, the bishops are offering an iPod to a winner randomly selected from among those who register at the site to receive faithful citizenship resources...."
  2. "Bishops Use iPods to Lure Faithful Voters"
    The Trail (A Daily Diary of Campaign 2008), Washington Post (September 17, 2008)
    • "You know competition for American voters' attention has gotten intense when the Catholic Church starts giving away iPods.
    • "Yes folks, it's come to that, in this intense, information- (and misinformation) saturated campaign season. In an effort to get Americans to read their voters' guide, the nation's Roman Catholic bishops announced today that they are giving away a free digital recording device to a randomly-selected person who registers on the guide's Web site...."
    • "...This year's guide, called 'Forming Consciences For Faithful Citizenship,' repeats what other guides have said, which is that the church is against abortion, torture and deliberate attacks on noncombatants in war. And the guide acknowledges that Catholic voters have to weigh a range of 'intrinsic evils' and pick among candidates who never match up exactly with the Catholic Church on everything.
    • " 'There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate's unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons,' it says.
    • "However the bishops meant the document, the new multimedia push will certainly be watched closely by partisans on both sides, as Catholic voters -- who make up some 20 percent of all voters -- have been narrowly divided in recent years and are now squarely under strategists' microscopes...."
  3. "Catholic Bishops Offer Voting Guide, Allowing Some Flexibility on Issue of Abortion"
    The New York Times (November 15, 2007)
    • "Correction Appended
    • "BALTIMORE, Nov. 14 — The nation's Roman Catholic bishops approved principles Wednesday intended to guide Catholics in choosing whom to vote for but leaving the door open for them to back candidates who support abortion rights...."
    • "...Correction: November 16, 2007
      An article yesterday about the approval of principles by American Roman Catholic bishops to guide voters misstated what the principles said about 'intrinsic evils,' notably abortion. The document defines them as actions that must be opposed; it does not 'defend' them that way.
      "
All three cover the same general subject: Catholic bishops in America providing guidance to Catholic voters. However:
  1. ZENIT.org
    • This "is a non-profit international news agency, made up of a team of professionals and volunteers who are convinced of the extraordinary richness of the Catholic Church's message, particularly its social doctrine. The ZENIT team sees this message as a light for understanding today's world."
    • They are specifically sympathetic to Catholic beliefs
    • Just as important, ZENIT understands Catholic
      • Beliefs
      • Practices
    • ZENIT seems to understand that the American bishops are trying to inform American Catholics
  2. Washington Post
    • The Post is a traditional American newspaper
    • This particular article is a "daily diary," a sort of op-ed piece
    • I don't know what to make of the word "lure" in the headline, but the author seems to make some attempt to respond to, and perhaps understand, the bishops' efforts
  3. The New York Times
    • Another traditional American newspaper
    • At best, The Times seems to have a little trouble understanding the Catholic church.
    • The headline "Catholic Bishops Offer Voting Guide, Allowing Some Flexibility on Issue of Abortion" can be interpreted as implying that the Catholic church has been inflexible, rigid
      • Which is true enough, in some ways
      • Although I prefer terms like "firm" or "definite"
    • The "correction," published a day after the original article, suggests that the original claimed that the American bishops had come around to a more 'tolerant' view of abortion

In Conclusion (FINALLY!)

Glitches Happen
A bit of trivia about the Washington Post article: It has a link that's supposed to lead to "the guide's Web site." At this point, when you click on it, you get an error page that says: "We are unable to locate the page you requested. The page may have moved or may no longer be available"

I checked the link's code. It contains the correct URL, which is valid, and led me straight to the website. Looks like the Post's IT people may have a glitch on their hands.
Catholic Flexibility
Here's an excerpt from that "Faithful Citizenship" publication. I think it gives an idea of what the "flexibility" of the American bishops really is.

"...34. Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter's intent is to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate's opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity.

"35. There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate's unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil...."

Update (November 2, 2008)
I've been told, and believe, that the "Faithful Citizenship" is not the best publication for a Catholic to use, when deciding who to vote for. Part of the problem is that it is, as my source put it, a "400" level document, and what most voters need is more of a "Catholic Voting 101" guide.

A clearer set of guidelines is available at Priests for Life.
More, about

Sunday, September 21, 2008

40 Days for Life

40 Days for Life is a prayer vigil and protest that starts in two days, in Los Angeles, California; Boston, Massachusetts; and Fargo, North Dakota; and about 170 other places in America.

I realize that abortion is an unpleasant topic, but it's also a vital one: in several senses of the word.

Why Talk About This?

This blog is about "following Catholic beliefs and practices in America." From one point of view, that'd mean concentrating on "spiritual" things, like what prayers to say, how often to go to church, and whether or not I can have steak on Fridays.

That's important, but it isn't all there is to being a practicing Catholic. A hackneyed quip refers to people who are 'so heavenly minded, they're no earthly good.' In other words, my beliefs aren't worth much, if they don't translate into what I do as a member of my community.

At Mass recently, we were told about the 40 Days for Life program: and that we should participate and/or tell others about it. So, I picked up a pamphlet, did a little checking around, and now figure that this post should take care of the 'tell others about it' directive.

40 Days for Life: This is Doable

The www.40daysforlife.com website does a pretty good job of discussing the program, but I'll summarize part of one page here:

A program called program "BeingHuman" aired on EWTN tonight. I understand that you can watch it online. If you missed it, a DVD copy is available through Coalition for Life for $29. This is part of what "BeingHuman" had to say:
  • "This is your business."
    • "Many people feel abortion is wrong, I would never do it, I hope it stops.
    • "But if someone else chooses to have an abortion...who am I to interfere with their choice?... "
    • "...These children are not simply entrusted to their parents, they are entrusted to us all...."
  • "...we went in the back, and after each abortion we had to to reconstruct that baby to make sure all the body parts were there...."
  • "...abortion destroys an innocent human life...."
  • "...what are we going to do about it?"
"beingHuman Preview Video"
YouTube video
Video 2:29



I think "40 Days for Life" is a good idea. The program has three components:
  • Prayer and fasting
  • Constant vigil
  • Community outreach
I'm not going to be engaging in all three, but I can at least pray. And this post should count as some "community outreach."

Why Do I Care About Abortion?

I've already been born: so from a strictly self-centered point of view, I shouldn't care.

One reason that I'm against abortion is that the Church says so. These days, we're supposed to think that's simplistic, or stupid, or subservient. I can live with that. I was a teen in the sixties, and being counter-cultural doesn't have quite the horror for me that it might for others.

As for why the Catholic Church says not to kill our babies, the United States Council of Catholic Bishops put together a pretty good fact sheet.

As for how I see the abortion issue:

Abortion: It's Traditional

Abortion and infanticide are ancient traditions. Roman fathers had the right to abandon infants they didn't want. Reasons could be eugenic, letting a deformed boy die; or economic, discarding a girl whose dowry might become an unwanted expense.

People haven't changed all that much in the last two millennia or so. Eugenics and economics are still two reasons given for allowing parents to kill their children.

New Times, New Reasons

Time has brought some change, though. The Eugenics argument has shifted from a focus on 'improving the race' up to about the 1940s, to a concentration on a sort of lethal compassion.

A new twist is the invocation of psychological well-being for killing a baby. The argument there is that either the mother will feel bad if she doesn't off the kid, or the kid will feel bad. Since 1980, American law has given children the right to sue their parents, if the parents didn't kill them, and let the child suffer.

That was the case of Curlender v. Bio-Science Laboratories, where a judge ruled that "the child could have sued the parents, had the parents brought the child to term in the face of information concerning serious risks to the child"

No Matter How You Slice it, Abortion Still Snuffs Someone

My own views on abortion formed quite early, back in the sixties, when the emphasis was on 'quality of life,' and not letting people suffer a life with disabilities. I was born with defective hips, which needed considerable repair before I could lurch around.

As a high schooler, I realized that being alive with a painful and limiting deformity was better, on the whole, than being dead. My guess is that quite a few people who don't measure up to societal standards feel the same way.

Although Personally Opposed...

"Although personally opposed to abortion, I don't feel that I have the right to force my values on anyone else." That sounds very open-minded, and I've heard a pretty close paraphrase of that old chestnut within the year.

But, it won't wash.

Change the terms, and I think you'll see what I mean.

"Although personally opposed to honor killing, I don't feel that I have the right to impose my values on anyone else."

We've learned that honor killing is a time-honored tradition in some cultures. How dare we Euro-Americans presume to force out cultural mores on someone else?

I think that one reason we don't hear that argument is that, by and large, Americans, Euro- and otherwise, think that women are people. And that, as such, they have some rights. (To avoid any confusion here: I do not approve of the ancient custom of killing people, generally women, who allegedly offended their family in some way.)

I think that babies are people. Even if they haven't been born yet, and look funny. So, I think they have a right to life: just as much as the guy who took my parking space, or the person with a full cart and coupons in front of me at the checkout.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The Rosary is a Gang Symbol: Who Knew?

I read in the news that Tabitha Ruiz has worn her silver and ruby beaded rosary ever since she was a child. It's a gift from her mother.

And, it's verboten at Seagoville High School, near Dallas, Texas.

A security guard stopped her at the door.

That rosary is gang-related, according to the security guard. And, presumably, according to the school's principal.

To be fair, there's a nugget of truth in saying that rosaries are gang symbols.

" 'Lately they've been seen wearing religious jewelry such as the rosary worn by gang members, so it is a factor,' said Sr. Cpl Kevin Janse of the Dallas Police Department.

"Although rosaries are not specifically banned by name in the district's dress code, a DISD spokesman did say, 'It's up to the principal's discretion. We chose to err on the side of caution.' "

There's another point of view, of course. " 'If we back down to everything the gangs are doing, the gangs win,' said Taire Ferguson. 'Why should we take away her choice to express her religious beliefs because gangs are doing it? It's not right.' "
(Quotes from MyFox Dallas.)

I think I understand the school officials and law enforcement on this one.
  • Some gangs have, in fact, used rosaries as identifying symbols, or at least as fashion statements
  • Catholics use a great number of symbols and objects as part of the way they practice their faith
  • Protestants, by and large, don't
  • America has been a predominantly Protestant country, and so the relatively symbol-free Protestant expression of faith is the cultural norm
  • People departing from a norm stick out, by definition
And, since 'normal' people don't wear rosaries, and some gang members do, it's natural enough to assume that rosaries are gang symbols, and that people who wear rosaries are gang members. If I remember my logic correctly, that's an inductive fallacy. It's also a very human thing to do.

Besides, the Seagoville High School principal may be trying to protect students from being mis-identified as gang members, by banning rosaries. If that's the case, I trust that the dress code also bans all colors and articles of clothing that gangs use for identification.

A policy which, potentially, would turn the school into a nudist camp.

This sort of policy, which in effect tells people to check their religious practices at the door, makes me more sympathetic toward Muslims, Sikhs, and others whose system of belief encourages them to look a bit less like Yankees than most of us do.

More, at "Student Told Rosary is Gang Symbol" (MyFox Dallas (September 16, 2008)).

Still more, at "Who Knew? Assertions, Assumptions and Assorted Weirdness from All Over"

Catholic Beliefs and Practices: Don't Believe Everything You Read



I sometimes get the impression that many people learned most of what they believe about Catholics and Catholicism from periodicals purchased at grocery checkouts.

For example, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta isn't a seer: despite what you may have read in the papers. I realize that tabloids need to have attention-getting headlines, like "Abraham Lincoln Was A Woman!" - but the cover in that photo made me a little nostalgic for the days when space alien abductions and Elvis sightings were more common subjects for the imaginative end of the press pool.

Back to Mother Teresa: There's a pretty good write-up about her on EWTN ("Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Peacemaker, Pioneer, Legend," including a biography and several quotes).

The point of this post is that not everyone who writes about Catholic beliefs and practices knows a great deal about them.

And, sadly, the same is true for people who are in positions of authority. More about that at another time.

Here are two online resources that are a bit better informed about Catholicism than that tabloid: A word about the Catechism: The one I link to is the official English translation of the Latin document. It's quite useful for people who read English, but it's not an "American" document. The Catechism is written for the Catholic Church, and so does not go into details of life and faith that are specific to one culture or another. The USCCB provides an "Informative Dossier" that describes what the Catechism is, how it was made, what it does, and what it doesn't do.

What's it Like, Being a Catholic in America?

About 300 million people live in America. Roughly one out of every four is Catholic. And one of them is me.

You're not as likely to meet a Catholic in America as you are in Mexico, Poland, Kenya, or the Philippines: but odds are pretty good that you know one, or that someone you know does.

We're Hispanic, white, black, American Indian, Asian, and quite a few other ethnicities.

And we've been here for quite a while. Baltimore became the seat of the first American diocese in 1789: and the first archdiocese in 1808.

Following Catholic beliefs and practices in America: One man's experience

This blog is about my experiences as a practicing Catholic living in America. My values are somewhat counter-cultural, so following my beliefs in a system that isn't built around them can be challenging.

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Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.