Tuesday, November 24, 2009

A question of conscience.....

By Conservative Ken

Now, to begin, I will state for the record that I was raised in an Irish-Catholic home. I tell you that now so that as I talk about an event from this week's news, involving a member of our elected government you'll understand where I'm coming from. As you read, also keep in mind that I left the Catholic Church more than 30 years ago.

Abortion, in the eyes and laws of the Catholic Church, is tantamount to the murder of the unborn child. It is a sin - a mortal sin - the most severe of sins as defined by the Church.

This week, Congressman Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island was politely asked by his Archdiocese's Bishop, Bishop Tobin, to practice and work to more closely follow the faith in accordance with Church teachings. The Bishop also suggested to the Congressman that he should refrain from asking to partake in the sacrament of holy communion as a result of his non-support of Church doctrine. The congressman is a proponent of abortion rights, as are many Catholic members of congress and the senate.

Now, personally, I can support the idea of a woman having an abortion if there is a threat to life of the mother; in the case of incest or rape; and even in the case of a known and severe genetic abnormality in the unborn child. Beyond that, I think that abortion is all too often used as an additional - and final - means of birth control in this nation. To date, since the passing of Roe v Wade, this nation has aborted nearly 50,000,000 children. I do believe in the Christian God, and I'm fairly certain that God is not too happy about what we're doing here. So what is my point?

My point is that if one decides to identify oneself as part of a group; part of an organization; or especially part of a religion, that it be important for a person to abide by the group, organization, or religion's charter or rules. I applaud Bishop Tobin's position. For if the Congressman, or any other member of our government is going to publicly identify themselves as a Catholic, Jew, Rotarian, Mason, Shriner, Muslim, or any other group, he and/or they should make a meaningful representation of their membership by abiding by the group's rules.

Although I disagree politically with Congressman Kennedy and a host of others regarding abortion rights, I fully acknowledge and respect their rights to their opinions. That said, all I ask is they have the conviction of their beliefs and uphold them. Then again.....these are people running for office. What am I thinking?

1 comment:

The Deuce said...

I'm sorry to hear you left the Catholic Church. That's an orginization that could use a few more good men. I'm not Catholic ( baptised and raised Methodist ) but even with all the scandals the Catholic Church has been aflicted with, I still have a great deal of respect for it. It's among the most conservative of denominations ( for the most part ), and hence attempts to require its adherents to abide by church doctrine. My own church, the Methodists, are of the opinion that "anything goes." To say they have any meaningful doctrine or fundamental beliefs borders on the ludicrous.