75 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
75 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
UNJUSTIFIABLE HYPOCRISY - 08/24/93
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Op/Ed piece for AEN
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Todd A. Rourke 1:323/110
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system@cerbab.east-providence.ri.us
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lrdetrigan@aol.com
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Recently, a Catholic Priest advocated the running of an advertisement
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which depicted the following: A doctor poised ready with a scalpel
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over a very pregnant woman... and a man holding a gun out... ready to
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provide greater aeration for the doctor's cranium. The ad was to be
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called 'Justifiable Homicide'; meaning simply that it was fine to
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kill a doctor that does abortions. The priest's local diocese came
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down on him for this idea and informed him that the Catholic Church
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does not condone murder of any kind. The idea of this one priest,
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however, demonstrate the rabid fervor that is building over the issue
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of abortion and the position of the Catholic Church is about as
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comforting as a sewing needle in the eye.
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The Catholic Church takes a rigid stand on the abortion issue... it's
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safe to say that if you have an abortion, you have sinned most
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grievously. You're hell bound. Condemned to the fires of Hell. Is the
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fate of the children born under the auspices of the 'pro-life'
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movement much better? A life with a parent or parents that really
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would have preferred not being such? Condemned to a life of poverty
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and second-class status. Many might well prefer to be dead. All life
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is sacred to the church, however! To what level seems to be the
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question. I do not begrudge the Catholic Church the right of trying
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to outlaw abortion within its faithful followers. I do, however,
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expect the Church to be 'pro-life' in all cases. Does the church
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willfully take in ALL of these unwanted children? Does it give in
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depth counsel to these new and unwilling parents? No, I'm sorry... a
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pat on the shoulder and a 'God works in mysterious ways' does not
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count. Neither does a run down orphanage. Unfortunately there seems
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to be a trend to get the baby born, get it baptized into the church,
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and then forget about it until such time it's old enough to send
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money. If the Catholic Church is going to be the 'bedroom police', I
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expect at least a better job than this. Catholic in name only isn't
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much to hang your yarmulke on, John Paul.
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Pro-life to me is endorsing contraception... not trying to label it
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as taboo. You inhibit the conception, then there is no abortion, no
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murder, or no unwanted child making another hungry mouth to feed at
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the world's ever-shrinking dinner table. I'll buy the case that
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conception is the start of a HUMAN life... and that abortion should
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probably be avoided... but to slap the hand for the act and then to
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slap the other hand for trying to responsibly prevent the same? Pick
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one or the other... not both. If pro-life is simply making sure
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someone is born into no matter how horrible the situation, it's not
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for me.
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And so we have this gun-toting priest ready to shoot a doctor. Funny
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that as this story has been building, we've seen an abortion doctor
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gunned down in Wichita KS by a 'pro-life' advocate. It's always
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convenient to redefine the sacrament of life on the fly. I suppose
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the priest in question here is pleased... too bad it seems he's in
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direct violation of the edicts of his faith. Then again, it seems
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most of the Catholics in America are also in such direct violation.
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Yet, the Pope is infallible... this is what is taught. Does
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infallibility still count when you're a great minority even within
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the people who are supposed to be riveted to your every word?
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The church wants to be apolitical. I can understand that. I'd like to
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see the Catholic Church be apolitical as well. Too bad it just can't
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seem to keep itself out of the arena and out of the news. Priests
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condoning murder... Priests raping children... Priests getting
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married or having kids... and a hierarchy that tries very hard to
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scuttle these events under the rug and away from prying eyes. Looks
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to me like the Church is engaged in a not-so-veiled systematic war
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against children. I'm sure this is not the case at all... but when
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the roots of a tree grow rotten, the tree dies. Especially when the
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roots are so deep and protected, they cannot be reached for proper
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treatment. Amen.
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-TR
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