Posts Tagged ‘Catholic Bishops’

Recently the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops elected a new leader,  Archbishop Timothy Dolan.  It came as a surprise because this was the first time in 40 years, that the person in line to become the leader was not elected.  That bishop, Bishop Gerald Kicanas, then Vice President, was deemed too liberal.  And by liberal, they mean he didn’t condemn abortion and gay marriage harshly enough  Instead, Dolan won because he has quote unquote traditional values on abortion and same sex marriage.

You may remember how they fought to have anti-choice amendments added to health care reform.  But, if you think the Bishop’s line in the sand is just abortion and marriage discrimination, think again.  Just this fall the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops weighed in against birth control, telling federal regulators that it should not be considered “preventive” care in the implementation of health care reform.

My favorite point from their position letter: “But prescription contraceptives don’t prevent or screen for disease.  Their purpose is to block the normal functioning of a healthy reproductive system.  They prevent a person from being conceived or born.”

Why is it that Catholic Priests and Bishops, who take a vow of celibacy, think they have a say on anyone’s sex life?

I hate to say it, but let’s face it, this is a group best known in the past fifty years for molesting boys.    Recent research states that “approximately 4% of priests during the past half century (and mostly in the 1960s and 1970s) have had a sexual experience with a minor,”  compared to less than 0.2%  for the rest of the US population.  There have been over 4,000 priests named as sex offenders and over $2 billion in settled lawsuits.

So here’s a group of men, who have taken a vow of celibacy, weighing in on the reproductive lives of women.  Here’s a group of men who are not allowed to marry, declaring that other adults should not be allowed to marry the person they love.  Hmmm..

How about when you start needing birth control, you get a say, and when you start getting married,you get a say?

Until then, please stay out of my bedroom, my doctor’s office, and my government!

Local bishop, who opposed NC sex education, also opposes health care reform

Almost twenty years later and it’s still embarrassing to admit. I went to a Jesuit College for graduate school because I naively thought Geraldine Ferraro was a typical Catholic.
 

I grew up in Alabama, in a community with no known Catholics of any sort. I sat glued to the television watching the 1984 national Democratic convention when NY Governor Mario Cuomo—another liberal Catholic—delivered his powerful keynote address on the American Dream. As a first time voter, I proudly pulled the lever for the Ferraro/ Mondale ticket. We lost, but I’d been smitten by the belief that Catholics were a force for social justice.

So much so that after finishing college I packed up my bags and moved to NYC to attend the very school Ferraro attended. Imagine my surprise when fliers went up recruiting students to attend the annual anti-choice march in DC on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

I remember standing there, reading the sign, shaking my head in disbelief. Two decades later and I’m still shaking my head.

Last week the United Conference of Catholic Bishops—men who are not permitted to have sex with women and who do not support birth control—sent a memo to all Catholic congregations in the U.S. asking all Catholics in the country to contact their members of Congress to demand that current health care legislation be altered to include anti-choice amendments.

That’s right. Catholic Bishops are using health care reform as just another vehicle for their ongoing effort to take away a woman’s fundamental right to make childbearing decisions.

Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about the nuances of faith. I know the official Catholic position is anti-choice but I also know a whole lot of Catholics are as angry as I am to know that Catholic Bishops are disregarding the health of millions to advance a political agenda. If this makes you angry, TAKE ACTION.