Just when I thought that I had heard it all, and just when I had decided that I might leave the news and opinions to someone else and concentrate on spirituality instead at my blog, the news breaks that Commonwealth Catholic Charities (Virginia) has allegedly helped a 16-year-old illegal immigrant to procure an abortion. You can get the story here; however, since it's on AP I won't bother to copy and paste anything. Hopefully they won't mind the link too much.
Not only has Commonwealth Catholic Charities gotten itself into a predicament, according to the story it also has involved the USCCB overall, which reportedly receives 7.6 million a year to place unaccompanied illegal immigrant children in foster care. Furthermore, federal law prevents the use of its funding for abortions except in cases of incest and rape or when the life of the mother is in danger should the pregnancy continue. Evidently none of these were part of the case involved.
Still, we don't expect to hear of this from any organization that has "Catholic" as a part of it name--especially not from Catholic Charities, which over the years I have personally grown to respect a great deal. Needless to say, the story is a great disappointment.
Indeed the only way I can describe learning of this news is say that I am completely shocked, but somehow not too surprised. For me it's an indication of a mindset that I have frequently encountered in social services (even in Catholic circles) that leans toward replacing traditional values with those of the current relativistic world view. Sadly, you can find it just about anywhere that you care to look deep enough.
If there's a lesson it has to do with those things we have been taught to value as a part of our tradition. Get tough, dig your heels in, and say *no* (explicative optional) to the attitude that says everything is okay with our world (and its values) and that we just need to have a positive outlook. Quite the contrary, our world is in need of the gospel message more now than any time in history--the battle rages all around. It may be the Irish in me, but I'm feeling a little scrappy.
We Irish come with more buttons, I think.
I dunno; I've read popes from hundreds of years ago gauging the state of the world just as dreadfully--and most of 'em hadn't even visited America! But you've hit on something about social justice that's true; we shouldn't be paying anyone to do what ought to be done for free.
Posted by: Carol | June 22, 2008 at 09:13 PM
Deacon Dan, I guess I am simple minded enough to believe that abortion, no matter by whom it is procured, or the circumstances, is murder, plain and simple. It matters not what nebulous terms in which this heinous crime is couched -- murder is murder. I weep for the souls who have been tricked into this complacent, relativistic coma. I bear them no ill will, but I do pray for their eternal souls. We've been lead to believe that somehow Hell does not exist, but it truly does. It is just tragic how this evil has been foisted upon us.
Posted by: Lynne of Austin | July 01, 2008 at 03:24 PM
Lynne, thank you for your comment. I wouldn't call you simple minded at all--You are correct: abortion is murder. I'm not going to budge on that one iota. Nor will I support positions--verbal, political, blogs, etc.--that are "soft" on abortion. It is a tradgedy that we live in times where many great evils are foisted upon us. Abortion is just one them. Nevertheless, I still have faith that God will answer our prayers and deliver us from evil. One thing to keep in mind though--while the world around us is busy (working quite hard actually) in a partnership with evil, we must work even harder in the partnership with goodness.
Posted by: Deacon DW | July 01, 2008 at 03:52 PM