Roman Catholic

Two days ago, Pope Francis made waves when he announced that priests had the ability to grant absolution to anyone who repents for the sin of abortion. Naturally, this was met with both praise and condemnation alike. However, I think it is important to remember a few key points when discussing the matter on a purely theological level.

First, my own personal views on abortion should have no standing in a post like this. That being said, in the interest of full disclosure, I am pro-life. I am pro-life but I am also aware of the fact that I am not a woman and therefore do not now nor will I ever have the faintest idea of what emotions course through a woman when she finds out she is pregnant. So while I am pro-life, I am usually rather quiet about it. Perhaps I should be more vocal. However, that is something that I will have to answer for at the particular judgement. Now that my personal stance has been revealed, let’s get started.

The Unforgivable Sin is not abortion: Christ clearly states that there is only one sin which cannot be forgiven. In Luke 12:10 Jesus says; “Everyone who says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven, but no one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will be forgiven.” The question is then; what is blaspheming the Holy Spirit? Is it using foul language or cursing the Spirit? Is it the destruction of sacramentals such as crucifixes and miraculous medals? The answer is no. For the truly repentant, there is no sin that cannot be expunged by the infinite mercy of God. This means, that if a person is truly sorry for their transgressions, willing to take ownership of them, willing to wash them away in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and willing to make amends through prayer and acts of mercy and charity; God will most assuredly forgive them. So then what is the unforgivable sin? What did Christ mean when He referred to blaspheming the Holy Spirit as unforgivable? Simple. The belief that one cannot be forgiven for their sins and the rejection of God’s infinite mercy is unforgivable. Essentially the unforgivable sin is unforgivable because the transgressor doesn’t want to accept the forgiveness. St. John Paul II explains this thoroughly in his 1989 encyclical, Dominum et Vivificantem when he writes, “”blasphemy” does not properly consist in offending against the Holy Spirit in words; it consists rather in the refusal to accept the salvation which God offers to man through the Holy Spirit, working through the power of the Cross. If man rejects the “convincing concerning sin” which comes from the Holy Spirit and which has the power to save, he also rejects the “coming” of the Counselor-that “coming” which was accomplished in the Paschal Mystery, in union with the redemptive power of Christ’s Blood: the Blood which “purifies the conscience from dead works.” Anyone who opposes Pope Francis’ outreach to those who have had abortions through his allowance of priests to absolve them must ask themselves the following question. If the Church makes it nearly impossible for a truly repentant person to receive absolution for their sins, are they fostering the belief in some that there are sins that cannot be forgiven? Are they in fact, encouraging blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in individual’s minds regardless of intention? No sin, is unforgivable if someone honestly desires forgiveness.

My point: the grief, guilt, anguish and longing for a return to the Grace of God caused by sin and the faith and charity of the confessor should be the only criteria for an honest, heart-felt, soul-searching, legitimate confession. It is the infinite mercy of Christ that forgives sins. Not the ecclesiastical rank of the confessor.

It is the Church’s responsibility to offer as many avenues to Christ’s mercy as it possibly can. I may be wrong in my support for the Pope on this. I often am. However, I’d prefer to be wrong and on the side of mercy. Because Lord knows, we all need it.

It is no surprise that the left finds the Catholic Church to be an unfortunate obstacle. It is natural for any entity to attempt to overcome or lessen the influence or impact of obstacles. So when we read that the left attempted to essentially infiltrate the Catholic social world, it is sickening and angering but in the end no one will be fainting in disbelief. The Roman Catholic Church has stood the test of time literally and figuratively. It has been an obstacle to secular, progressive ideology before and God willing it will continue to fight against the rising the lunatic tide until Christ returns.

As Catholics, our duty is to act as torch-bearers in a world of darkness. It is through the Sacramental graces of the Church that we receive our strength from the Holy Spirit. It is through the ministry of the Church Militant and the grace of the Holy Spirit in our own vocations that sinners find their way to redemption and the world’s wounds are healed through Christ. As Christians of other denominations; your duty is to protect other Christians from attack and be just as outraged as those who are under seige.

But let’s be honest; as foot soldiers in God’s army, we are woefully lacking. Who could blame Democrats for seeing American Catholics as an easy mark? We beat our chests in a collective, coordinated and resounding, “mea culpa” when our dedication to the Church is questioned. Then afterwards we return to the polling places to routinely vote in pro-abortion candidates. We pick and choose our beliefs as if the Catechism were an options list when purchasing a new car. We extol the virtues of the family and then turn a divorce into juicy gossip. We give to Salvation Army Santas every Christmas yet roll up our windows when we see someone holding a, ‘homeless and hungry’ sign. We hand our parishes our envelopes every week only after we have sated our desires, not our needs.

Luckily, we have the sacrifice of Christ to redeem us for our shortcomings. So we are covered on that end. However, we have to deal with life on Earth first. These shortcomings which are old news in the eyes of the Risen Christ, are perfect fodder for the secular left which sees them as irredeemable hypocrisies which then makes the Church the perfect target.

I am only partly convinced that the attacks on the Church are motivated by swaying the Catholic voting block. The actual motivation for attacks on the Church is the overwhelming desire of the worldly ideologies which permeate the left to see the Church crumble. To laugh while it falls apart and then throw the ashes in our faces. To prove that they were stronger. To prove that they were obviously right and therefore we were obviously wrong. To prove to themselves that their ideas are more appealing than God. To in essence, make themselves equal with God.

Sounds an awful lot like pride. I wonder who’s motivating that?

Until we start acting like Christ’s Church, we can’t feign outrage at the current state of things. Until we wear our faith in Christ on our sleeves, we have no right to become upset when people question our loyalties. Until we solidify our social programs and organizations in faith, we can’t be disappointed that fake organizations get created as political pawns. We are doing the Church no good if we only want to be Catholic for an hour a week and the rest of the time we aren’t willing to defend her. Christ will never be ashamed of us, but I guarantee He can be disappointed in us.

Until we are ready and willing to face the slings and arrows of modern progressivism and stand up for what Christ told us to stand up for, we need to sit our collective asses down.

The Yankee Privateer

Pope Francis Speaks Frankly

Defensio Fidei