Spring 2004 Issue

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THE CATHOLIC WATCHDOG...
...A Question of Principles

    H.L. Mencken was a wordsmith and literary critic of uncommon quality. Granted, the Dog most certainly wouldn’t endorse a fair number of his opinions. His skepticism regarding, and yes, antipathy toward religion is well-known; he reserved some of his most trenchant and biting commentaries for what he viewed as some of the more extravagant follies of Christians. At any rate, even on that topic he displayed a sense of humor that we Catholics can readily admire. No Puritans we! A noted agnostic, he was asked what he would say to God, if, upon dying, he were to meet Him. With his characteristic wit, the “Sage of Baltimore” replied, “Gentlemen, I was wrong.” The joke is in his use of the plural form of the personal address. A little Trinitarian humor if you will; I like to think that God laughed at that one. At least he acknowledged that if he were wrong, it would most likely be the Christian God he was meeting. That’s gotta count for something.
    What has Mencken to do with this installment of The Catholic Watchdog? Well, his most famous quip was his description of Puritanism as “the haunting fear that somebody, somewhere, is having a good time.” I’ll paraphrase the Sage by noting that a major preoccupation of many American judges today is the “haunting fear that somebody, somewhere is a practicing Catholic.” Even the Catholic Church itself is not allowed to follow its own principles in their dreamworld.
    Not content with the distorted vision of “separation of church and state” to which they subscribe, the ACLU, the misnamed Catholics for a Free Choice, the liberal judges and the rest of the usual suspects want to separate Church and doctrine. They’ve had both reason to celebrate and reason to connive in recent months. As one would expect, they are celebrating a court decision and conniving against free people exercising their freedom. That’s how these social engineers have gone about reworking American society; if it can’t be done through the people, do it to the people.
    First, the celebration. The past year has seen the remarkable decision handed down by the California Supreme Court which ruled that Catholic Charities of Sacramento must provide for birth control through its employee health plan. Never mind that the Church considers birth control to be gravely immoral, as did all the Christian denominations before they caved to the spirit of the age. Incidentally, the history of Protestantism would make a nice case study in the domino theory. One fell, then they all fell.
    At any rate, the Court made its decision because Catholic Charities employs and serves non-Catholics as well as Catholics. So much for charity for all. So much for non-discrimination in hiring. Whatever happened to the vaunted separation of church and state? Is this not the State infringing upon the rights of the Church? One suspects that the relationship between the Catholic Church and the U.S. goverment that the cheerleaders of this nonsense would like to see would be akin to the relationship between Sammy Davis Jr. and the hierarchy of the Rat Pack, at least as it was described in the movie This Is Spinal Tap. In a memorable scene from that flick, Bruno Kirby plays a limo driver who chats up the band. He is reading Sammy’s autobiography entitled “Yes I Can.” Hilariously, Kirby tells the rockers that a more accurate title would be “Yes I Can?If Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin Say It’s Okay.”
    And that is exactly what the enemies of the Church would like Her to say. “Yes, I can if the powers that be say it’s okay.” God willing, the Catholic laity and leadership will recognize these assaults on our freedoms for what they are and respond accordingly.
    Looking at it from another angle, does California really want the Catholic Church to attend to the material welfare of only its own members? Do they realize what a chasm that would leave in the social services available to the poor, the immigrant and the indigent in that state? Surely, that is not the way the Church would have it, but to be forced to violate Her own (and, we Catholics believe, God’s) principles? I don’t think so, and I hope the bishops agree. If it comes to a choice between yielding to the ridiculous demands of the California Supreme Court and closing down Catholic Charities altogether, the Dog says shut it down. Maybe then, the Church’s enemies will better appreciate the services She renders in this country to Catholic and non-Catholic alike and the “pew potatoes” that my pastor talks about will actually get off our duffs and perform the corporal works of mercy.
    Now the conniving. The issue over which the usual suspects are gnashing their teeth is the movement afoot by doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others to refuse to act in ways contrary to their beliefs in the exercise of their professional duties, and, happily, an effort by legislators across the land to allow them, and even hospitals, to do so. More and more, people are rebelling at personal involvement in abortion and some even refuse to dispense contraception. Ellen Goodman, writing in the Boston Globe, admirably states that she “has no problem with a ‘conscience clause’ for an individual.” She rightly acknowledges that “no healthcare worker should be asked to perform a medical procedure against his beliefs,” though she does so not out of respect for religious freedom but out of fear of the consequences. “How would you like a doctor who opposes sterilization performing your vasectomy?” she asks. I guess I wouldn’t if I were ever to have one which I wouldn’t. Ouch.
    What bothers her is when entire hospitals take such a stance. She wonders, “How do you define an institution’s conscience? Is it the collective belief of the doctors, the employees, the patients? Or is it an edict of the bishops?” Guess what? It’s another one of those darn edicts of the bishops, though “edict” is a tad strong. More accurately, it is simply the constant teaching of the Church informing the lives of Catholics and the institutions which we create. Apparently that is an affront to the freedom-loving liberals in our midst. If the price of accepting any federal money is compromise on our most fundamental beliefs, well, are they beliefs or aren’t they? That is a question for the hierarchy to answer. What is it that we believe and what are we willing to suffer to be faithful to those beliefs?
    Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood, was quoted by the Globe in a different article as saying, “It’s part of the antichoice arrogance in which they believe they have the right to impose their ideology on everyone.” Huh? She and others like her are the ones who want to force individuals and institutions to violate their most cherished beliefs. If that is not imposing one’s ideology on everyone, I don’t know what is. You can’t get a rubber from the Catholic druggist? Walk down the street to the next pharmacy.
    The upshot of all this is that it seems there is quite a battle brewing between the Faith and the courts in this country. “May you live in interesting times.” The old Chinese curse comes to mind as the times get ever more interesting.

A word of caution to any anti-Catholic scribes: CAVE CANEM (Beware of the Dog).

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