US Bishops Fine With Birth Control Methods Other Than NFP

The United State Conference of Catholic Bishops approves of the use of chemicals for birth control when money and political pressure are involved. It is the official policy of our US Bishops to approve the use of emergency contraception by Catholic hospitals if a woman is admitted who was raped and it has been confirmed that she is not currently pregnant.

It seems odd to me that contraception can be used by Catholic hospitals, though traditionally (pre-Vatican II) it has been considered an intrinsic evil that cannot be condoned under any circumstances. This view is enunciated regularly by conservative Catholics and "Relevant" Radio.

Since approximately 1/3 of hospitals are Catholic hospitals, the main reason for this exception is obviously money and legal pressure. This appears to be the only to sway the arrogance of some bishops regarding the issue of birth control.

In truth they are also afraid to prohibit the use of birth control in hospitals. If they did so, they would have one of two situations. Catholic hospitals would either disobey the bishops or they would say, "Fine, but only if the diocese covers the legal costs when we are sued." The bishops fear both of these options.

Now if only there were a way to create a similar catch-22 with regards to the ordination of women. We would be ordaining women within the year if anyone was ingenious enough to think of the situation.

A Faithful Catholic

Weakland Playing Cards!!! Collect them All!!!

A while back a I happened upon one of these "prayer" cards. I know that at times I have been critical of Archbishop Dolan, but I have never mass-produced any prayer cards for his immediate removal. This is one of my problems with a particular brand of conservative Catholics. Their reason is always: "The Pope said so," "The bishop said so," "Canon Law said so," until of course the pope, bishop, or canon law disagrees with what they think. I also cannot stand liberals who quote the pope to make their case before conservatives. It indicates to me that the intellectual well has dried up.

To be honest, at times I wish we did have a different bishop, but as my initial blog states, the larger problem is the way in which the Catholic Church is currently structured. It now gives too much power to pope and bishop - whether liberal or conservative. There's an old story of a milk corporation with a great boss who is getting his workers to organize a union. One of the workers says to him, "Why are you having a union organized? You are a great owner. No one has a problem with your management." The owner wisely said to the worker, "While that may be true, I will not always be the owner."

A Faithful Catholic

Pope Benedict Endorses My Blog!

In a recent address to Italian students, Pope Benedict stated that the search for truth and faith are not mutually exclusive. In fact, "it is precisely the steady courageous search for the truth that opens the doors to faith." That's what this whole blog has been about: the search for truth without compromise. I find that some Catholics would like to compromise my thoughts with anti-intellectual epitaphs such as: "The Pope said so..." "The Pope is the authority..." "This Vatican document states..." "Canon Law states..." and so on and so on.

Benedict questioned the belief of some "that whoever has faith must renounce an unencumbered search for truth." That is one of the main reasons for my remaining Catholic: the strong intellectual tradition. Sure, in the process, those great heralds of a thinking Catholicism such as Aquinas and Newman will often find themselves wrongly condemned or chided, but in the end the Catholic Church will bless them and thank them.

A Faithful Catholic