I'm always happy when I see a Bishop standing up for the unborn! And Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas, Texas isn't about to let the truth be obscured by a man who seems to have a loose relationship with both the truth and reality (the second part of that claim is based on the very last Charles Curran quote in this post). All the emphasis in the articles below is mine:
"The Rev. Charles Curran is a Catholic priest and ethicist who has long taught at SMU, and who also has a history of tangling with the Vatican over social issues.
He's to give a lecture Thursday at SMU titled "The U.S. Catholic Bishops and Abortion Legislation: A Critique From Within the Church."
An SMU press release says: "Curran's lecture will examine how U.S. Roman Catholic bishops have made opposition to legal abortion their primary social issue, and will challenge the bishops from a theological perspective for claiming too much certitude in their position."
Farrell issued a statement, saying he had become aware of the lecture.
"The act of directly taking an unborn life is wrong and has always been wrong," Farrell said. "This has been the constant teaching of the church."
Near the end of the statement, Farrell said, "I regret that Father Curran has chosen to criticize the position of the bishops of the United States on this matter.""
"Too much certitude?" How can one be too certain that murdering an unborn child is wrong?
After reading comments defending Father Curran I decided to google him and see what I could find that was "in his own words." It further convinced me that Bishop Farrell is absolutely right in clarifying what is true for the people he is charged with shepherding.
How can the Catholic Church offer sanctuary for undocumented workers, but not women who choose to have an abortion or two men who want to marry?
"Well, the obvious answer is that we have hierarchical teaching that is against the two things and in favor of the other... You see, we may have to recognize that we don't give enough rights to the fetus. I think we've given too much, but there is still the danger that we might not give enough."
Would the Catholic Church have greater credibility today if it had allowed priests to marry and women to be ordained?And then he makes statements like this:
"Oh, yes. I don't think there is any doubt about that anymore. This is a good illustration of how the congregation has gone out way ahead of the church; where people know and understand this. The credibility is lost when they don't see the church making the changes that are obvious."
"There is no doubt, that the strongest opposition to modern liberties and human rights during the 18th, 19th and into the 20th century came from the Roman Catholic Church."See, this is what happens when our understanding of history comes from such great sources as Monty Python. People like Charles Curran speak and there are people who actually believe that what he's saying reflects some version of reality. I mean seriously, even people who absolutely hate the Catholic Church (unless they're an incredibly paranoid conspiracy theorist) would admit that there have been quite a few "oppositions" to "human rights" far greater than anything that has come from the Church Jesus founded with Peter.
Speaking the truth isn't always popular. But as I've started to look for a "Bishop of the Week" each week I've been heartened by those that I've read about!
"There is no doubt, that the strongest opposition to modern liberties and human rights during the 18th, 19th and into the 20th century came from the Roman Catholic Church."
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the Roman Catholic Church being responsible for the institution of slavery in the United States.
Human rights become threatened when we view another group of persons as somehow "less than human". Hence why the unborn are in such a dangerous place--legislation does not grant them the rights it does other humans.
I live in the Dallas Diocese, and we do have a great Bishop! I was happy to see he made it into your Bishop of the Week post. :D
ReplyDeleteIt's bad enough when Catholic theologians and educators speak out against the Church in an effort try to force some kind of "change", but when those people are part of our clergy, the scandalousness of it is simply heart-wrenching.
How can the uninformed and poorly informed masses help but think that the Catholic Church is nothing more than a backwards, arbitrary, misogynistic institution in a state of continual error, when members of our on clergy dissent enough to say ridiculous things like:
"This is a good illustration of how the congregation has gone out way ahead of the church; where people know and understand this. The credibility is lost when they don't see the church making the changes that are obvious."
I'm of the opinion that openly dissenting clergy cause some of the worst damage to the Church. This is why we have to pray and fast ardently for them, because they have the potential to damage the souls and salvation of far more people than just themselves.
Thanks so much for the informative post, and thanks for honoring Bishop Farrell!
Casey