10th Sunday after Pentecost - Republicans and Pharisees who browbeat Catholics

Lincoln Cathedral. Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. mid 19th C.
To-day in the extraordinary form of the liturgy, is the 10th Sunday after Pentecost. To-day’s Gospel is from Luke xviii. 9-14:

And to some who trusted in themselves as just, and despised others, he spoke also this parable: Two men went up into the temple to pray: the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee standing, prayed thus with himself: O God, I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also is this publican. I fast twice in a week: I give tithes of all that I possess.And the publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven; but struck his breast, saying: O God, be merciful to me a sinner.I say to you, this man went down into his house justified rather that the other: because every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled: and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted.

A foundation of catholic ethics is, that, the means do not justify the ends. This is simple syllogism, false premises do not lead to a truthful conclusion.

The suspect Republican attacks the catholic, with the argument, that, a true catholic must vote for Republicans, because Democrats are for abortion. Whilst it is true, unfortunate but true, that the Democracy officially supports, virtually, unlimited access for the termination of pregnancies; it is not true, that, the Republicans will end or intend to end abortion.

When Republicans attack catholics and democrats, they never admit, that, their party is that of criminals, bandits and war criminals, who act in disregard of all laws. They sneer at the Geneva conventions and approve of torture. They have stolen the last, two, presidential elections and many other races, they suppress the vote, and use secret, criminal, organised, co-ordinated, tyrannical and anti-democratic tactics. They intend to install a one party government. Tom Delay and Karl Rove were their field marshals in the coup. Cheney and bush are the chief war criminals.

Under this regime, they had a span of unmitigated, undeterred power, when no one was allowed to effectively challenge them, in the slightest. They controlled all parts of the federal government. They wanted to do this in perpetuity. They wanted the government to be subjected to their party. In this part of their reign, they lied the US, and coerced other countries, into a war for oil. Their one unifying value is the worship of Mammon. They acted for economic royalists and war imperialists.

Did they direct a fraction of this concern and energy for the abolition of abortion? NO!, they did not!

Jesus taught us, that, no one can serve two masters. Either one worships God, or one worships Mammon. Show unto me, when the Republicans did not serve Mammon and Mars.

There are some who use the phrase ‘cafeteria Catholic’, and deride bleeding hearts. Catholic teaching has never approved of unjust wars, some Catholic teaching condemns all wars. These entrées are not chosen by too many Republicans now. Christ was scourged and crucified — horrible tortures. Jesus was the first bleeding heart; how can a Catholic deride the Sacred Heart? Apparently, when he joins the Republican party.

Now, there is a portion of the Democracy, that is rabidly, for abortion. A good percentage of them are anti-Catholic bigots. There are other Democrats that travel with them. These Democrats have repelled democrats away from the Democracy. Recently a few anti-abortion Democrats have won office, where, another sort of Democrat would not have. This could force the party away from the unreserved support for abortion. Pragmatism, that allows for a spectrum of belief, on abortion may lead to victories, and a reduction in abortions.

Giuliani is not the only Republican who supports abortion, they have latitude on that issue, they have none on others, he is full front and center with them. Catholic prelates don’t deny him Communion, or shame him on abortion. The Republicans have straight, party line votes far more often than Democrats. It may not be for the right reasons that the Democracy will move away from Bill Clinton’s alliance with NARAL, but they may for victories. The Republicans only use it to gain votes from the electorate. When Democrats free themselves from the abortionists, it will be hard for the Republicans to continue to browbeat Catholics. They will on ‘socialism’ and this should expose them as the mammon worshipers they are. The Republicans have shown hat they will oppose measures that reduce the attraction of abortion. Hypocrisy in the service of mammon.

Committed catholics, and other humanists, must push the Democracy to understand, that, the unborn are logically equal, in humanity, to all those who have attained the age of reason. No one who walks and talks has existed, that, hasn’t been in the womb, where he is utterly dependent. For those who are orthodox christians, we believe that Our God, in the person of Jesus, so entered the world.

Tertullian, before the end of the 2nd century, defending against false accusations of child sacrifice among christians:

For us, murder is once and for all forbidden; so even the child in the womb, while yet the mother’s blood is still being drawn on to form the human being, it is not lawful for us to destroy. To forbid birth is only to murder the sooner. It makes no difference whether one takes away the life once born or destroys it as it comes to birth. He is a man who is to be a man; the fruit is always present in the seed.

Even earlier, in the Didache, which was used in the first century as a catechism and a guide to behavior:

You shall not procure abortion. You shall not destroy a newborn child.

Now, those people who believe in other aspects of social justice and the Beatitudes, will never find them honored in the Republican party. The advertisement and false propaganda campaign of ‘compassionate conservatism’ was equivalent to nazi humanism. Arbeit macht frei.