The Phony Arguments

 

Garry Wills takes a realistic look at the Republican Tea Party in hi s article Contraception's Con Men.

By a revolting combination of con men and fanatics, the current primary race has become a demonstration that the Republican party does not deserve serious consideration for public office. Take the controversy over contraceptives. American bishops at first opposed having hospitals and schools connected with them pay employee health costs for contraceptives. But when the President backed off from that requirement, saying insurance companies can pay the costs, the bishops doubled down and said no one should have to pay for anything so evil as contraception. Some Republicans are using the bishops’ stupidity to hurt the supposed "moderate" candidate Mitt Romney, giving a temporary leg up to the faux naïf Rick Santorum; others are attacking Barack Obama as an "enemy of religion."

Pusillanimous Catholics - Mark Shields and even, to a degree, the admirable E. J. Dionne - are saying that Catholics understandably resent an attack on "their" doctrine (even though they do not personally believe in it). Omnidirectional bad-faith arguments have clustered around what is falsely presented as a defense of "faith." The layers of ignorance are equaled only by the willingness of people "of all faiths" to use them for their own purposes. Consider just some of the layers:

The Phony Religious Freedom Argument 

The bishops’ opposition to contraception is not an argument for a "conscience exemption." It is a way of imposing Catholic requirements on non-Catholics. This is religious dictatorship, not religious freedom.

Contraception is not even a religious matter. Nowhere in Scripture or the Creed is it forbidden. Catholic authorities themselves say it is a matter of "natural law," over which natural reason is the arbiter - and natural reason, even for Catholics, has long rejected the idea that contraception is evil. More of that later; what matters here is that contraception is legal, ordinary, and accepted even by most Catholics. To say that others must accept what Catholics themselves do not is bad enough. To say that President Obama is "trying to destroy the Catholic Church" if he does not accept it is much, much worse.

To disagree with Catholic bishops is called "disrespectful," an offense against religious freedom. That is why there is a kind of taboo against bringing up Romney’s Mormonism. But if Romney sincerely believed in polygamy on religious grounds, as his grandfather did, he would not even be considered for the presidency - any more than a sincere Christian Scientist, who rejects the use of medicine, would be voted for to handle public health care. Yet a man who believes that contraception is evil is an aberrant from the American norm, like the polygamist or the faith healer.

The Phony Contraception Argument

The opposition to contraception has, as I said, no scriptural basis. Pope Pius XI once said that it did, citing in his encyclical Casti Connubii (1930) the condemnation of Onan for "spilling his seed" rather than impregnating a woman (Genesis 38.9). But later popes had to back off from this claim, since everyone agrees now that Onan’s sin was not carrying out his duty to give his brother an heir (Deuteronomy 25.5-6). Then the "natural law" was fallen back on, saying that the natural purpose of sex is procreation, and any use of it for other purposes is "unnatural." But a primary natural purpose does not of necessity exclude ancillary advantages. The purpose of eating is to sustain life, but that does not make all eating that is not necessary to subsistence "unnatural." One can eat, beyond the bare minimum to exist, to express fellowship, as one can have sex, beyond the begetting of a child with each act, to express love.

The Roman authorities would not have fallen for such a silly argument but for a deep historical disrelish for sex itself. Early Fathers and medieval theologians considered sex unworthy when not actually sinful. That is why virgin saints and celibate priests were prized above married couples. Thomas Aquinas said that priests must not be married, since "those in holy orders handle the sacred vessels and the sacrament itself, and therefore it is proper (decens) that they preserve, by abstinences, a body undefiled (munditia corporalis) (Summa Theologiae, Part 3 Supplement, Question 53, article 3, Response). Marriage, you see, makes for defilement (immunditia). The ban on contraception is a hangover from the period when the body itself was considered unclean, as Peter Brown overwhelmingly proved in The Body and Society (1988).

The Phony "Church Teaches" Argument

Catholics who do not accept the phony argument over contraception are said to be "going against the teachings of their church." That is nonsense. They are their church. The Second Vatican Council defines the church as "the people of God." Thinking that the pope is the church is a relic of the days when a monarch was said to be his realm. The king was "Denmark." Catholics have long realized that their own grasp of certain things, especially sex, has a validity that is lost on the celibate male hierarchy. This is particularly true where celibacy is concerned.

There was broad disagreement with Pius XI’s 1930 encyclical on the matter. Pope Paul VI set up a study group of loyal and devout Catholics, lay and clerical, to make recommendations. The group overwhelmingly voted to change the teaching of Pius XI. But cardinals in the Roman Curia convinced Paul that any change would suggest that the church’s teachings are not eternal (though Casti Connubii had not been declared infallible, by the papacy’s own standards).

When Paul reaffirmed the ban on birth control in Humanae Vitae (1968) there was massive rejection of it. Some left the church. Some just ignored it. Paradoxically, the document formed to convey the idea that papal teaching is inerrant just convinced most people that it can be loony. The priest-sociologist Andrew Greeley said that Humanae Vitae did more damage to the papacy than any of the so-called "liberal" movements in Catholicism. When Pius IX condemned democracy and modern science in his Syllabus of Errors (1864), the Catholic historian Lord Acton said that Catholics were too sensible to go crazy every time a pope does. The reaction to Humanae Vitae proves that.

The Phony "Undying Principle" Argument

Rick Santorum is a nice smiley fanatic. He does not believe in evolution or global warming or women in the workplace. He equates gay sex with bestiality (Rick "Man on Dog" Santorum). He equates contraception with the guillotine. Only a brain-dead party could think him a worthy presidential candidate. Yet he is praised by television pundits, night and day, for being "sincere" and "standing by what he believes." He is the principled alternative to the evil Moderation of Mitt Romney and the evil Evil of Newt Gingrich. He is presented as a model Catholic. Torquemada was, in that sense, a model Catholic. Messrs. Boehner and McConnell call him a martyr to religious freedom. A young priest I saw on television, modeling himself on his hero Santorum, said, "I would rather die than give up my church’s principles." What we are seeing is not a defense of undying principle but a stampede toward a temporarily exploitable lunacy. Acton to the rescue!

  This is just another example of religion being used to destroy the freedoms of those who don't agree.

'Hell No' To Obama on Everything!

John Cory sees the outrage that is fomenting by the GOP Tea Party against President Obama is merely a cover up for reality.  Cory accurately says, "Maybe it's just me, but getting lectures on morality from the Catholic Church is like getting cooking lessons from cannibals. The broth smells so good until you realize that you are the prime ingredient." John Cory knows, "What It's All About."

Can we stop the nonsense about contraception and morality and call this crap what it is? Politics.

Attack Obama.

This has nothing to do with a war on religion or religious freedom. This is all about attacking, blocking, and otherwise hindering President Obama from accomplishing anything that could be interpreted as successful or popular with the people. This is politics, and politics trumps God in this country. Mitch McConnell made it perfectly clear when he said that the priority of the GOP was "for President Obama to be a one-term president." Everything else is just tinsel.

These people are shills for their own self-interests and political gain. It's all a scam, a game of Three-card Monte on the corner of Church Street and Pennsylvania Avenue run by Bible-thumping Bunco artists looking to fleece the voting public.

Maybe it's just me, but getting lectures on morality from the Catholic Church is like getting cooking lessons from cannibals. The broth smells so good until you realize that you are the prime ingredient.

Let's be honest, all these voices howling about "freedom of religion" are the same shrill voices that denounce mosques in America. These are the same folks who claim that the religion of a billion people in this world is not a "religion" at all, and see nothing wrong with allowing one group of citizens to vote on whether or not the other citizens should be allowed to build a house of worship in their city. Religious freedom? Really?

These are the Grand Poobahs of Piety and their sanctimonious Sisters of the Smelling Salts running hither and yon as they flap their lips and arms to draw nearer, not to heaven, but to the holy wallet of Our Lady of Campaign Cash in order to vanquish that heathen radical liberal centrist Obama.

This is shadow theatre - sleight of hand and misdirection - with a twofer value. While the holier-than-thou players shout and jump for Jesus onstage, the real show is backstage. Attack Obama and put women in their place. Is God great, or what!

These heroic hypocrites battle big government and valiantly strive to shrink it down to a size that will fit in your bedroom, or more importantly, in a woman's uterus or other lady parts. Of course, they fight equally hard (forgive me) to free penises everywhere in order to preserve a true manly America. Viva Viagra!

The right-wing Christian conservative movement has been courted and embraced by the GOP. United, they move forward to weaken the Violence Against Women Act, push state laws to loosen domestic abuse and defund Planned Parenthood. And, on a subtle and chilling note, consider how Ron Paul recently responded to Piers Morgan when questioned about rape and medical treatment to prevent pregnancy. Paul said: "No. If it's an honest rape, that individual should go immediately to the emergency room ..." And no, Piers Morgan never asked Ron Paul to define what he meant by "honest rape," or what constitutes an "honest rape."

Most Americans have more common sense than the holy trinity of politicians, pundits, and priests. Just look at what happened recently with the Ellen DeGeneres fiasco. If you saw Ellen defend herself on her show, it was a moment of class and humor and humanity. The audience roared approval. Damn those suburban lesbian housewives! Damn tolerance and equality!

JC Penney refused to buckle to the One Million Moms (not really one million), and publicly stated that Ellen shared their values and their employee's values and they looked forward to a successful partnership with Ellen. Fans inundated the One Million Moms with indignation and disgust, so much so that apparently that hateful group has now taken down its Facebook page and skulked off to dark coven meetings in search of their souls. (One Million Moms is not the same as or affiliated with Million Moms Challenge, which is a worldwide health-oriented endeavor to help moms around the world.)

Damn the free-market!

And what about Obama? He announced a compromise on this contraception brouhaha as of Friday. How's that working out? Everybody feel better? Didn't think so.

It doesn't matter what President Obama tries, concedes, or compromises on any issue. The hucksters of hypocrisy will turn out to cast stones because that's what they do. They think that the spelling of G-O-D and G-O-P is divine intervention and not merely the separation by ten letters of the alphabet. It is a heavenly omen that designates them as the only and righteous descendents of power over our world. No one else is ever allowed to touch the throne.

This is about power and greed and the hypocritical call of freedom to force others to live and think and do as instructed by those who have elected themselves as the Chosen. Obey without question. God only speaks to me, and those who fund my politics. You have freedom of choice - as long as you choose the right way.

The fear of true democracy, equality, tolerance and choice has never been so obvious as it is today. There is panic in the golden streets of DC.

Washington State just passed marriage equality. The California courts ruled Prop. 8 unconstitutional. More and more Americans don't believe that one group of citizens has the right to limit the unalienable rights of other citizens or to define them as less than. The military has overturned Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Churches are opening their doors to gay members and allowing marriages.

Women are slowly winning the battle for equal pay for equal work. They are uniting in the belief that they own their own bodies, not the state or the church or the man in the gray flannel suit. Women are finding ways to run for public office and to become part of the political process so they can have an equal say in how this country works.

Let's face it, women have power and should be feared. It was Ida Tarbell who exposed the unfair market practices of Standard Oil and helped force the Trust-Busting of President Roosevelt. Emma Goldman took on the causes of poverty and child labor and union issues. Suffragettes brought women the vote. Harriett Tubman, Rosa Parks, Betty Frieden, Germaine Greer and Gloria Steinem and Angela Davis and Billy Jean King and Oprah. >From 1900 to the present, women have moved American politics and culture and art. Woman Power is real.

And this sends a ripple of fear through the great patriarchal order of things. That is why these yahoos of masculinity and righteousness push so hard for the spiritual enslavement of women while pretending to be the protectors of the feminine citizen.

Power and politics. That's what all this mess is about.

I think America still has more good, more empathy and compassion and tolerance than these guys want us to know. Knowledge is a dangerous thing, my friend.

And there is nothing worse than someone with enough knowledge being able to point at the naked emperor in all his shortcomings and say: That guy is naked! And he's no emperor!

-PEACE-

 The true reality is power and politics. "That's what all this mess is about."

The Shame of Penn State

Jon Stewart once again says what needs to be said and puts a dastardly situation in proper perspective!

The Daily Show

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...and The Question Is...

"Why Are Pedophilia--Hiding, Child-Abusing Church Fathers Allowed to Write Laws about Women's Bodies?"

Via The Nation / By Katha Pollitt

The moral authority granted the Catholic Church in the secular world is the most repellent aspect of the current crisis.

My favorite moment of the whole child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church was when Father Klaus Malangré suggested that Peter Hullermann, the redoubtable German pedophile priest, might be sent to work in a girls' school. No boys, no molestation. Or, in churchly language, no occasion of sin. Problem solved! Plus, the good father would spend his life warding off female cooties. Malangré must not have heard about priests -- and they do exist -- who abused both male and female children. Nor had he learned the lesson of Watergate: the cover-up is worse than the crime.

The church has yet to learn that lesson. There is a positively Nixonian smarmy truculence in the response of church hierarchs to the ongoing scandal, which now involves Pope Benedict XVI himself. On Palm Sunday, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan urged worshipers at St. Patrick's Cathedral to show "love and solidarity for our earthly shepherd now suffering some of the same unjust accusations, shouts of the mob and scourging at the pillar, as did Jesus." On his blog, Dolan explains that what gets Catholics angry is not just the molestations themselves but also that "the sexual abuse of minors is presented as a tragedy unique to the Church alone." Oh, really? Does the name Mary Kay Letourneau mean nothing to him? This man needs to read the tabloids, which have for years featured an endless parade of molesting teachers, doctors, dentists, therapists and scout leaders. To go by the news, looking at child pornography on one's office computer is so common, it's a wonder anyone finds the time to abuse real kids. At this late date I doubt anyone is unaware that the sexual abuse of children is a widespread phenomenon.

The difference is, when other professionals who work with children are caught out, justice takes its course. People are fired. Licenses are lost. Reputations are ruined. Sometimes jail is involved. No human institution is perfect, and it would be foolish to suggest that incidents are always investigated and that abusers who don't happen to be priests are never protected by colleagues or superiors. Still, it's probably safe to say that if a principal was accused of overlooking a child molester in his classrooms or recycling him to other schools, nobody would compare his suffering to Christ's.

And nobody would be asking for his views about sex, reproduction, women, homosexuality or healthcare either. The moral authority granted the Catholic Church in the secular world is for me the most repellent aspect of the current crisis. In the succinct words of Jodi Jacobson, editor of RHRealityCheck.org, "Why is a pedophilia-ridden, pedophilia-hiding, child-abusing Church allowed to write laws controlling women's rights?" To which one might add: what gives a church in which celibacy is equated with holiness, in which males have almost all the power, the right to a place at the table where laws are made about women's bodies? The same institution that has dealt so indulgently with its ordained pedophiles had no problem excommunicating a Brazilian mother who sought an abortion for her 9-year-old daughter, raped and impregnated with twins by her stepfather, or pushing for laws in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Chile banning abortion even to save the woman's life.

The Church's position of protecting priests and it's own reputation has been shown to be a higher priority than the protection of women and children. It is time to realize that these men are merely mortals who are fallible. They are no closer to the God they believe in, than anyone else is. It is therefore time to stop listening their opinions.

A Sin!

Pope Benedict XVI attends Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican, 03/28/10 (photo: Getty Images)

A moving and searing essay by John Cory on "The Catholic Church Scandal." A must read.

My views on child abuse and child molestation are harsh and unforgiving and forged by the fires of my own childhood. I give no quarter on this issue.

I have no kind words or forgiving thoughts for the Catholic hierarchy or their enablers, which brings me to Bill Donohue's article on the CNN Opinion web site. You can read what he says here but I'll give you my version:

Child abuse and molestation is bad but this stuff happened a long time ago and times were different then and besides everyone does it including churches, schools, businesses and even the Jews. This is all about picking on the Catholic Church for headlines.

Mr. Donohue - you are performing a cheap parlor trick of turning the Catholic Church into the victim here and frankly, it is disgusting. The victims are at the center of this issue, not you and your Catholic ego.

This is not an attack on the Catholic Church. It is about holding the men accountable who lead the Church. And that includes the Pope.

In the wonderful novel "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, Baba tells his son Amir: "There is only one sin and that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft... When you kill a man, you steal a life. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth."

Men, not God, not Church, stole innocence and trust, privacy and possession of one's body and spirit. Can there be a more heinous crime?

While you dress your Cardinals and Pope in fine linens and moral rectitude, the molested cover themselves in revulsion and self-loathing believing they did something to cause this crime.

While you parade about with burning incense and wafers of contrition the raped and battered wander in doubt and confusion as to how God let this happen.

While you sprinkle the Water of Oblivion and chant sacred liturgies the true victims suffer the holy trinity of abuse, alienation and abandonment.

How dare you cloak the Church in victimhood.

Should the deaf children thank God that they were not able to hear their rapist's grunts and gasps of pleasure at defilement?

Should the molested thank God that they eventually became old enough to no longer be attractive to priests? Or should they have prayed for faster transfers?

Should the abused take comfort in the knowledge that it was only a few "bad apples" in the Church and they were just "unfortunate" to be among the chosen prey?

What you defend is not the Church but the silence of power, the sin of willful ignorance and the sin of omission by those who turned a blind eye to the torture and horror at the hands of God's devoted servants.

What you defend is the murder of the soul.

The first day of abuse becomes an eternity of pain and despair and night becomes a never-ending reel that assaults the senses. The smell and feel of sin forever burned into the brain haunting the heart and soul.

I don't know how to explain this horror in a way to make you understand.

I can tell you that abuse smells like Old Spice and Vaseline Hair Tonic wafting in the air with each blow. I can tell you that abuse tastes like oatmeal on a dishrag in my mouth to keep me from screaming. I can tell you that abuse burns like a tub of scalding water boiling away my sins and it stings like the slice of a knife to bleed out that evil blood inside of me. I can tell you that the sound of abuse is an icy echo: I'm only doing this because I love you. If you were good, you wouldn't make me do this.

There is not a bonfire in Hell big enough for the souls of these people to burn in as far as I am concerned. And the statute of limitations should match the term of punishment and damnation - eternity.

The perpetrators stole innocence and purity, trust and love, and beautiful childhood souls like they were nothing more than trinkets of idol pleasure.

But the greatest theft came from the Cardinals and Bishops and authorities. They stole in silence just like a thief in the night. They were soundless accomplices to the murder of souls.

They stole truth from those who needed its protection most. They stole the right to be heard and to be believed. They stole love and hope and the sanctity of the church.

They stole God.

To defend any of this is to steal the last vestige of dignity and honor and justice from those who deserve it most.

There is only one sin and that is theft.

Thou shalt not steal.