The eminent Bishop, who was forced to resign by Pp. Franny1, has some thoughts on obedience--and just to whom, exactly, we owe that obedience. Along the way, he makes it clear that "liberalism" (i.e., what we call "democracy") can easily have decidedly un-Catholic results.
...Jesus Christ tells us that “all authority in heaven and on earth” has been granted unto Him; thus, we must recognize that all earthly authority must look to Christ for its light because ultimately this light flows from a single source—the One who is the source of all authority in heaven and on earth. Only with this proper understanding of authority can we establish a firm foundation for obedience. Simply put, all obedience must always find its source and its end in obedience to Christ and the truth that He reveals. Authentic obedience to truth ultimately brings us to God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the ultimate authority. As we navigate the path of obedience, if we ignore the truth that Christ has revealed to us then we short-circuit the very meaning and essence of obedience.
Today we find ourselves immersed in a culture which, influenced by postmodernism, is unable or unwilling to recognize valid authority. We are in fact immersed in a culture influenced by Nihilism, and this can be traced back to the fall of our first parents in the Garden of Eden. Nihilism, a philosophy that proclaims all values are baseless, focuses on the use of the will to dominate. It is a rejection of absolute truth, and it puts forth the false idea that “truth” is merely the expression of the will, and pure & unadulterated truth does not exist. In this context, each person can make up truth as he sees fit, or he can determine that truth is whatever the authority figure he recognizes determines it to be. This deadly belief (or similarly, the belief that each individual is an authority unto himself) has even invaded the Church, and it has become a festering, purulent wound within the Mystical Body today....
It should not be difficult to read the political situation in the US into that statement. In fact, 'the will of the people'--with an emphasis on "will"--is obviously problematic if one accepts Bp. Strickland's contention that 'all earthly authority must look to Christ' and 'must find its source and end' in Him.
If one chooses to defend "liberalism" one must acknowledge that like all human constructs, it can easily be perverted. Masking that infection by asserting that "the will of the people" is sovereign includes a fatally-flawed assumption that "the will of the people" conforms in all important ways to the teachings of Christ.
Thus, the angst in today's America where 'morality' and 'justice' are obviously perverted; criminals go free while patriots rot in jail. Abortion is fine and dandy (the will of the people, ya'know) and child mutilation in the name of "identity" is praiseworthy. Citizenship has no privilege, as an invasion is invited, encouraged, and paid for by the US Government.
Did we really vote for all that?
Actually, we did--or those holding executive, legislative, and judicial positions allowing or directing these clearly immoral abominations would not be in office.
Yah, it's a challenge.
6 comments:
Well you’re going to vote for Trump and he is embracing abortion ?
Correct?
Greg
Got a better alternative?
No I do not,
I am sad to say
Greg
Option #3 is not to vote and wait for the crash. The logic being big government has won. About 3 million people are paid directly by the feds, with a 3.13 multiplier for average family size, and another multiplier for government contract employees and their families. This is the permanent government and their permanence is a huge problem.
Ever watch a woodpecker working on a 70 year old oak tree and think, MY GOD, one more blow from that little pecker and that giant is going topple. We know giant oaks will fall, but it usually takes a large storm, and it helps if the oak is weakened from disease.
Option #3 is not play the election game and prepare for when the big storm comes and the foundation of promises stacked upon promises evaporates. When laws are merely uttered words disappearing into the deafening collapse. GOD knows when the legal and financial and authoritarian constructions of humans will fail, but they will, because as you point out, they are built on false obedience. – Mark78
Option #3 abandons my children and grandchildren to .......whatever.
Feel free to abandon yours, of course.
Absolutely fair concerns but I personally take comfort in the fact that storms are a normal function of creation.
Living in Wisconsin you have witnessed May snowfalls breaking off branches when the surface area of the emergent leaves are overcome by the accumulated weight. Where tornados descend from turbulent clouds to rip apart buildings and fling debris with ballistic force. Where thunderstorms inspire awe identical to the awe inspired in our ancestors.
Storms are not apocalypse. They exist to destroy the weak and then vanish. There is no fear of the storm to those who are prepared. To those who have faith that the troubles of the moment are not troubles for eternity. So option #3 is not a statement of submission or surrender, but a commitment to the understanding that this world is not under human control.
That said, there is no harm in voting for the lesser of two flawed humans in the hope that incremental change has the potential to mitigate the magnitude of human suffering, if the desires of the greedy and ambitious flame out and take down, for a moment, the structures of civil life. – Mark78
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