There are a few of you who read this blog who know me well enough to know that I have a political science degree in my secular training. Those very few of you who have known me for years are aware of the fact that I have strong views on a lot of things, both political and religious. I even have strong views on Irish and British politics. However, aside from discussing the politics of Ireland and Britain with friends who may be aware of them over the years, wading into the discussion in the pages of the print media of Ireland is not something I have ever been keen to do. To wade into the politics of Ireland when one is unfamiliar with the ground or doesn't have to live there and have to deal with political outcomes is a very dangerous game. More than one political commentator has rightly said that Irish politics, especially the politics in the six counties of the North, is like something akin to Animal Farm in terms of the chaos that it can invite.
Opinions are one thing, but until we live it every day it's just that for us on this side of the Atlantic. I am always interested to hear and read what people on the island of Ireland have to say about their situation and current events, but I neither think it right for me to attempt to tell Irish people what they should think of their own situation, or tell my fellow countrymen what they should think about Ireland. It is for me to observe as an interested human being, a Catholic, a Christian... and if I comment on such things, it will be to others who I know who may have an interest.
However, my longstanding policy of reading the Irish papers (especially those in the six counties of Northern Ireland) but never opining in print about things to be found there came to a temporary halt last week when I read the column in question by Irish News columnist Tom Collins alleging (amongst other utter nonsense) that a large number of the U.S. Bishops are "in thrall" to former President Donald Trump.
Just to place things into context for any readers who may be unaware, The Irish News is the major newspaper in Belfast that represents an Irish nationalist political perspective. (The Belfast Telegraph is its moderate Unionist counterpart.) In times' past, even in relatively recent times, the editorial line of The Irish News as a voice of moderate nationalism would have also meant a line of deference or at least positivity toward the teachings of the Catholic Church, since not so terribly long ago in an Ireland far far away, a lot of professing nationalists were also Catholics who went to Mass on Sunday. That Ireland and that deference are, of course, things of the past today for various reasons I will save for a post on some other day.
After reading Mr. Collins' column, however, what he said about the U.S. Bishops, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, abortion, and the Pope went from ridiculous on the one end, to the simply false on the other. After praying, I felt that I had to respond because Irish readers might read that column and they might actually think that what Collins was saying represented the way things actually are, and I don't believe that it does. So since Tom Collins decided to wade into the world of American politics and the Catholic Church in America, I decided to make an attempt to wade into the pages of The Irish News in response.
As always, my published opinion is just that, my own opinion. However, it is rooted in both Church teaching and reality on the ground here in this country. To my complete surprise, my letter in response to Mr Collins' column was published in The Irish News today, July 12th:
Editor;
I have read with utter astonishment Tom Collins' article in The Irish News (July 1st) insinuating that there is a large “pro-Trump” faction among the U.S. bishops and that the bishops are “in thrall” of Trump. I have not decided whether Mr. Collins is largely unaware of U.S. internal political affairs, or ignorant of American ecclesiastical affairs. I will not speculate about whether he understands Catholic doctrine regarding the worthiness to receive Holy Communion, though if he did, I have my doubts that he would have written his piece.
Considering some of the things that came from U.S. Bishops during the Trump Administration about Donald Trump and his policies (including the Archbishop of Miami comparing him to the famed American television character Archie Bunker), as well as the near-daily denunciation of the Trump Administration’s immigration policy, the notion that the Bishops are-or ever were-in thrall of Trump is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. Compared to the treatment given to professing Catholic Biden, the Bishops rode Trump, who is not Catholic and never pretended to be, harder than a wild bull at a Texas county fair. By comparison, the USCCB has had very little to say about the humanitarian crisis at the U.S. Border with Mexico since Biden took office, and Biden’s policies have grossly exacerbated the problem, which his administration has yet to address.
That is not meant as a criticism of American bishops, either individually or as a corporate body. As Bishops of the Catholic Church, it is their right and duty to address civic issues in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic faith as they best see fit, but they have not been in thrall of anyone, least of all Donald Trump.
The issue of Eucharistic coherence and the worthiness to receive Holy Communion is not a partisan political issue. Someone who professes to be a Catholic but who does not believe in the moral teachings of the Church, or who publicly promotes policy that is not in accord with the moral law or most basic moral teachings of the Catholic Church, such as the killing of the unborn through abortion, should not receive Holy Communion, regardless of their station in life or their political beliefs. In that regard, it doesn't matter if you're Joe Biden or Joe who picks up the neighborhood rubbish.
Yours Respectfully, &c.
Deacon David Oatney
White Pine, Tennessee USA
No comments:
Post a Comment