Today I want to discuss with you briefly, two news reports of moral import, both relating tog religious freedom, and also freedom of expression, and journalistic and scientific research.
The first case relates to recent expressions of the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Ms. Nancy Pelosi, in which she referred to Catholic bishops as "lobbyists":
Read the entire piece here.CNSNews.com asked Pelosi at her press briefing on Thursday: “In August, HHS issued a proposed regulation under the new health care law that would require that all health care plans cover sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives. The U.S. Catholic bishops have called the regulation an unprecedented attack on religious freedom and have asked HHS to drop it. Do you agree with the bishops?”
Noting that she is “a devout Catholic,” Pelosi said she sometimes disagrees with the Catholic bishops when they act as “lobbyists.”
“I don’t know if I agree with your characterization of what the HHS put forth,” Pelosi said, “but as a mother of five children in six years, as a devout Catholic, I have great respect for our bishops when they are my pastor. As lobbyists in Washington D.C., we have some areas of disagreement
If you have been reading this blog for a while - and I thank you if you had - you now that I've been watching Ms. Pelosi's "devoutly Catholic" witness in our public life for a while, and how I've consistently rated it as dismal. Ms. Pelosi's hangs her Catholic faith at the door every morning when she comes to work, adopting on her way out a utilitarian philosophy of pagan inspiration and socialistic flavor. Referring to her pastors as "lobbyists" is just another example of her egregious, un-Catholic behavior and perhaps a veiled threat, as lobbyists must be registered and are not tax-exempt. Lord, have mercy on her.
The other news piece I want to highlight is this one titled Homosexuality/Pedophilia Correlation? by Robert Struble, Jr. Here's an excerpt:
In reality we do practicing homosexuals no favor by denying them the tough love that might deter some of them from sinning, or from proselytizing on behalf of a lifestyle that is destructive personally and socially. Nor do we let them off the hook in the eternal scheme of things by bowing to their sensibilities, i.e. by suppressing or downplaying the logical conclusion that mainstreaming homosexuality into society poses a danger to children.My own experience in talking about these subjects is very similar to Mr. Struble's: the homosexualists' invocation of empirical research in favor of the homosexual lifestyle is selective, narrowly defined, and ideologically contrived, and their biblical and moral revisionism fanciful, shallow, and disingenous. I too observe that scientific or journalistic researchers who raise questions about the homosexualist agenda and dare to swim against the current of general acceptance are silenced very quickly. Worse, independent business people who contribute to the defense of natural marriage find themselves the object of "opposition research": their names published to facilitate boycots, physical intimidation, and Krystal-Nacht tactics spearheaded by some homosexualist activists. The resulting narrowing of our mind and liberties are indeed frightful, as they continue to contract in the name of "individual freedoms" so-called.
A gay subculture threatens kids collectively in proportion as it distorts morals in the culture where children get raised. The Pope has lamented the breakdown of morality to such an extent in the West that the unthinkable is, in the current climate, finding more advocates.
Logically too, acceptance of sodomy increases the level of peril for vulnerable kids individually. In such a social milieu, sexual deviants become bolder and pose a higher risk to deviate from other norms, including those designed to protect minors. Harold Reeves puts it concisely: “It is perfectly logical that homosexual men are more likely to be child molesters of male children, and furthermore, equally logical that pedophiles, whether male or female, do not let age stand in their way.”
Yes, we are living through a period in which the freedom of a Catholic citizen is contracting in our country, thanks in part to the actions of self-proclaimed "devout Catholics" in our halls of government, and to a powerful, unopposed thought-police hailing from our institutions of higher-learning and the media, ensuring that their views, and only their views, receive positive sanction in our social conversation.
I am telling you, we're entering a period where the shameless persecution of Christians in our country - and of observant Catholics in particular - as well as of other believers and people of good will is about break into the open.