Huffington Post Article / Question / Rant

[superblue]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/12/american-bishops-abortion_n_5488115.html

 

K so the huffington post, another media report on the Church, or at least the " American Church " I phrase it that way cause America seems to get less attention from the Papacy versus the rest of the world but what ever any how.

 

And granted this may not be the best article to base an opinion on, but since I have no clue.

 

So first thing I want to compare, is how at least I have seen other arguments erupt online, in regards the pope this n the pope that, pick anyone it doesn't matter.... and then this report is suggesting that the USCCB is some how going against Pope Francis request ( since evidently a Pope can not order clergy to follow a direct order or directive ); so if Pope Francis would like everyone including Bishops in America to focus on something else, then why are they still focusing on the same thing ?  Or is the article just wrong in general ?

 

Then the article mentions how the USCCB wants to pick abortion out of the ACA, well that is fine and dandy, but what really aggravates me, is this, do they want to pick abortion out of the ACA as a way to stop Obama and the ACA  or are they in favor of the ACA and totally ignoring the controversy surrounding it, the flaws of Obama care, and all the politics surrounding it. Let alone what gives the USCCB the right to stick their finger into what we the voters have a right to fight against based upon our Constitution and Bill of Rights, the USCCB is basically agreeing with Obama and the democrat party that the idea alone is just super wonderful and come hell and high water everyone will be forced to have it like it or not, and tough beans if ya don't agree.

 

Where does the USCCB get off on trying to side with anyone on the ACA issue, and more over I have a feeling, if they were to announce to Catholic Republican / Conservatives exactly how they agree with Obama on his healthcare move, but just only want to remove the small part about abortion, the story would change rather fast in wanting to support the USCCB .  When the " fight for religious freedom " started, had the USCCB issued fliers and statements that they support the ACA and only want to remove the part about Abortion, I wouldn't of read any more they had to say on the matter and ignored all requests to write congress or anyone on their behalf. 

 

Other than that who is misreading who , is the USCCB misunderstanding on what Pope Francis is saying in regards to this article, or is the huffington post misconstruing what has taken place recently as a snub towards Pope Francis by the USCCB.    If it is a snub by the USCCB then I hope Pope Francis sends the lot of em packing as he did the bankers recently, and start with a clean slate.  If following the Popes directions is merely optional, then following the direction of the USCCB is also just as optional, if not just meaningless to listen to flat out.

 

 

 

[CatherineM]

Reporters attempting to write about these things is a bit like them trying to write about some new particle physics discovery. They don't really understand what they are talking about, but still try to string words together to make people think they do.

[superblue]

Reporters attempting to write about these things is a bit like them trying to write about some new particle physics discovery. They don't really understand what they are talking about, but still try to string words together to make people think they do.

 

 

Then if that is the case, the USCCB needs to stay out of American Politics.

[Nihil Obstat]

Then if that is the case, the USCCB needs to stay out of American Politics.

They really should; it is a disgusting evil business and too many prelates' hands are dirtied simply by getting too close.

[superblue]

I do hope someone can give some kind of answer to the question I posed, in between the ranting.

[Nihil Obstat]

What was the question? I could not find in myself the requisite patience to read the whole thing. :P

[Luigi]

The Huffington Post is to news as auto parts are to eggplant. Which is to say that there is no relationship there whatsoever. They wouldn't know news if it bit 'em in the BE-hind. If they ever did recognize news, they'd write it up wrong. 

 

Never read the Huffington Post. If, by some breakdown in judgment on your part, you do wind up reading the Huffington Post, don't believe a word of what you read. 

 

If you're interested in reading about Catholic things, start reading Catholic newspapers (your diocese probably has one), magazines, and websites. The Vatican has a website, and so does the USCCB.

 

Prime sources, my boy. Prime sources. 

 

 

[Anastasia13]

The Huffington Post is to news as auto parts are to eggplant. Which is to say that there is no relationship there whatsoever. They wouldn't know news if it bit 'em in the BE-hind. If they ever did recognize news, they'd write it up wrong. 

 

Never read the Huffington Post. If, by some breakdown in judgment on your part, you do wind up reading the Huffington Post, don't believe a word of what you read.

 

I'd post the Poo to the Loo article/video, but it has a four letter word. If you are not offended by terms for fecal matter, I recommend watching it. It's not a work of fiction.

[Ash Wednesday]

I'm not really sure that HuffPo really knows what they're talking about.

 

I don't interpret whatever the USCCB is doing to be snubbing the pope, not the way HuffPo paints it. It was my understanding that the pope was expressing a pastoral vision and an attempt to address what he views as an unbalanced pastoral approach -- he never really elaborated on how that's supposed to be done as far as politics go, or how voters are to be addressed on these matters. The pope never advocated ignoring the abortion issue and to "focus on something else." Huff is applying a very broad statement and vision to what is a very specific and complicated matter.

 

I guess the "Spirit of what Pope Francis said" is the new "Spirit of Vatican II".

 

[Perigrina]

The Huffpo article is just wrong in general and misrepresents what the bishops were doing.  The bishops made guidelines to help people understand the interaction of Catholic teaching and various political issues.  The guidelines included Church teaching on abortion and homosexuality.  When the pope said not to focus on these issues, he obviously did not mean that nobody should ever mention them at all.

 

Huffpo, on the other hand, would like it nobody ever mentioned Catholic teaching on abortion or homosexuality.  So they label any reference to these subjects as "focusing" on them and "ignoring" Pope Francis. 

[Perigrina]

I guess the "Spirit of what Pope Francis said" is the new "Spirit of Vatican II".

 

I agree.  The secular media, in general, are out to undermine Catholic teaching.  The portrayal of Pope Francis as someone who is changing or opposing Church teaching is part of that agenda.   It is a false portrayal. He is a faithful son of the Church
 

[Basilisa Marie]

What a lot of people don't get is that the USCCB is basically a club for all the US bishops, so that they can get together and better meet the needs of Catholics in the US (which is why they have committees focusing on different things, etc). Any real authority it has comes from your bishop having authority in your diocese. The USCCB isn't really part of the governing body of the Church at all, if you look at it in the most strict sense of the term. Now, that doesn't mean we shouldn't pay attention to what they have to say - most of the time our bishops agree with things they decide, Bishop A can't make a decision for Bishop B's diocese, but Bishop B can decide that Bishop A has a good idea and decide the diocese of B will do the same thing. Which is (subtly) different from Club Bishop coming to a decision and all the dioceses going along with it. 

(Part of the problem is that a lot of secular media takes one look at the USCCB, with its elected leader and committees, made up of bishops representing different parts of the country, and says OH LOOK IT'S JUST LIKE CONGRESS. When in reality it is NOTHING LIKE CONGRESS)

 

So basically this article is just another excuse for people to talk about how much the Church is ignoring the poor and spending too much time on abortion and gay marriage.  While there's an argument to be made either way about that issue, these people aren't doing it right, at all.  


As far as the ACA and the USCCB goes, it is my understanding that Cardinal Dolan and other bishops were in talks with the Obama Administration to make sure that Catholics and Catholic hospitals and schools got the exceptions that they needed. Many of the bishops in the USCCB really liked the idea of universal health care, because the idea of getting everyone access to basic health care is a really good thing, it promotes the dignity of the human person, etc. The way in which we do the health care thing is where we start having controversy. And it's my understanding that the Obama Administration basically turned around and cut out all the religious exemption language that the bishops had been promised, which totally blind sighted a lot of them (especially after they had supported the ACA because they had been promised exemptions). Some people think they really should have seen that coming all along. 

So where does the USCCB get the right to mess with politics? The Church, namely bishops, have been dancing with politicians since pretty much day one. There was no separation between Church and state until very recently in history. And it goes both ways, the Roman Emperor Constantine called the first ecumenical council. So bishops talking politics is nothing new. Where does the USCCB get off with politics?  Well, in so much as they're a body of bishops to help them care for the faithful in the US. The USCCB can't actually tell us what to do, but your bishop can tell you to go along with what the USCCB is saying. And then still a lot of things regarding the ACA and whether or not we like it are still totally up to the individual person to make that decision. We all have to agree on fundamental principles of Catholic teaching (abortion is bad, birth control is bad, life issues are important, sexual ethics issues are important, health care is important for everyone, etc). But how we go about applying these principles to our lives is an area of "legitimate diversity."  Like, I can think basic access to health care is a human right and shouldn't be denied to anyone, but believe the ACA is bad because (beyond the usual Catholic objections) the way it works with insurance companies and doctors is wrong. There's a ton of different positions you can take on the ACA while still agreeing with the USCCB on fundamental Catholic principles and yet also disagreeing with them on things that aren't fundamental Catholic principles. 
 

Edited June 13, 2014 by Basilisa Marie

[superblue]

I do understand I could spend time looking for articles posted by actual Catholic publishers , but in the age of laziness when articles pop up faster in yahoo thumbnails, that is the first thing I go with, I don't really play detective to find a Catholic article for their point of view on the same topic , what ever that may be, and one can also counter argue, that finding a Catholic article on this said piece by the huff post, is just as biased since it is a Catholic or would be a Catholic article, I seriously doubt there are Catholic columnists who are out there being negatively critical of anything the USCCB says or anything the Papacy / Vatican does.  At best they simply report the facts and nothing more.

[Basilisa Marie]

I do understand I could spend time looking for articles posted by actual Catholic publishers , but in the age of laziness when articles pop up faster in yahoo thumbnails, that is the first thing I go with, I don't really play detective to find a Catholic article for their point of view on the same topic , what ever that may be, and one can also counter argue, that finding a Catholic article on this said piece by the huff post, is just as biased since it is a Catholic or would be a Catholic article, I seriously doubt there are Catholic columnists who are out there being negatively critical of anything the USCCB says or anything the Papacy / Vatican does.  At best they simply report the facts and nothing more.

 

Have you read Rorate Caeli?  :saint2: 

There are Catholic bloggers, columnists, and communities out there from all parts of the spectrum. You just have to find a couple you like and read them regularly, and you'll see that it's far from universal adulation of everything the Pope does. :)

Edited June 13, 2014 by Basilisa Marie

[Perigrina]

I do understand I could spend time looking for articles posted by actual Catholic publishers , but in the age of laziness when articles pop up faster in yahoo thumbnails, that is the first thing I go with, I don't really play detective to find a Catholic article for their point of view on the same topic , what ever that may be, and one can also counter argue, that finding a Catholic article on this said piece by the huff post, is just as biased since it is a Catholic or would be a Catholic article, I seriously doubt there are Catholic columnists who are out there being negatively critical of anything the USCCB says or anything the Papacy / Vatican does.  At best they simply report the facts and nothing more.

 

The bias of the secular media is to undermine the Church.  The bias of some Catholic media is to support the Church.  Yes, that means they are both biased, but that does not mean they are of equal value.