Being Catholic: Within Reason

I think Fulton Sheen was right. Very few folks actually hate the Catholic Church. They hate what they "wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church." I've posted about that recently:

• "Fulton Sheen, Bias, and the Catholic Church"
  (March 28, 2012)

I think many Americans - Catholic and otherwise - have a mental image of the Catholic Church that's built out of everything from old Thomas Nast cartoons to Tony Alamo, and Chick Publications. That picture isn't, putting it mildly, accurate.

Religious Freedom and the Cardinal

"Cardinal Dolan says HHS mandate fight 'tough' but winnable"
CNA (Catholic News Agency) (March 30, 2012 )

"Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York says that although opponents of the federal contraception mandate face a difficult struggle, religious groups can achieve victory through persistence.

" 'We have to be very vigorous in insisting that this is not about contraception. It's about religious freedom,' said the cardinal, who is president of the U.S. bishops' conference.

"He said the debate is a 'tough battle' because proponents of the coverage mandate have chosen an issue they know the Catholic Church is 'not very popular on.'..."

"Not very popular" isn't the same as "wrong." I think part of the reason that so many Americans think the Catholic Church is icky is that our bishops are presented as killjoys.

In a way, it's true. The Catholic Church won't tell folks that we can do anything we want, and not experience any consequences.

Rules, Fun, and Killing the Innocent

As a practicing Catholic, I'm simply not allowed to kill someone who gets in the way of my fun. Even if the person is small and helpless.

This counter-cultural position comes from the notion that human beings are people, and that innocent people shouldn't be killed. I've been over this before. Often. The Catholic Church says:

• Love God, love your neighbor
  (Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31)
• Everybody is our neighbor
  (Matthew 5:43-44; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 10:25-30)
  (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1825)
• Human life is sacred
  (Catechism, 2258)
• Murder is wrong
  (Catechism, 2259-2262, 2268-2269)
  • Even if the victim is
    • Very young
      (Catechism, 2270-2275)
    • Sick or helpless
      (Catechism, 2276-2279)
    • Yourself
      (Catechism, 2280-2283)

My Faith: Within Reason

Believing that it's wrong to kill innocent people is not the same as believing that it's wrong to heal the sick and study God's creation. I've been over this before, too. Quite a bit:

• Concern for health is a good idea
  (Catechism, 2288-2291)
  • Within reason
    (Catechism, 2289)
• Scientific medical research is a good idea
  (Catechism, 2292-2296)
  • Within reason
    (Catechism, 2294-2296)
  (from March 16, 2012)

I'm a practicing Catholic: which means that I'm expected to be reasonable. And that's yet another topic.

---

More posts about forcing Catholics to violate our conscience:
The Department of Health and Human Services vs. Conscience

---

Related posts:

• "Open Eyes and Assumptions"
  (March 25, 2012)
• "The Beauty of the Universe, God, and Respect"
  (March 21, 2012)
• "Faith, Reason, Certainty, and Getting a Grip"
  (January 11, 2012)
• " 'Religious People aren't Reasonable?' "
  (December 18, 2011)
• "It's Faith and Reason"
  (June 19, 2010)