It’s been over a year since the Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Francis George, submitted his resignation letter””mandatory when princes of the Catholic Church turn 75””to then- Pope Benedict XVI. In a highly unusual turn of events, Benedict was the one who resigned. That left Cardinal George””whose intellectual vigor is matched by a forceful defense of the church””still on the job.
Some wish he weren’t. In late July, eight Illinois state lawmakers signed an open letter criticizing Cardinal George, among others, for threatening to end the church’s financial support for a rights group. The church had cited the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, because the group came out for the legalization of same-sex marriage in May. The politicians””all Catholic Democrats””said the threat of a funding withdrawal was “not worthy of the church we know, love and respect.” They said Cardinal George and others were using “immigrants and those who seek to help them as pawns in a political battle.”
But the decision had nothing to do with politics. The church doles out money to organizations on the assumption that they will not violate church teachings. If a church-funded environmental group announced its support for abortion, for instance, it could lose funding.
[blockquote][i]If a church-funded environmental group announced its support for abortion, for instance, it could lose funding[/i].[/blockquote]
Not only “could” but unquestionably [b]should[/b] lose church funding!
[i]Pax et bonum[/i],
Keith Töpfer
I can’t get to the full article, but undoubtedly, these 8 politicians were altar servers educationed in Catholic schools and they carry their rosaries around with them. Devout, every one of them.
However, like most dissenting Catholic politicians (note the noun there), they are wrong on basic matters, not to mention the moral issue. The Church they “know, love, and respect” has not changed a whit. It is they, or more precisely, the culture that has changed.
In fact, we have seen a Democratic administration pull contracts from Catholic providers who won’t promote “women’s reproductive health”, holding service recipients hostage to America’s obsession with abortion and condoms. We have seen children held hostage to gay rights advocates demanding that every adoption agency place children with same-sex couples.
There is hostage-taking indeed, but it isn’t on Cardinal George’s side.