Jesus taught in truth and lived out of love – period – because he is love.
It is out of love and concern for the soul of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and those of the same mindset, that I write this column.
Jesus was the most radical defender of God’s Law who ever lived. He never minced words, but clarified misinterpretations and misunderstandings. He never watered-down the truth for fear of “offending,” but spoke bluntly to Scribes and Pharisees, calling them hypocrites, whitewashed tombs and a “brood of vipers.” He observed that they were “full of the bones of the dead and every kind of corruption.”
Jesus spoke only the truth, with the aim of sanctifying his listeners.
As a baptized Catholic, I am bound to clarify the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of Church teaching concerning civil servants who identify as Catholic, present themselves to receive Holy Communion, and yet continue to engage in grave public sin by legislating laws in support of murdering the unborn.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly teaches that all human life comes from God and must be protected.
“Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.”
“The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation: “The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority…. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being’s right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death.” Donum vitae III.
Unfortunately, few Catholic clergy take the firm and truly loving step to admonish the sinner even though Church law (Canon 898) explains that pastors have the responsibility to “teach the faithful diligently” regarding the reception of Holy Communion. The Church desires that every Catholic receive the Eucharist regularly, so long as they are in a state of grace. Withholding the Sacrament is never the first resort, but as San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said, “When other avenues are exhausted, the only recourse a pastor has left is the public medicine of temporary exclusion from the Lord’s Table…. This is a bitter medicine, but the gravity of the evil of abortion warrants it.”
Senator Lisa Murkowski continues to position herself against Christ and his Church by repeatedly voting in favor of legislation that promotes, ensures, and funds the murder of innocent, unborn babies. She publicly states she will always support a “woman’s right to choose” and will not stop her forward momentum in support of abortion. You can find her voting record here.
We must pray for the sanctity of life, the unborn, and an end to abortion.
Abortion is the most grievous moral sin afflicting our world today. For this reason, every Catholic – lay, religious and ordained has a moral obligation and a human right to speak against such atrocities.
No excuse is compelling enough to remain silent.
I have personally heard Catholics make excuses regarding Murkowski, saying they cannot know for sure whether she has privately confessed her sins. The fact that she persists in voting for abortion, is evidence of her desire to continue perpetuating this evil.
Even if Murkowski has confessed her sins privately, church law is very clear about those who exercise some form of public authority. They have “a special responsibility to form their consciences in accord with the Church’s faith and the moral law, and to serve the human family by upholding human life and dignity.”
The church’s law (Canon 959) goes on to say that people who confess their sins must be “sorry for them and intend to reform themselves.” Canon 987 illuminates this further stating, “To receive salvific remedy of the Sacrament of Penance, a member of the Christian faithful must be disposed in such a way that, rejecting sins committed and having a purpose of amendment, the person is turned back to God.”
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A Catholic cannot simply take off their Catholicism, any more than they can remove the skin from their body. To be Catholic, is not a way of life, it IS our life.
If we, in any way, stay silent on this grave sin, we are complicit in it.
We must pray for the sanctity of life, the unborn, and an end to abortion.
We must pray for the conversion of Senator Murkowski, and all those who do not believe in the sanctity of life from the moment of conception to natural death.
Humanity must stop the barbaric act of dismembering tiny humans in the womb. We are obligated to do what is commanded by God’s law: “Thou shall NOT kill!”
And we do well to recall the words of John Stuart Mill: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
The views expressed here are those of the author.
