Regarding Eupocrisy:
Hi. I want to be sure I'm getting the meaning of this the way I think I am…
My daughter used to be involved in church, you know how it goes, when they are young our kids are involved in youth group, community work, and then they fall away from the church, hear other ideas, etc. What strikes me after reading your article, especially the parable about being a sheep without knowing it… I like to think here that Jesus sees (well in my case) my daughter who still continues to be a bleeding heart and has worked with at-risk kids and who is such a great purveyor of rights and dignity for the down-trodden, that even though she knows Jesus lived and was a prophet and who isn't sure now if he is the son of God… that Jesus sees her as one of his because she is living as his word wants her to…
I love the part where you say that her heart has been secretly prepared.. My daughter has been home visiting me this week in MD (she lives in Alaska) and has been coming to church with me and she was just thrilled last Sunday when we were there and all the old faces greeted her with open arms; I know she felt she had really “come home.” She mentioned that she would like to start going back to church; however, I digress…
This particular piece you wrote gives me a lot of hope and comfort that she will again be a believer that Jesus is the son of God and he is our redeemer and that Jesus sees this and that she will be accepted in heaven. Faith is so hard, especially these days for us all, especially for our young people with all the evil in the world today.
Yours,
Alice
Yes, you're reading me right. May God bless your daughter and you. St. Monica had similar worries and her boy turned out alright. Keep asking God to bring her back to the Mass. He loves her more than you do. And your love for her is very plain.
Blessings,
Mark Shea Senior Content Editor Catholic Exchange
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Dear Editors:
Why spoil a great, religion-based, informational web site with a biased political article like Linda Chavez’s article Bush vs. Democrats? The article contained only whining about a supposed biased media. Please refrain from running articles such as this in the future.
Thank you,
Dave Saunders
Mr. Saunders,
We disagree with your simplistic reduction of the article. It is not about bias in the media, although that is briefly noted at the beginning and serves as the premise for the further consideration about strategy. The article should be most comforting to our “progressive” friends as it says the president is in trouble and may not win the next election. The only people this article would bother are those who want the pro-aborts to win and are distressed by anything that is supportive of President Bush.
Blessings,
Mrs. Mary Kochan
Contributing Editor, Catholic Exchange
To Catholic Exchange:
I am saddened by the inclusion of the article on Bush versus the Democrats on the website. While I understand that Catholics do not live in a vacuum, I read the Catholic Exchange website for content relating to my relationship with God and my relationship with my Church.
There are many other forums for the secular, partisan politics in which both the Democrats and the Republicans seem mired. But I do not read a Catholic website for more Democrat and Republican sparring. I read the Catholic Exchange website for the Good News of Jesus Christ. I read the Catholic Exchange in hopes of hearing how all Catholics, indeed all Christians, whether Democrat or Republican, can come together to be the hands and feet of Jesus in continuing His work on earth.
The only politics that Jesus associated Himself with were the politics of justice and love and mercy. Let Jesus our example. May the grace of God be with you this day.
Richard Lurton
Pensacola, Florida
Mr. Lurton,
We appreciate your gracious tone and your personal desire to focus on spiritual matters to the exclusion of politics. You are most welcome to ignore all political articles on CE and read exclusively from our extensive collection of articles focusing on general Christian and specifically Catholic spirituality.
We are called upon as Christians and Catholics to apply to the political arena the principles of our faith. The idea that we are “above all that” contrasts sharply with the thinking of many of the finest minds in the history of the Church — minds that belonged to some of the holiest saints (Thomas Aquinas leaps to mind here), certain proof that being engaged politically in no way interferes with spiritual growth.
Justice, love and mercy remain nothing but high-sounding words unless they affect the actions of real people building a real society — a work called “politics”.
Blessings,
Mrs. Mary Kochan
Contributing Editor, Catholic Exchange
To Catholic Exchange:
I resent the fact that Catholic Exchange blatantly supports The Bush Administration and denigrates Democrats with articles like this (Bush vs. Democrats by Linda Chavez).
I am a Catholic and a Democrat. I personally find President Bush's anti-Catholic behavior (his support of Bob Jones University), His stand on Capital punishment and his war based on lies and arrogance offensive. While, as a Democrat, I find policies that my party supports offensive as well, I think we have to search our consciences and make prayerful and informed decisions about voting.
I, for one, find that as a citizen, a Catholic and a Democrat I am as offended by Bush administration lies that precipitated a war just as I was President Clinton's sexual misconduct. Remember, Pope John Paul II spoke out against the war before it occurred. Yes, I am salivating at the thought that Bush lies may catch up with him and he may have to answer for them.
I think our country deserves leaders of integrity no matter which party. It has been a very long time since we've had integrity in the White House.
An anti-abortion agenda should not wipe away immorality in other areas. Chavez is obviously a very partisan Republican and is not fair in her assessment of the situation. Her statement that Bush faces a mostly hostile press is a huge lie. I can site (sic) you who owns the media and how much they donated to President Bush on the 2000 campaign if you would like. Also 9 of the top 12 columnists in the US are conservatives. Had the press spoken out against the war, the American public might have been better informed and opposed it. The liberal media is a very clever lie perpetrated by very clever people. This Chavez article is so radical in it's partisan politics and so full of venom and lies that it makes me sick.
This is not the first time the Catholic Exchange has promoted articles such as this and it puts a very sour taste in my mouth. It also ruins the credibility of the Catholic Exchange. By the way, I have written you similar emails as this before and they were returned undeliverable to me.
Sincerely, Paula Baranowski
Editor's Note: To contact Catholic Exchange, please refer to our Contact Us page.
Please note that all email submitted to Catholic Exchange or its authors (regarding articles published at CE) become the property of Catholic Exchange and may be published in this space. Published letters may be edited for length and clarity. Names and cities of letter writers may also be published. Email addresses of viewers will not normally be published.
Ms. Baranowski,
Our editorial position, which we have frequently reiterated, is that the defeat of abortion and other anti-Christian/anti-family policies in this country must be the top priority for Catholic voters. In the interest of doing so, we will take the occasion of answering your letter to further clarify this position and respond to the objections you raise. Thank you for the opportunity you have afforded us to demonstrate the lack of clear thinking common to Catholics blindly loyal to the Democratic Party.
George Bush's acceptance of the invitation to speak at Bob Jones university no more indicates his support of their “anti-Catholicism” (they are merely faithful to their Protestant “sola scriptura” ideals, would that all Catholic schools were as faithful to their own!) than Alan Keyes twice accepting such an invitation means that he supports all their doctrinal positions. Deal Hudson, editor of Crisis magazine and advisor to the president would certainly take exception to your description of Bush as “anti-Catholic”. You would be well-served by spending some time with his columns that appear regularly on CE.
President Bush's support of capital punishment is quite in line with the historic Christian and Catholic position. He is not Catholic, by the way, yet his right to use his own prudential judgement as a government official in this matter is supported by the Catechism. Not to mention that he swore an oath to uphold the laws and constitution, first of a state and then of a national government, which provide for the death penalty under certain conditions. You are offended by his keeping his oaths of office and by his doing what good Christian (and Catholic) governors have for centuries understood as their God-given duty.
You are further offended by the war — so much so that you tread close to the sin of calumny by saying that it was based upon lies. We remind you that these “lies” were believed by the intelligence community of the entire western world, including the Germans and French, the United Nations and the Clinton administration. The liar appears to have been Saddam himself, who wanted to appear more powerful than he was. That you are, as you say, “salivating” over all this, was the exact point of the article.
So rabid is your hatred of President Bush that you have completely lost sight of the fact that abortion is an “intrinsic evil” according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, while neither application of the death penalty nor the prosecution of a war constitute intrinsic evils.
Of course, nine of the top 12 columnists in the U.S. are conservatives, as are the top radio show hosts, but this is not the “news media.” So-called “journalists” (as opposed to pundits) overwhelmingly self-identify as “liberals” and generally admit that they view journalism as away to advance the “progressive” social agenda. They do this by the stealthy manipulation of news for the simple reason that they typically cannot make it as columnists and radio commentators — there aren't enough Americans who want to hear or read what they have to say. The fact that you wish “the press” would have spoken out more against the war reveals your confusion about the proper respective roles of reporters and commentators.
You say you want integrity in the White House, yet you fail to discern the lack of integrity in a president swearing to uphold a Constitution that exists to “secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity” while advancing the agenda of depriving our posterity of the fundamental right to life. It is that which should properly offend your conscience as a Catholic.
We regret having to resort to the public humiliation of your position, Ms. Baranowski. Reason ought to have worked long ago with those Catholics who continue to use their vote to keep pro-aborts in office. Perhaps shame will effect what logic and faith have failed to accomplish. If you feel embarrassed, we appeal to you to offer up your discomfort for an end to the barbarous holocaust you have been promoting with your vote.
God's grace to you,
Mrs. Mary Kochan
Contributing Editor, Catholic Exchange
