The Church and her bishops have a heightened moral responsibility


The following post from last year.

December 26, 2010

Mark Jones found the confirmation I was looking for, in the shape of the letter the bishop of Phoenix wrote to the president of Catholic Healthcare West. It is unbelievably disgusting.

He’s pissed off that the president of CHW told him that this is a complex matter on which the best minds disagree – not, as one might hope, because he thinks there should be no disagreement on whether or not a pregnant woman should be allowed to die along with her fetus rather than prevented from dying at the expense of her fetus, but because he is The Bishop.

In effect, you would have me believe that we will merely have to agree to disagree. But this resolution is unacceptable because it disregards my authority and responsibility to interpret the moral law and to teach the Catholic faith as a Successor of the Apostles.

His responsibility, that is, to order doctors to let a woman die. Because he is a Successor of the Apostles.

The decisions regarding life and death, morality and immorality as they relate to medical ethics are at the forefront of the Church’s mission today. As a result, the Church and her bishops have a heightened moral responsibility to remain actively engaged in these discussions and debates.

So that they can do their level best to compel hospitals to refuse to save the lives of pregnant women.

While the issues discussed in the moral analysis you provided are certainly technical and deeply philosophical, they are also foundationally “theological.” And the theology of the Catholic Faith, as concretized in the Code of Canon Law, dispels any doubt whose opinion on matters of faith and morals is decisive for institutions in the Diocese of Phoenix.

Me! Me me me me me me me! Do you understand? Me, the Bishop! My opinion is decisive! Not yours! Mine! I am the boss and you have to do what I say.

It goes on like that for four horrible pages. This from a church that protects priests who fuck children!

I feel dirty.

Comments

  1. says

    Episcopal evil was right. I would add despicable, inhuman, misogynist and depressing that so many people give credence to the mouthings of shits like this…

  2. cathyw says

    I said this at the time: I want that bishop to look the woman in the eye and tell her to her face, “Your doctor was supposed to have let you die.” I didn’t, and still don’t, think he’s got the guts to do it – but he doesn’t have to, he can hide under his silly purple hat and run at the mouth about the so-called moral authority of the church (and himself) and ignore the fact that there was an actual woman’s actual life at stake here.

  3. Chris Lawson says

    The bishop’s logic is worse than just “woman’s life = life of a 2-3 inch long fetus”. The choice in this case was “woman’s life + abortion of fetus = woman dies and fetus dies”. So what the bishop is saying is not that life is sacred because his preferred option kills a fully grown, conscious woman against her own will and the will of her treating doctors without saving anything.

    What the bishop really means is that his moral equanimity is more important than a woman’s life. And that is disgusting.

  4. says

    These people just make me sick. It is a perfect illustration of why you should not turn to religion for moral questions. They have no respect for life and the well being of other humans, only regard for their own twisted dogmas and their own authority and power to fuck with other people’s lives.

  5. says

    Simply reading this post I agree with the above since it is true and it is great to see an op that is blogging this online to think about.

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