Our Canadian Catholic Reality
As I said in our last issue, we need to look in a particular way at how the Catholic Church in Canada (not that of the United States) has dealt and needs to deal with prolife issues. With each of these critiques, I would also like to propose solutions.
1) There is No Catholic Vote. The Catholic Church in Canada is far too fragmented among linguistic, cultural, and political lines to be considered a consistent vote. Because there is no Catholic voting bloc it means that bishops have little chance of being seen to control a significant number of votes at any level of elections. Thus, politicians don’t listen to them. The solution - consistent political education as to the rights and duties of Catholics in a pluralistic society as envisioned by every pope in social justice teachings since 1891.
2) Baptism Certificates Do Not Equal Belief. It is so politically incorrect to say it but very large numbers of our Catholic people do not hold Catholic or Christian beliefs. Though sacramentally they are deemed Catholic, for all practical purposes they are, as Karl Rahner said, “practical atheists”. Such people may wave a Catholic flag when it is convenient, but in any serious way they are of little use to achieve the public aims and goals of the Church and, indeed, work counter to it. I am sure you can fill in plenty of examples here. The solution is to be far more direct when speaking about practicing and believing Catholics when crunching numbers for political discussions. Catholics may be sorted as to their beliefs fairly dependably (sociologically speaking) on weekly, monthly or never Mass attendance. These numbers are what is used for serious political discussion.
3) You Can’t Be Held Responsible for Things You Don’t Know. I have spoken in Catholic schools for almost 50 years now and increasingly Catholic school administration does not promote prolife activism or education. There are outstanding exceptions to this in some boards and schools but the Gospel of Life is not generally inculcated at all levels regardless of what education programs might lay out. Catholic school graduates do not know the teaching of the Church and, therefore, can hardly be expected to follow them. The solution is to recognize the catechetical crisis and to understand that the proclamation of the Gospel of Life is a practical one and needs to be written into catechetical programs and enforced in its teaching.
4) Church Moral Teaching is a Package Deal – Not a Buffet. Everyone reading this knows the pick-and-choose method of most Catholics when it comes to moral teachings. But when looking at the social justice teachings of the Church which includes pro-life issues, it has been consistently insisted upon that Catholic social principles including the respect for human life cannot be just ignored, randomly selected or occasionally followed. The solution is to retake the catechetical heights and launch (as they did in Poland generations ago) a great National Catechesis so that our people can be taught – or retaught – and reaffirmed in the teaching of the Church. I know this sounds like a huge project, but the problem is huge too.
5) If You Don’t Know What You Want, You Aren’t Going to Get It. The Church lives in a political world and we need the lobbyists and the political policies to work in it. Too many people think politics is a grubby business and avoid it or hope that things work for the best. Hope is a virtue, not a plan. Politics is a necessary part of the human condition. The solution is to be clear about our political goals and clarify what we want and need in prolife issues. Then we must put the Church’s resources of people, money and time into the short and long-term work of achieving these prolife political goals. This will not be done by an occasional letter from a conference, a trifold pamphlet, or hastily written policy documents lost on a paper laden desk. Priorities need to be set and actions taken in a consistent fashion. Victory is an achievable reality, but it must be worked, sacrificed and prayed for.
In a future article I would like to lay out what I think are the particular opportunities and goals to achieve it.
Fr. Tom Lynch (PFLC National President)