Hi Father,
A little while ago I sent you a Michael Voris video. Thank you for your reply.
I get your point that those Voris criticizes, however accurately, will not like to hear it. I don’t think Voris is trying to win over those folks but only to intrude upon their self-satisfaction by speaking for the segment of the laity who already agree with him.
From this laymen’s perspective he's expressing what many of us think. The laity is on the receiving end of one-way communication so our perspective is not something all clergy can share. Still, one can refrain from rejecting the message and shooting the messenger because of style issues. Voris speaks mostly of faith, morals and liturgy but it's not just those which are sources of discontent with the Church’s appointed leaders. As an example of one-way communication that reflects (in my opinion) lack of solidarity and understanding of the working-class laity, I would refer you to page 19 of the Arlington Catholic Herald dated March 21-27, 2013.
This is a full-page report of the lobbying work during the Virginia Legislature's 2013 session by the Virginia Catholic Conference which the article describes as "the public policy agency of Virginia's two bishops and their dioceses." Actually it is simply the personal arm of two bishops and their employees. No more, no less. Bishop Loverde and his employees do not speak to the VA. Legislature in the name of anyone but themselves; certainly not for me or any laity that I know. In fact, I’m offended and embarrassed by their public stance.
Consider some of the "issues" described on page 19 (ACH):
Death Penalty- "The conference supports ending the use of capital punishment..."
Catholics in communion with the Pope are free to support or oppose the death penalty. This was never an issue until JP II included a few lines about it into Veritatis Splendor. He gave the reason that murderers could be confined so that they would not be a public danger. (He did not even mention any other reasons which have always been favored by those who support capital punishment). He provided no evidence, no research in support of his opinion. In fact there are too many cases of murderers killing even while in prison to make the late Pope's opinion into a matter of faith and morals reversing, for example, the dogmatic Council of Trent, and 2000 years of teaching. The late Pope did not even weigh the pros and cons of achieving salvation when faced with either certain death approaching or indefinite life in a very unwholesome atmosphere. This opinion was then inserted in the subsequent Catechism of the Catholic Church and the next thing one knows it has risen to such a "dogma" that Bishops tell legislatures on our behalf that the death penalty has to be abolished. I'm in favor of it and I do not know anyone who is not.
There is a bit of irony in the Conference's report of its efforts on this matter. The Herald reported that "The conference supported Senator Howell's legislation to direct the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the total cost of the death penalty in the state." Does our Bishop know anything about Senator Janet Howell? Janet Howell has represented the Catholic-plentiful 32nd Senatorial District (parts of Arlington & Fairfax Counties) since 1992. From her very first campaign through her most recent campaign the literature mailed to voters in the Senatorial District has featured her support for abortion. The parishes in the District always remained "silent and neutral" during all of those campaigns. According to the so-called "seamless garment" theory, can we say that Janet Howell is pro-life because she supports abolishing capital punishment and other welfare state issues that the Bishop supports? Janet Howell has used her position on a key Democrat-controlled Senate Committee to kill in Committee much good pro-family legislation.
Gun Safety- "Conference-supported legislation attempted to close the 'gun-show loophole'..."
What charisma of his consecration to the episcopacy made Bishop Loverde a gun-policy expert? No wonder Bishops have lost their effectiveness when speaking on moral issues; they waste that moral capital promoting positions based on talking points from Joe Biden. (Sr. Mary Ann Walsh of the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Conference declared in the Washington Post that to be pro-life, Catholics must favor banning “assault weapons,” and support other new restrictions). I have two sons who own AR-15s and I'm glad they do. The Second Amendment’s purpose is to enable citizens to resist tyranny, foreign or domestic, and to defend themselves and their families from attackers. It appears elements in the country are determined to limit the means. History has shown that an unarmed citizenry becomes the victim of amoral leaders. Not long ago a priest of my parish devoted his whole homily to the resistance of Mexicans after he saw the movie, For Greater Glory. He even stopped me in the parking lot to share his excitement at what he saw. Good thing the resisters had guns.
Immigration policy- "Conference-supported legislation was proposed in both chambers to grant in-state tuition status to immigrant children who arrived in the United States before their 16th birthday and have been granted Deferred Action status by the federal government"
This is another welfare state Bill which involves several points about which Catholics can disagree and of which Senator Howell was a co-patron. What, I ask, is the Catholic moral principle upon which our Bishop speaks in our name? (a) These are not "immigrant children who arrived in the United States." They are adult illegal aliens who may have been under 18 when they accompanied their illegal alien parent(s) as those parent(s) broke our laws; and the "Deferred Action status" was not granted by the "federal government". The Obama Administration has unilaterally decided to stop enforcing the law. On one hand Bishops applaud the extra-legal administrative decisions of the Department of Homeland Security while simultaneously complaining about the extra-legal administrative decisions of the Department of Health and Human Services but only to the extent that their "ox is being gored". (b) Tuition in Virginia's public colleges is subsidized by Virginia's taxpayers. The pie is only so big. The more students, the more the State's subsidy is diluted and the more legal, tax-paying parents (or their adult children) have to pay in tuition. Further, a legal resident of Maryland, child of tax-paying parents, would not qualify for in-state tuition at a Virginia public college. Why should the child of an illegal alien? As a tax-free institution itself, should the Diocese of Arlington be promoting the giveaway of the tax money its working-class laity has had to fork out under threat of punishment from the State? Is that solidarity? Is it justice?
Medicaid expansion- "During the recent and ongoing national debates on health care reform, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has consistently called for access to quality, affordable health care that respects the life, health, and conscience rights of all. Consistent with the USCCB's advocacy, the conference supports Medicaid expansion because of the critical services it would provide to many of Virginia's poorest residents and because it would help the vital work of the commonwealth's poorest residents."
The Herald effectively reports what we in the laity have been saying, namely, the Bishops, leading tax-free institutions, and working through those institutions cooperated with other welfare state advocates for over a decade to impose ObamaCare (Constitutional because it's a "tax" according to Supreme Court) on the taxpayers of this country. Again, we question both the standing of the Bishops and the moral principle upon which they presumed to advocate for more taxation on the laity. For the better part of 1900 years the Catholic Church considered charity to be a moral obligation of it and its members. At what point did the moral principle change so that State -forced taxation and State-run inefficient and fraud-ridden bureaucracy became the new moral norm? The fact is that ObamaCare will not result in "access to quality, affordable health care that respects the life, health, and conscience rights of all." It's an economic disaster of tsunami proportions that will contribute to the breakdown. Our Bishops will have good health insurance and won't have to depend on Medicaid for their health needs. According to national pollsters, the majority of Americans do not support ObamaCare and they haven't yet seen the coming ramifications.
Disabilities- All of us support communal action to help genuinely-disabled people. The point of disagreement is the means. The conference supports the inefficient and fraud-ridden welfare state solution financed by our, not the conferences, taxes.
Uranium Mining- "The conference opposed legislation to rescind Virginia's longstanding ban on uranium mining."
If no other example of lack of competence to speak in our name made the case the laity have with the conference, this one would. The conference aligns with the "environmental movement" against production of new wealth and jobs. I don't know the pros and cons; what I do know is that Our Lord did not provide Bishop Loverde any special insight regarding uranium mining.
Restoring voting rights- The conference advocated restoring voting rights to persons convicted of nonviolent felonies.
The conference didn't say if these were persons who had done their time or were still in prison. What Catholic moral principle is exhibited here? To me it looks more like the Democratic Party's agenda to give the vote to as many felons and illegal immigrants as possible in the expectation that they will vote for Democrats.
In conclusion, the laity understands it is the Bishops’ job is to teach, govern and sanctify. There is a wealth of social teaching of which too many regular church-attending Catholics are ignorant because it hasn’t been taught. Many are instead supporters of and fellow-travelers with “Catholics” of the Tim Kaine, Biden, Pelosi, and Sebelius variety. Educated Catholic parishioners of the 32nd Senatorial District would remove pro-abortion Janet Howell and fill the legislature with a person of pro-live values. The Bishop’s job is to govern his diocese, not the State of Virginia. Men of goodwill may differ on approaches to the topics listed above. The Bishops of Virginia and political advocates in their employment have no special insight. It is in fact harmful for them to be espousing socialist solutions which inevitably go sour and end in coercion. Their actions tell us the Bishops lack understanding and solidarity with the parents and grandparents concerned about the socialist and coercive direction Government has taken.
Sincerely,How many other dioceses are lobbying state legislatures portraying matters about which people of good will can disagree as if they are Catholic doctrine? Frankly, I'm tired of socialistic bishops who consider Democratic policies holier than Church doctrine. I never attend our lobby day because most of what the Virginia bishops support I do not. I wish the bishop spent as much time and money on promoting Church teaching on marriage and contraception as he does promoting liberalism at the state level. The lobby group recently hired three more people to push these liberal positions. It's just one more reason I won't give one a red cent to the diocese or any diocesan collection!
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