Entry #1 was an excerpt of a podcast homily:
That we must be ready to remove from us the soul-killing voices of dissention, rebellion, bitterness, and contention does not mean that we must be ready to ignore or even coddle the Spirits of Deceit and Disobedience. Nothing about growing up to be Christs for others requires us to tolerate false teaching, listen to phony myths, or watch anti-Catholic bigots (both in and outside the Church) dismantle the Body given to us by Christ. Charity without Truth is not love; it’s merely lazy toleration. But Truth without Charity is mere accuracy, just fact—cold, hollow.
The last line truly struck a note with me as I vacillate between one extreme to the other, but rarely meet in the middle.
Entry #2 is an excerpt of Bishop Doran’s (The Bishop of Rockford, Illinois) letter on abortion:
I do not think that we should spend a great deal of time in lamentation over the children whose lives have been snuffed out by the barbaric practice of therapeutic abortion. They passed from their lives quickly in this world and have gone into the hands of the Lord of Life and Mercy for all eternity. We must make it clear too, that many who have sought to have practiced on themselves therapeutic abortion are in many instances driven to it by persons heedless of their welfare, or by well- meaning but inept parents or guardians who regard abortion as a solution and not as what it is — an immense problem. There are some, I think few, largely given over to immoral lives who regard abortion as a good, but their number is not great.
Again, that part really touched a nerve. First, I think this falls under the “Truth with Charity” category Fr. Powell refers to in his homily above (it is really good in it’s entirety, by the way). Secondly, I can honestly say that about 99% of the people I knew who have had abortions were girls who have been coerced, or very scared and easily coerced. They never seemed to have the ability to take a deep breath and truly consider what to do, but just react. There was always people taking advantage of that and thinking for them.When I say “I know”, I don’t mean stories on Imnotsorry.net, I meant friends that I used to hang around with, and watched these dramas unfold. So granted, my own anecdotal evidence may not be the best example, but it is what I have seen, and it has left me very sad for the women involved as well as their babies.
Many of the women I know were Japanese women, and were already married with children — very different anecdotal evidence. Most were Buddhists, and truly believed that the babies they wouldn`t bear would be born elsewhere.
Interestingly, I know a few post-abortive Christian women who expressed similar feelings: they may have killed a particular embryo with unique DNA, but its soul would be reborn, either to them or to someone else.
The Christian women`s ideas are contrary to those of the religion in which they profess to believe, but I never had anything to say to the Buddhist women, who believed that living creatures get more than one chance at life.