Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Can the USCCB be wrong?
Michael P. linked the other day to an editorial in Commonweal which (among other things) asks "is there a possibility that the USCCB might be wrong?" It seems to me that the editors are beyond-question-right in observing that, with respect to "highly technical legislative and legal questions," it is possible for the USCCB to be wrong -- that is, to misunderstand what, in fact, the legislation or policy in question actually does or will do. This is true with respect to complicated health-insurance legislation, and is also true with respect to policies and proposals regarding immigration, taxation, public-assistance, farm-subsidies, foreign aid, etc., etc.
It strikes me that the important challenge for all of us -- in the context of the current health-insurance debate, I think it is Catholic "liberals" who face this challenge; in some other contexts, it is Catholic "conservatives" -- is to do all we can to be sure that, in opposing the bishops' policy judgments, we are indeed motivated by an informed and good-faith disagreement about a matter with respect to which the bishops have no special teaching authority, and are not instead animated by a (perhaps unacknowledged) rejection of the underlying moral principle, with respect to which (I assume) the bishops do enjoy such authority. I am confident that our friends at Commonweal are in the former position, but no one should imagine that (say) Nancy Pelosi is, too.
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2010/06/can-the-usccb-be-wrong.html
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the
comment feed
for this post.
A few questions from someone who has no idea whether or not the USCCB is right about the health reform bill:
1) If the USCCB's interpretation of this health reform bill is wrong, and the bill does not increase the public funding for abortion, why would Obama and the Democrats not include the Hyde Amendment language in the bill? Just because it would have been redundant?
2) Why did Obama sign an executive order stating that the bill would not increase federal funding for abortion if it was so obvious that the bill would not increase federal funding for abortion? Was the executive order redundant?
3) Is it better for Catholics to be united with their bishops or right on a public policy issue?
4) Are the bishops to blame for making Catholics have to choose between loyalty to them and correct interpretations of statutes, or are the Religious Sisters to blame for abandoning the Bishops in order to achieve a political objective? Are both to blame? Is no one to blame?
5) When obedience becomes optional - i.e. I will obey the Bishops only when I think they are right - is it really obedience?
6) Is it okay for Catholics to disobey the Bishops on this issue because it is a policy matter and the bishops have no particular expertise in that arena?
7) Is the USCCB really serving the interests of Catholics in the U.S., or should it be reformed in some way to make it a more effective means of promoting faith in Jesus Christ?