A Get Out of Jail Free Card...Not

The Pew Forum released a report today reminding Catholics, albeit unintentionally, of the damage caused by the misguided notion of "primacy of conscience."

"A newly released study from the Pew Forum shows that many self-described American Catholics ignore Church teachings on both theological and social issues." (http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=89626) According to the report, "the Pew Forum found that 48% of Catholics respondents favor legal abortion (16% in all cases, 32% in most cases), while only 18% agree that abortion should always be illegal. A substantial majority of the Catholics polled-- 58%-- said that society should accept homosexuality. On theological issues, only 16% of American Catholics believe that the Church is the one true means of salvation."

This shouldn't surprise anyone given the morally relativistic culture we live in. Your truth is your truth, and my truth is mine, and we agree not to pass judgment on one another. What better fertile ground for the concept of primacy of conscience to blossom?

Australian Archbishop George Pell best defined primacy of conscience as "secular relativism with a religious face." Dissenting Catholics embrace primacy of conscience as their "get out of jail free card", because it allows them to justify their refusal to accept Church teachings: "After all, I'm just following the conscience that God gave me. I'm making the choice I feel is right. How can I be held responsible for a bad choice if I only followed my heart, my conscience?"


Well, guess what? You will be held responsible.


The problem with primacy of conscience is that it assumes the conscience in question is mature and well-formed. In many cases this is not true. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches the following in regards to the formation of our consciences:


“In the formation of conscience the Word of God is the light for our path, we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord's Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church” (Catechism, 1785).


Refusing to be 'guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church' is to willfully reject the proper formation of our consciences. Our consciences stagnate, leaving us in a state of ignorance for which we are responsible:

"A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed. This ignorance can often be imputed to personal responsibility. This is the case when a man 'takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin.' In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits." (Catechism 1790, 1791)

Pray. Pray for those who willfully scorn the Church's teachings and for those who mistakenly believe that our consciences alone can distinguish between right and wrong. Otherwise, there will be many smiling souls who will be surprised to learn that the path they are treading leads not to the Beatific Vision, but to the place where Dante warns, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." (Inferno, Canto Three)


Donald Tremblay

Adam and Eve . . . Or is it Cornelius and Zira?

“Take your stinking paws off me you damn, dirty ape!”

This famous line from the film classic The Planet of the Apes has taken on new meaning thanks to a decision last week by the Spanish Parliament: “Spain's parliament voiced its support on Wednesday for the rights of great apes to life and freedom in what will apparently be the first time any national legislature has called for such rights for non-humans.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL256586320080625) According to Reuters, “Keeping apes for circuses, television commercials or filming will also be forbidden and breaking the new laws will become an offence under Spain 's penal code.”

I kid you not.

If it wasn’t so frightening it would be laughable.

"This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defense of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity," said Pedro Pozas, Spanish director of the Great Apes Project. Evolutionary comrades? Although it would be tempting to dismiss these ridiculous comments as proof of an unknown gas leak in the Spanish parliamentary building, Pozas statements are in actuality indicative of the chaotic views of our increasingly secular, anti-Christian western society.

Scripture tells us that God made Man in His own image. Secularism rejects God and tells us that Man is merely a rational animal, with the emphasis placed on the word animal. Few realize that once God is rejected, Man’s self-view as a transcendent creature with the authority “to fill the earth, and subdue it” is discarded as well (Genesis 1:28). Ultimately, Man is of no greater value than an ape, or any other creature, despite Christ’s words to his apostles as he sent them off on their first mission:

“29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not therefore: better are you than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10: 29-31)

Proof of this equating animal life with human life can be found among the extreme sect of the animal rights movement. Here are a few examples from news items published during the past few years:

· During the past two decades, radical environmental and animal rights groups have claimed responsibility for hundreds of crimes and acts of terrorism, including arson, bombings, vandalism and harassment, causing more than $100 million in damage. (ADL - http://www.adl.org/Learn/Ext_US/Ecoterrorism.asp)

· On July 30 the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled its latest plan to combat extremists operating on British soil. Irish Republican Army militants? Islamist radicals? No: animal-rights activists. (Aug 30, 2004, Business Week-European Business: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_35/b3897069_mz054.htm)

• Officials in Indian-Kashmir have poisoned hundreds of dogs and aim to kill all 100,000 strays in the region's main city - saying the animals pose a risk to humans and make urban life unbearable. With the world's highest rabies fatality rate, India has long struggled to control its millions of stray dogs, a problem exacerbated by rapidly growing cities and slums. Animal rights activists vowed Thursday to go to court to stop the slaughter planned by Srinagar , saying it is an illegal and cruel solution to a problem that could be addressed in other ways. (Associated Press - Friday, March 7, 2008: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/07/MNT2VEUPC.DTL)

Spain may be the first nation to devalue human life by officially proposing measures that subordinate Man to the level of the animal kingdom, but don’t expect it to be the last. In fact, don’t be surprised if the United Nations jumps on board and adds a “Wildlife Civil Rights” clause to its charter.

Donald Tremblay

Job: A Man for All Ages

In 1981, Harold S. Kushner wrote the bestseller When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Why good people suffer is a question we ask daily when we open a newspaper or turn on the evening news. Tens of thousands of innocents die in an earthquake or a tsunami; young, hard-working husbands and wives are stricken with terminal illnesses or are the victims of violent crimes. The amount of suffering in the world overwhelms the mind. As Catholics we believe that “all is part of God’s Plan”. Yet no explanation, not even this one, satisfies the intellect or the emotions. One is forced to learn that it is only Faith that is capable of navigating a person through these existential dilemmas. And there is no better biblical tale to explain this than the Book of Job.

Job is an honorable and righteous man who loses everything. His family is killed; his livestock is captured or killed; and he is afflicted with an ulcer that reaches from the “sole of the foot even to the top of his head” (Job 2: 7). Having lost virtually everything the distraught Job demands an explanation from God as to why he has been victimized by this evil. Job expects God to justify His actions. God responds defiantly:

1” Then the Lord answered Job out of a whirlwind, and said: 2 ‘Who is this that wrappeth up sentences in unskillful words? 3 Gird up thy loins like a man: I will ask thee, and answer thou me. 4 Where wast thou when I laid up the foundations of the earth? tell me if thou hast understanding.’” (Job 38: 1-4)

And later:

3 “’Wilt thou make void my judgment: and condemn me, that thou mayst be justified? 4 And hast thou an arm like God, and canst thou thunder with a voice like him?’” (Job 40: 3-4)

Stunned and realizing that the servant has no right to question the master, Job apologizes profusely:

2 “’I know that thou canst do all things, and no thought is hid from thee. 3 Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have spoken unwisely, and things that above measure exceeded my knowledge. 4 Hear, and I will speak: I will ask thee, and do thou tell me. 5 With the hearing of the ear, I have heard thee, but now my eye seeth thee. 6 Therefore I reprehend myself, and do penance in dust and ashes.’” (Chapter 42: 2-6)

Job learns the difficult lesson that we all must learn: God’s ways are not our ways. And because He is the Omniscient Creator, He is not required to justify His actions to us, His creations. Our responsibility is to accept and trust in His decisions, acknowledging that His plans are beyond our understanding.

Make no mistake about it. This is a lifetime endeavor that does not sit well with our emotions or our intellect. Our instincts tell us to rise up in rage against God . . . and that is okay. God doesn’t expect us to be robots. What He does expect from us is Faith—Faith in His mercy and His love. Faith is not an emotion. It is an act of the Will. It doesn’t mean living life oblivious to evil and suffering. Quite the contrary it means that despite evil and suffering you believe that ultimately our lives are in God’s protective hands. Faith is the reed NOT swayed by the wind.

No, Job’s way will not prevent bad things from happening to good people. Nor will it prevent pain and anxiety from reaching us. But it really is our only choice when facing the miseries of this world.

One side note: Interestingly, once Job allows God to be God, his fortunes return in twice the amount he had previously. Perhaps this is the Lord’s way of saying that if we stand fast by our Faith now, the rewards in the afterlife will be greater than we could ever expect.

Donald Tremblay

Bless Me Father, For I Have Sinned . . .

Whatever happened to confession (Penance)? Or as it is now referred to reconciliation? According to a November 21, 2003, Seattle Post-Intelligencer article (Catholic Confession Has Evolved Over Time) “sociologists estimate that fewer than 25 percent of Catholics regularly go to confession, and that nearly 60 percent never or almost never go.” Much has been written about how “there is no such thing as sin anymore in our society”. Although it’s true that moral relativism has infected our society, blurring the lines between right and wrong, good and evil. There’s no denying the fact that the Church dropped the ball for several decades in teaching the importance of this sacrament.

In Vatican II there was a strong feeling that “the fire and brimstone” approach to sin had alienated the flock. In response confession would be renamed reconciliation and would be portrayed as a healing of the rift between the sinner and God, and between the sinner and the Church community. The Church decided that it would stress God’s love and mercy, often to exclusion of all else. As a result a whole generation of Catholic children grew up during the 1970s—of which I am one—who learned that God is Love, but learned little else.

For ex, many adult Catholics mistakenly believe that the General Absolution given during Sunday Mass wipes away our sins and negates the need for confession. Others wrongly believe that because God is Infinite Mercy that He automatically forgives all our sins, again removing the need for us to confess through a separate sacrament of penance. Even worse, a greater majority argue “that I confess directly to God. Why do I need to go through a priest?”

The Gospel of John tells us why we need a priest:

“He [Jesus] said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. 23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.” (John 20, 21-23)

Christ couldn’t have said more plainly.

What is the purpose of confession? Confession cleanses the soul by washing away the sins that soil it. Most people have a misconception that when you die you are sent by God to either Heaven or Hell. No. When you die your soul voluntarily sends itself to Heaven or Hell based on the choices you’ve made in your life. A cleansed soul will naturally seek Heaven, while a soul marred by sins will naturally gravitate towards the abode of the “Man of Iniquities”, which is Hell. Cleansing the soul through confession makes it worthy of eternal salvation and of experiencing the Beatific Vision.

An added benefit of confession is that it “increases the grace of God in the soul” (This is the Faith, Canon Francis Ripley, 2002 edition, p 280). The confessor receives a grace that helps him/her “to avoid sin in the future”. (Ripley, p 287)

Thankfully, within the past decade the Church has placed greater emphasis on the importance of this sacrament. Prior to receiving first Holy Communion children must experience reconciliation. The Church makes an event of the sacrament by inviting the families of the participating children to the ceremony where they watch from a distance as their sons/daughters make their first confessions. The ceremonial character of the event impresses upon children the importance of Penance, and will hopefully serve as the inspiration for a lifetime commitment to it.

Now if we could only convince Catholic adults to believe similarly.

Donald Tremblay

Dignity and Death

The Houston Chronicle today (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/5850176.html) reports on Washington State ’s right-to-die initiative (I-1000). According to the Chronicle, “The initiative would let a doctor prescribe lethal drugs to terminally ill patients who are believed to have less than six months to live.”

Before I go any further let me make it clear that I am not minimizing the pain suffered by many people. In fact, I am often shocked at the amount of sadness and pain there is in the world. Clearly those victims of it need compassion and assistance; the question is how does one define “compassion” and “assistance”?

Perhaps what I will remember most about Pope John Paul II is the way he faced the final years of his life as his body deteriorated from Parkinson’s disease. I can visualize him standing by open windows, uncontrollably shaking, waving to the flock. John Paul understood suffering and dignity . . . and that is why he insisted that others see him in that broken state. Our Lord suffered the greatest of indignities and the most painful of deaths, and the Polish Pontiff wanted us all to understand that suffering, when embraced, is redemptive and not de-humanizing. When we suffer we walk in the shoes of Christ. One of the wonders and beauties of Christianity is that our Lord doesn’t ask us to accept anything that he himself didn’t also face. We can shake our fists and cry out in anguish to God for our suffering, but we cannot accuse of Him “of not knowing what this pain is like.”

It is often argued by right-to-die advocates that “it is my life, so I should be able to end it as I choose”. No, it is not your life. As The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes clear, “We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of” (Catechism 2280). Herein lies the fallacy of the right-to-die movement. Only those who have brought about their own lives have the right to dispose of it. Since none of us have created ourselves, we do not have the moral right to eliminate ourselves.

Besides the spiritual arguments there are other problems with assisted suicide. First off is the contention that this initiative will only apply to those who are terminally ill. How does one define “terminal”? Chris Carlson, who was press secretary to former Idaho Gov. Cecil D. Andrus, is spearheading the coalition against the Washington State initiative. In 2005, Carlson was diagnosed with cancer and was declared terminal, and yet three years later his illness is dormant: “’That points to a major flaw in this initiative. Doctors can, with some authority, tell someone they have six months or less to live,’ Carlson said. ‘I was supposed to be dead two years ago, but I'm still here.’"

Add to that the question of whether the sufferer is clear-minded enough to know that ending their life is what they truly desire. Individuals go through stages before they accept their impending death. Anger and depression are normal psychological states that precede acceptance of terminal illness. The sufferer’s desire for immediate death may be a manifestation of these temporary states of mind.

No, suicide is not the answer. The time and money being spent to pass this right-to-die measure would be better spent on research for better pain medications or on initiatives that provide terminally ill patients with psychological care equivalent to the medical attention they receive.

Donald Tremblay

The Scattering of the Flock

After His Crucifixion our Lord appeared to His disciples on several occasions. One of these instances was on the Sea of Tiberias . Several of His disciples were unsuccessfully fishing until He instructed them to cast the net on the right side of the ship. It was then that they recognized Him. According to John’s Gospel there were seven in the group: “There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas, who is called Didymus, and Nathanael, who was of Cana of Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples” (John 21:2). As they sat around the fire eating the fish they’d caught, the Lord charged Peter to “Feed my lambs” (twice) and “Feed my sheep”. Six other disciples sat with Peter, but only Peter was given these instructions. Why?

“Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19)

Through these words Jesus announces to all that Peter would lead the faithful after His death. As stated by the Catechism of Catholic Church, “Simon Peter holds the first place in the college of the Twelve; Jesus entrusted a unique mission to him. . . . His mission will be to keep this faith from every lapse and to strengthen his brothers in it.” (Catechism, 552) The catechism also teaches that “the power to ‘bind and loose’ connotes the authority to absolve sins, to pronounce doctrinal judgments, and to make disciplinary decisions in the Church” (Catechism 553). Thus, Peter becomes the first Bishop of Rome, the first Pope.

Why is this important today?

Today, The Telegraph, a daily newspaper in London , reports that “ Hardline Church leaders have formally declared the end of the worldwide Anglican Communion, saying they can no longer be associated with liberals who tolerate homosexual clergy. The traditionalists dealt a serious blow to Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, by claiming that he can no longer hold the Church together.” (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2153935/Hardline-archbishops-declare-Anglican-split.html)

The Archbishop of Canterbury does not hold the authority of the Pope. There is no central authority in the Episcopal Church, meaning there is nothing to stop rogue dioceses or movements from scattering the flock. Decisions are made jointly by bishops. Painfully, Archbishop Williams is learning that democracy may be great for governments, but not for religions. The “buck” needs to stop with someone. What is doctrine if there is nobody to enforce it? I am reminded of an adage I learned from one of my college professors: “Never accept ‘No’ from someone who can’t say ‘Yes’.” The liberals in the Episcopal Church have clearly learned this. Archbishop Williams is in no more of a position to strike down their changes than he is to install them as doctrine.

Once again the Holy Spirit-inspired wisdom of the Roman Catholic Church makes itself apparent.

Donald Tremblay

Misunderstanding Faith

On Tuesday Neil Beagley, a 16-year-old boy from a faith-healing family, died after refusing treatment for a medical condition. According to the Associated Press (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,368863,00.html), “’He likely had a congenital condition that constricted his urinary tract where the bladder empties into the urethra, and the condition of his organs indicates he had multiple blockages during his life,’ said Dr. Clifford Nelson, deputy state medical examiner for Clackamas County .” In Oregon anyone 14 years of age or older is allowed to refuse medical treatment. A few months ago a toddler cousin of Beagley’s (Ava Worthington) died when her parents allegedly refused to seek medical treatment for Ava’s “bronchial pneumonia and a blood infection”. The AP reports that both families are members of the Followers of Christ church.

Here is an example, a tragic example, of people who do not understand what Faith means. To ignore medical attention is no more a display of Faith than is standing in the passing lane of major Interstate highway and saying, “God will protect me”. These faith-healers are similar to the sects that handle poisonous snakes to “prove” their faith in God. Not only is this foolish, but it also violates the command Christ gave Satan following the Evil One’s final temptation in the wilderness:

And he brought him to Jerusalem , and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and he said to him: If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself from hence. 10 For it is written, that He hath given his angels charge over thee, that they keep thee. 11 And that in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12 And Jesus answering, said to him: It is said: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. (Luke 4:9-12)

The faith-healers and the snake handlers are actually guilty of pride. To test the Lord by not treating an illness or by handling poisonous snakes is to treat the Lord as if He is your servant. It is to act as if He is at your beck-and-call. Thus, you are the Lord and not He.

In addition, Catholicism teaches that the human body is the temple of the Spirit. As such, you have a responsibility to take care of it. Life is a gift from God, as are medical advancements. You are to cherish it as a gift. You wouldn’t be happy if through neglect someone destroyed the new car you bought them. It seems logical that the Lord would view your health in the same manner.

Unfortunately, it is too late for Neil Beagley and his 15-month old cousin Ava to learn this.

Donald Tremblay