When the Church is Socialist
March 22, 2012
N.W. writes:
I thought you’d appreciate this story my mother told me. A woman asked her 11-year-old son if he knew why the priest wore rose colored vestments at Mass last Sunday morning. After a moment’s thoughtful pause, the boy replied “I don’t know for sure but I think it has something to do with breast cancer awareness, right?”
It seems a logical conclusion to draw, given our society’s obsession with promoting physical health while completely neglecting our cultures spiritual wellness (or sickness as the case may be).
The story reminded me of a long discussion I had with my uncle this past Christmas concerning the Church’s position and responsibilities within the political realm. My uncle, a priest for fifty years, was of the opinion that it was the Church’s responsibility to lobby governments to provide for the physical health and well being of their population through socialized healthcare. I responded that it seemed the Church had quite enough to do providing for the spiritual well-being of its members without taking upon itself the mission of campaigning for free universal healthcare for the masses.
But, if free universal healthcare is the end toward which the Church Militant is campaigning these days perhaps its not too big of a stretch to conclude that the priest wears pink vestments to help raise awareness about breast cancer.
P.S. You have ruined my ability to sit and enjoy a Pizza Hut pizza. I just imagine fiberglass insulation baked into the crust and mixed with the cheese and the whole thing rapidly becomes quite unappetizing, especially after working around insulation in crawl spaces and attics all day.
Laura writes:
That boy made sense. Catholic leaders widely supported Obamacare and made it a top priority. The Church has the spiritual welfare of society to maintain and thus should not become overly politicized. But there’s an even bigger issue.
Socialism is contrary to Catholic ethics. While the contraception mandate is wrong, Obamacare’s violation of the right to private property is also a grave wrong and the Catholic bishops supported that.
There has been much confusion on this issue and many Catholics believe socialism is consistent with the Church’s historic teachings. It is not. Here is an excellent piece at Tradition in Action explaining the history of this confusion and why socialism is immoral.
By the way, when years from now you are trimmer and healthier than most of the middle age men you know, you can thank me for keeping you away from Pizza Hut.
