Just amazing:
SB 360, a piece of proposed legislation currently making its way through the California state senate, should alarm not only every Catholic in the country, but indeed the adepts of any religion.
In California, as in almost every other state, clergy members (along with a variety of other professionals, including physicians, social workers, teachers, and therapists) are mandated reporters—which is to say, they are legally required to report any case of suspected child abuse or neglect to law enforcement. However, California clergy who come by this knowledge in the context of “penitential communication” are currently exempted from the requirement.
SB 360 would remove the exemption. Senator Jerry Hill, the bill’s sponsor, characterized the scope and purpose of his legislation as follows: “The law should apply equally to all professionals who have been designated as mandated reporters of these crimes—with no exceptions, period. The exemption for clergy only protects the abuser and places children at further risk.”
This is not about protecting kids – this is about eliminating Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. As the piece goes on to note, if this becomes law, people will go to confession with the specific goal of confessing something a priest has to report, and then having the priest arrested when no report is made. The law will put priests in the impossible position: failure to comply means arrest, compliance means excommunication. And who will want to go to confession if they believe that the priest is an agent of the State? This is the war on religion, writ large.
To be sure, the Supreme Court would likely rule the law unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds…but this action by the left in California shows where they will take us if they get the power to do so.
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Sadly, much of the war on the Church comes from within the Church, as putative Catholics—that is, people who “identify as Catholic” without accepting the teachings of the Church—-are working against it. We have nuns who support abortion, priests who engage in homosexual sex when even married heterosexual sex is not allowed, and the Pope giving an apparent blessing to such as Nancy Pelosi as she openly advocates for the murder of the unborn. We have the once-faithful Jesuits sounding like fatuous Lefty schoolboys in their newsletter, swooning over the joys of the Left. The man who is supposed to be the religious leader of the Church openly preaches ungodly Leftist policies and governance, scolding nations which do not bow to the gods of the State.
ABORTION often “… protects the abuser ..” by eliminating the evidence of his crime,”…“…and places children at further risk….” of being abused again or being killed to eliminate the proof of criminality and sin.
I have never been a fan of large organized religions. The larger they are, the more likely His message is corrupted. It’s human nature.
Saw a segment on Iraqi Christians yesterday and they are facing serious existential threats while the world looks the other way. Keep in mind though, persecution is not a bad thing. I would much rather be closer to God than any human on this planet … and following in His foot steps would be an honor.
I don’t agree that the size of a denomination indicates the probability that it will corrupt the true message of Christianity. In reality, a very large religion like Catholicism is really a conglomeration of small parishes, so the relationship between the Church and the people is a lot more intimate than, say, that of the megachurches. And my experience is that the parish priests I have come in contact with are pretty independent, sticking with theology and dogma and rejecting the political movements within the hierarchy of the Church.
I’m seeing a rejection of religion as a set of rules for living and becoming more of just a sense of accepting God and feeling a “relationship” with Him. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I have never met anyone who said he or she chose a religion because of a certain theology within that religion—predestination, for example. My experience is that most of us pick a religion because of externals—-the church is conveniently located, the people in the church seem nice, the air conditioning works, etc. I am a Catholic for a couple of reasons—one is that it is the religion of my youth, I was born to it and it feels right to me, and one is that it is the one closest to Christ in its inception, the oldest of the Christian religions.
But no, Cluster—persecution is always a bad thing. Being attacked for ones’ beliefs is always bad. For actions, yes, if they are malignant or harmful to others, but for what one thinks or believes—never. Whether in religion or politics, it is always bad, and always an aspect of tyranny.
While I would never persecute anyone for their beliefs, personally I feel being persecuted for my beliefs is a badge of honor, if that ever happens. I believe a relationship with God is fiercely independent and requires no one else, or no other entity. I ask God everyday for help in making good decisions and putting me in a position to help others, and I am very comfortable in my solo journey with Him.
I see too much hypocrisy and too much corruption in organized religion to be excited about it. Case in point, a small non denominational Christian church started in my community about 15 years ago and at the onset, it was a church I liked, very small and very intimate with a Pastor who delivered a terrific sermon. Well over the years, the church grew to the point that cliques formed and now they have T-shirts, Vans with their logos that drive around town, and church members who fly off to Fiji to help the poor – because I guess there are no poor people in our community. It’s become a joke.