The Political Church: The Democratic Party Does Theology, Part 1

I’m not interested in using this blog to diss the Democrats. I mean, both parties are pretty awful in my book. I vote, but I do so holding my nose.

But the church is, by its very nature, political, as we considered in the series on The Political Church. I mean, just standing for God’s truth is bound to put the church at odds with the world’s powers — both Republican and Democrat. I mean, there’s just this natural conflict between “all power to God” and the political parties!

Nonetheless, I feel compelled to note a pretty dramatic change in American politics: the Democrats are doing theology. Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic, is taking on the Catholic Church regarding their teaching on abortion, declaring that the Church has not always taken its current position, which somehow justifies her position.

This is from a column by Cal Thomas —

Appearing last Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried some theological hair-splitting. She described herself as “an ardent, practicing Catholic,” but then said the church had only held its pro-life position for the last 50 years and that during the previous 2,000 years it had reached different conclusions about when life begins.

In an unusual public rebuke of a leading political figure, Washington, D.C., Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl said Pelosi was “incorrect” in her statement that the church had differed over the years about when live begins. Wuerl added, “We respect the right of elected officials such as Speaker Pelosi to address matters of public policy that are before them, but the interpretation of Catholic faith has rightfully been entrusted to the Catholic bishops. Given this responsibility to teach, it is important to make this correction for the record.”

Wuerl said the Catechism of the Catholic Church has been clear for 2,000 years and he quoted from it: “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.”

Pelosi’s office at first had no comment, but late Tuesday Pelosi’s spokesman, Brendan Daly, issued a statement quoting the Speaker as saying she was raised in a “devout” Catholic home, but that “not all Catholics believe that life begins at conception.”

Well, I figure I should do my own research before deciding if the Senator knows her Catholic theology. In the next post, the Patristic position on abortion.