Talking about the "things that matter most" on March 8
4:00-6:00 – Direct to My Desk: Two Hours to Call In and Talk About the Things That Matter Most
During this day of Direct to My Desk, we take your questions and comments and will focus on three areas. One, the USCCB has released a statement on the possibility of military action in Iran. Two, Rick Santorum has garnered an amazing amount of support from listeners who have called into our program, yet most exit polls show that Mitt Romney is winning the Catholic vote. Three, on MSNBC last night host Lawrence O’Donnell said that it is “scandalous,” “un-American,” and a mentality of the “Taliban” to at all want the person you vote for to share your religious beliefs. We discuss all of these issues.
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The reason Romney is getting Catholics is the same reason that slightly more Catholics are fine with Obama’s contraception mandate, or the reason Catholic don’t attend Mass. I think it’s 25% of all Catholic regularly attend Sunday Mass (a mortal sin not to) They aren’t Catholic. If I call myself a vegetarian, yet I regularly eat chicken, am I still a vegetarian. I may play in the vegetarian golf league, get the newsletters, go to the weekly meetings, but I’m eating meeting and if the definition of a vegetarian is someone who does not eat the meat of animals, then technically I’m not a vegetarian. But I tell everyone I am, so they group me into this group.
ReplyDeleteMost Catholics ‘identify’ as Catholic, but do not attend Mass, they don’t follow the church’s teaching on most topics, and they don’t even think God is in control. They are so apathetic about their faith that they don’t bother to even change because they really don’t care. They aren’t attending Mass, they aren’t required to do anything, they aren’t donating 10% of their money, they don’t own the $8 CCC or even have a Catholic Bible, nor are they calling in to Kresta in the Afternoon or engaged in proper Catholic sources. Does this make them Catholic?
I would argue they WERE Catholic but are now living outside the visible boundaries of the church. And most, are likely in mortal sin as they are receiving communion at Easter and Christmas, because it is fashionable, yet putting mortal sin on their soul by not attending Mass and receiving unworthily. These are not Catholic. The polling is faulty. What needs to happen is someone needs to pin this down more and define it again. Maybe the definition is PRACTICING CATHOLIC. Then we have to define that. Maybe it looks like, someone who attends EVERY Sunday Mass, and makes frequent use of the sacraments. Is someone who attends Mass each Sunday but receives no other sacraments, mainly confession, a Catholic. I believe the Church says once a year. What if they haven’t been in 20 years?
ReplyDeleteI could argue that the source and summit or our faith is the Eucharist and they are defaming it by not following the teachings of the church. They have excommunicated themselves by committing sacrilege, yet they don’t know it. So, although it might not be a sin without the three properties of sin present, they are not living the Catholic faith. What Santorum is saying, to someone like me, who spends 90% of their time in the Catholic world and is getting a Masters in Theology from an orthodox Catholic University and only listens and read proper Catholic media, is familiar and touches my heart. To the other ‘non practicing Catholics’ he sounds like a radical. An extremist.
What they don’t realize, is, this is exactly what the Church, which they claim as their own, teaches, but they don’t know it. So what they are really doing is calling the Church’s teaching extremist. Santorum is not perfect, but he does seem to espouse the faith well. I hear the code language from various Church sources in some of his speeches, that most likely don’t recognize. So it gets back to something I write about often….what is the Catholic brand.
I can go to National Catholic Register and National Catholic Reporter and see two different brands of Catholicism. I see nothing about women’s ordination on NCRegister and I see loads of this on NCReporter. And it is my understanding that the Reporter has a much larger distribution (on the paper side) then the Register, which is in line with Catholic teaching. So which one is Catholic?
The Catholic Brand has been trashed. As a marketing person, I would tell my client, you have a serious rebranding strategy needed which will cost lots of money and lots of time. BUT FIRST, you must clean up your product. You cannot claim to be one thing while doing another. I had this exact problem with Frigidaire appliances. The consumer base perceived their product (in the 90s) as unreliable – not something you want in the appliance biz where people expect 10-15 years out of most products. The first issue to correct what make a solid, strong, well-built product. THEN we can talk recreation of your brand.
Rebranding the Church product, is well underway. Our Bishops have been cleaned up, most are out, the ones we have seem to be fantastic, dynamic and unafraid to preach the truth as laid out in the CCC. Now, we need to fix the priests, which are NO WHERE NEAR cleaned up. They don’t even follow the rubrics at Mass let alone preach the truth. When they start, if ever, most will leave because the message is so foreign. We will be likely left with a smaller, more faithful congregation of believers, that then most go out and proclaim the truth of the good news. Then, when the media does their polling, they will only talk to TRUE CATHOLICS.
Oh, and how about all those lay people and nuns that are off the reservation, but running the Catholic Schools and other organizations that call themself Catholic. Gotta clean that up as well.
ReplyDeleteThe reason Mitt Romney is getting such a large "Catholic" vote is that many if not most Catholics will NOT vote for Rick Santorum. Most people who identify themselves as Catholic have a huge problem with church teaching and are actually voting against Santorum for that reason. It's difficult for those of us involved in the Church and circulating with like minded people to know what rank and file "Catholics" are thinking. The Church is held in such disdain and Church teaching is not just disagreed with but held in derision by many. These people will not vote for an orthodox Catholic. Many of them beleive it's just a matter of time before we have female priests and birth control is allowed. The Church is seen as completely out of touch.
ReplyDeleteI listened to your show and heard the woman in the first hour say she was a homeschooling, non-contraception family of 7 that voted for Romeny. I believe she represents a small minority of Romney voters. I stand by my thoughts above. The vast majority of 'CINO' Catholics I talk with say Santorum is too extreme on his issues. I then remind them that he is saying what the Church teaches, to which they usually respond, the church needs to change as well. yeah, okay....whatever....while we are at it, let's just re-write natural and moral law while we are at it. An oh, that gravity thing, let's get rid of that too. These folks don't listen to Catholic radio so your pole and the national poles are two different sets of people.
ReplyDeleteObedience to the truth and dying to oneself. Allowing the Holy Spirit to work through His church of truth...the way it has always been and always will be. My beautiful wife of 23 years and wonderful six children have always found difficulty when swimming upstream against the teachings of the catholic church. Blessings beyond measure..understanding and wisdom...a very light yoke when obedient to her teachings and direction. "What would Jesus do?" is the old and simple question. Obedient? Or defiant? You decide.
ReplyDeletePaul Kienbaum. Spokane Washington