It's sooooo hard. . .

Roman Catholic bishops continue to fight amongst themselves over what to do with pro-abortion Roman Catholic politicians.   Then the Vatican gets involved and suggests everybody slow down.  So the debate goes on.  But while the church leaders jockey for their positions, hundreds, thousands, and hundreds of thousands of unborn children are killed.  The call to go slow seems to forget what is at stake.  Who can explain why some bishops are willing to be patient in this and the Vatican wants to take its time?

Of course, everyone knows that the abortion issues is not the only issue facing the Church.  Homelessness, poverty, injustice, racism, and many other issues are legitimate social concerns for the Church.  But last time I checked hundreds of thousands of homeless, racial minorities, victims of discrimination, and the poor were not dying but the children in the womb are dying at exactly that rate.  Even more than the biggest COVID numbers!  They say that abortion is health care -- except that the result of this health care is the death of the patient!

The Church has tried convincing pro-abortion Christian politicians but that has not made much progress.  Even the typical caveat of Mario Cuomo is no longer in fashion.  Personal opposition is not enough for political survival in this day and age.  The woke culture insists you must not only approve of abortion and the full range of reproductive and sex/gender issues but you must militantly defend the liberal/progressive view.  President Biden and Speaker Pelosi have not bothered to say they find abortion personally concerning but they have insisted that no court must be allowed to constrain the free access to abortions at no charge and that legislation must be enacted to prevent such judicial back pedaling on what has become the issue of the day.

So what will happen?  More dawdling and more deaths.  But before non-Roman Catholics are smug about this, this issue has equal opportunity offenders of all faiths.  Jews defend the memory of the holocaust while approving abortion without cost and with free access by all women and children.  Evangelicals have had a mixed record but most of their politicians try to accommodate both voters without being too precise about their own stance.  Lutherans also hold a variety of opinions with most Lutherans in America approving a woman's rite to an abortion no matter what their church body says.  Liberal Protestantism has long ago cast its lot with the pro-choice position.

And more will die.. . . They say about the same number of people as live in Memphis, TN, died of COVID so far.  Well, more than the combined populations of Memphis and Knoxville died (just to use a local Tennessee example).  But still the deaths seem incapable of arousing churches to do much more than shrug a shoulder about it all..  It is complicated, after all.  It is a difficult situation.  There are too many shades of gray on this issue to make an unequivocal stand like some want.  Not to mention the intense pressures upon these politicians.  It is sooooo hard.  Well, tell that to the hundreds of thousands of babies n the womb who are never given a choice.  

I have little sympathy with these politicians who disagree with their church's stance.  I have compassion on the women who feel that they have no other choice although I do not agree with that conclusion.  But I have no soft spot for the politico who wants to do the right thing but does not think that he could win an election without supporting choice and abortion.  I agree that it the unpopular thing to do to tell the politician "no" but as out of step as this act might be, it is and remains the right thing to do.  Lives are at stake.  Enough lives, at least since 1973, to be the equivalent of South Africa or Tanzania or Italy or France.  What would we think if the population of an entire nation that size would suddenly disappear?  Well, that is exactly what happened in America (not to mention the abortions in other nations throughout the world).  So do something and say something.  Lives depend on it.