CORRECTED: US Bishops Have No Case in Court If They Won’t Stand for the Faith at Home

Last updated on: August 29, 2015 at 9:04 am by Jennifer Fitz

CORRECTED: US Bishops Have No Case in Court If They Won’t Stand for the Faith at Home 2015-08-29T09:04:45-05:00 Jennifer Fitz

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

CORRECTED: Kathy Schiffer graciously reminds me that Bishop Finn has asked NCR to stop calling itself Catholic. So on to the next step, then. My original post below.

***

Remember when “Real Catholic TV” was told to drop the word “Catholic” from its name? Quick refresher from CNA:

During its time as “Real Catholic TV,” the apostolate was told by the Archdiocese of Detroit that it did not have permission to describe itself as “Catholic.” The Roman Catholic Church’s current Code of Canon Law states that “no undertaking is to claim the name ‘Catholic’” without authorization.

Now called “Church Militant TV,” the group errs conservative and a bit prickly, and occasionally even a bishop loses patience; if you search around you can see reports that this has happened recently. It’s also a popular outlet with Catholics who are fed up with seeing the faith trampled underfoot by those who should know better.

Meanwhile, if you search on “National Catholic Reporter Planned Parenthood” you’ll pull up a number of good columns condemning abortion, and also this:

The U.S. bishops and their national staff are deeply and heavily invested in the view of Planned Parenthood as the evil opposition to a “pro-life” view of the world. Would the U.S. bishops as a whole be open to working with Planned Parenthood in a collegial, cooperative manner to reduce abortions? If Francis’ wish for a poor church for the poor and one filled with mercy, the answer would be yes. However, it would take great courage and fortitude to pursue a national adoption strategy working hand-in-hand with Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.

As we have seen during the past several years, contraception is very important to many bishops and they want nothing to do with it. Yet, Planned Parenthood, like most lay Catholics, has a different view of the value of contraception and it’s a big part of Planned Parenthood’s services.

Just this past month, the New York Times reported that dramatic success of the use of contraception in the reduction of teen pregnancies in Colorado. . . .

. . . Would the U.S. bishops deny this vulnerable cohort free contraception knowing that an abortion is the highly expected result of an unplanned pregnancy?

The bishops have attempted to argue that Catholics should not have to pay for contraception (and abortion), as doing so would violate our freedom of religion. These arguments will rightly be struck down in court if the bishops themselves can’t be bothered to assert that these positions are an essential part of our religion.

The National Catholic Reporter is an independent newspaper, not controlled by the USCCB. But the bishops do apparently have the right to tell them to drop the name Catholic, because they’ve asserted that right with other media outlets, as the Church Militant case demonstrated. They should act on that right. If the newspaper persists in using the name “Catholic” after being instructed to drop the name, the bishops likewise have the duty to actively denounce the organization for doing so, and for its anti-Catholic propaganda.

To do otherwise is just nonsense, or something worse. Various bishops across the spectrum have shown they have no objections to using their authority to ask an unauthorized media outlet to drop the name “Catholic.” They have shown they have no objections to using their authority to openly correct a media outlet they find has overstepped its bounds. To continue to let The National Catholic Reporter claim the name “Catholic” uncontested would be to assert that they in fact approve of the NCR’s stance on abortion and contraception, and that all this bluster in the courts about conscience rights and Catholic teaching is really just, at best, so much posturing.

Artwork: Caravaggio [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons in honor of the feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist, which is today (8/29). Click through to see it big here, as you will want to do. Because: Caravaggio.

Previous Post

August 28, 2015

English Majors File Lawsuit Against UT Citing Hostile Environment #satire

Next Post

August 30, 2015 Pro-Life, Married, and Contracepting: Is There a Problem?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Catechesis Catholic Q&A Chastity Church Craziness Come See Me Talk Disability & Chronic Illness Economics Evangelization Facepalm Forgiveness Good Things History Homeschooling Human Rights It's All Catholic Listen to Me Survey Series Liturgical Living Marriage Modesty Not Satire. But almost. Rant-o-Rama Sacred Art & Music Satire South Carolina Spark Clutter Stick that Corner Suffering Thinking Topics Writing Stuff

Select a Month September 2026 July 2026 June 2026 January 2026 December 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 November 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 May 2019 April 2019 February 2019 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What prophet was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Elijah Isaiah Elisha Jeremiah