A Woman's Choice?

Liberal-minded people have argued that women will always vote for the pro-abortion candidates. In their view, women should be feminists, and feminists should hold pro-abortion beliefs.

I understand that women do make up the majority of the electorate. However, many of us are pro-life. We understand that one can be a woman – even a feminist – without advocating the slaughter of unborn children.

If the pro-abortion argument is summed up as “a woman has a right to choose,” then what if a woman “chooses” to murder her husband, abuse her children or lie on her income taxes? Why should we enforce the laws that ban these choices and then permit any woman to kill her unborn child on the basis that the abortion was her “choice”? Does it make the government anti-woman to imprison women for murder or theft? So, why is it anti-woman to ban abortions?

So, yes, women’s voices will be heard in the voting booth, but many of us still believe that a “woman’s choice” is not sacrosanct when her choice is to kill, or otherwise harm, another human being.

Role of the Pope

I would like to clarify the Catholic Church’s view of the Pope. Catholics do not consider the Pope to be an idol, like some people suggest. We regard the Pope as the Vicar of Christ on earth.

Starting with St. Peter, there is an unbroken succession of Popes. Though they are not all models of good behavior, none has taught anything that is untrue. The role of the Pope is to instruct Catholics in faith and morals. He is not a god but more of a teacher and our "Holy Father." That in no way means that his role supercedes God.

Catholics do not believe that the Pope is impeccable (unable to sin), nor do we believe that he is supernatural or someone to be worshipped. Instead, he is the very human man who is the visible head of the Church on earth. The Trinitarian God (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is the only One who should be worshipped.

To outsiders, it might appear that Catholics worship the Pope, or Mary or even crucifixes. However, we just regard the holiness in each of these people and things. In other words, we see Jesus in them, so they deserve our respect and love.

In the case of the Pope, we know that God gave us the gift of the papacy so that we would have a perfectly reliable voice that can lead the Church on earth. The Holy Spirit leads the Pope, and therefore the Pope is our teacher and father, but he should never be considered an object of worship.

A "Progressive" Pope?

Since Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will be stepping down from the papacy, many have speculated about the future of the Catholic Church. Will the next pope “get with the times” and condone cohabitation, homosexuality and abortion? And will he finally allow women to become priests?

The fact is that the Catholic Church will not change its moral code. Since Jesus instituted the Church when He handed the keys of the kingdom to St. Peter (Matthew 16:19), the Catholic Church consistently has taught the same morality. God’s laws are unchangeable, regardless of the changing beliefs of the world. Even though some people within the Church might sin horribly (as we have seen with the repulsive priest scandal), the laws of the Church will always stay the same. Premarital sex is wrong and so are abortion and homosexuality. The Church will not permit these actions just because they have become socially acceptable.

And, as unpopular as it is, women will never become priests. Men and women are equal but different. Just as men cannot bear children, women cannot be priests. Do men ever complain about the unfairness that only women can carry babies?  

Jesus only had male apostles, but no one should accuse Him of being sexist. Many of His closest followers were women, and He performed His first public miracle at His mother’s beckoning (John 2:1-11). However, His apostles, who spread the Gospel to much of the world after Jesus’ Ascension, were all men. The male priesthood is a dogmatic (unalterable) belief of the Church, no matter who becomes pope. The Holy Spirit leads the teachings of the Church (even when certain people in the Church fail), and therefore the teachings will not change with the times.

 God does not change; truth does not change, and neither does the Catholic Church.