The media continues to show just how tone deaf it is to religion in the recent coverage surrounding the HHS mandate concerning religious organizations and health insurance. This piece from NPR’s Morning Edition today is representative: “Catholics Split Over Obama Contraceptive Order.”
One of the things we began hearing right away was that the position of the bishops is undermined because Catholics already use contraception. According to the NPR piece, “98 percent of Catholic women use birth control at some point in their lifetimes.” And the latest poll to be trotted out has to do not with behavior but with attitudes: “A new survey by Public Policy Polling shows that a narrow majority of Catholic voters think women employed by Catholic hospitals and universities should have access to contraceptive coverage through their health plans.” Even assuming the validity of the results of these kinds of polls, such arguments fundamentally misunderstand the nature of religious doctrine, particularly as expressed in the Roman Catholic Church. Allow me, as an evangelical who shares the sentiments of so many others like Chuck Colson, Timothy George, Richard Land, and Rick Warren about the solidarity that we must show in this matter, to make a couple of observations in this regard.
First, the fact that many Catholics have at one point not lived up to the teachings of the church regarding contraception is no evidence that the teaching is wrong, irrelevant, or appropriately ignored. It just is evidence that Catholics, like the rest of us, aren’t perfect and go astray…”all we like sheep.”
And second, as to the attitudes of the laity, this is again irrelevant in the context of church teaching. The Roman Catholic Church is not a democracy, and the opinion of the majority does not determine the truth value of church teaching. So what if Callie Otto, a student at CUA, thinks the bishops are “wrong” and that they should “back down” so that the president “doesn’t have so much pressure”? (You actually have to listen to hear the inflection as she utters these words. Reading them on your screen just won’t do. You have to hear the self-righteous, patronizing tone of her voice. She sounds like a typical sophomore know-it-all.)
As long as news outlets continue to assume that this is merely a political issue and treat it as such, the real scale of the Obama administration’s overreach will continue to elude them.
This isn’t media bias. It’s just how it is in America. Intermediary institutions, especially the Church, have no standing and are seen to not even exist except as aggregations of people. There are individuals and there is the State, anything else claiming authority is going to be ignored or stamped out. You Libertarians whole-heartedly support this understanding so your complaining about its results is a bit annoying.
Hi Sdf! If you are interested in nuancing your rather uncharitable (and inaccurate, at least in regards to me) characterization of “You Libertarians,” I recommend (just within the last few days!) the following:
http://blog.acton.org/archives/29240-libertarianism-and-the-conservative-movement.html
http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2012/02/09/conservatism-and-libertarianism-yet-again/
http://www.cardus.ca/comment/article/3085/small-is-beautiful-except-when-it-isnt
My record in support of and advocating for civil society can be rather easily documented. But don’t let that stop you from stereotyping away if you really have your heart set on it.
Nice essay. May I suggest you not call yourself a Libertarian and dissociate from Acton, then? As you say there, subsidiarity and resistance to centralization are easily compatible with Christianity whereas the more pervasive Libertarianism you warn against is not.
I’m not sure I have ever called myself a “Libertarian,” and I’m perfectly happy with my current employer, thank you very much.
“The Roman Catholic Church is not a democracy, and the opinion of the majority does not determine the truth value of church teaching. ”
This raises the question: Who does in fact speak for the Catholic church? Who has “the truth”? Church leadership is frequently excoriated — as convenient — from all sides of the political spectrum (consider how people feel free to disagree with the hierarchy on just war, social justice, capital punishment, etc..) While nobody would argue that majority opinion makes a thing right, neither would a sane person argue that a minority opinion does likewise, and the “official teaching” on birth control is certainly held by a minority of Catholics. So … what is the Catholic church? Are the laity “the Church”? Or just the sheeple? And who makes public policy for the Church regarding birth control? A very small number of unelected celibate men who work for the RCC and those Catholics who support them on this particular issue, but probably not on all issues? Or the majority of Catholics?
It appears the issue has now been settled to most people’s satisfaction by a neat, little chess move from President Obama.
Um, speaking of being uncharitable and stereotyping, I think depicting one’s political and/or religious opponents as sophomoric and “patronizing” (don’t they all seem that way:-)) is probably a projection that does not advance one’s argument.
Hi Meggie,
I think you should listen to the piece and see if I’m really mischaracterizing Ms. Otto’s tone. And I don’t think if I’m describing one person’s comment I can really be accused of stereotyping a group of my political opponents…maybe just sophomores. To paraphrase Al Plantinga’s response to one of the rants of the New Atheism, however, I would call the arguments sophomoric, but that’d be insulting to sophomores everywhere.
http://www.booksandculture.com/articles/2007/marapr/1.21.html
Here’s what he actually says about Dawkins: “You might say that some of his forays into philosophy are at best sophomoric, but that would be unfair to sophomores; the fact is (grade inflation aside), many of his arguments would receive a failing grade in a sophomore philosophy class.”
In answer to the question, “who does in fact speak for the Catholic Church”, the final answer is the bishops, in union with the Pope. The order of bishops, by virtue of ordination and apostolic succession, receive the authority to share in Christ’s kingly (governing), priestly (sanctifying), and prophetic (teaching) mission. We believe that when the bishop teaches he does so with authority granted by Christ (see Lumen Gentium 24). Lay persons receive many graces in Baptism, and certainly share in the prophetic work of the Church, but our authority is derived from being in communion with the teaching authority (magisterium) of the Church exercised by the bishops.
James, that may be an argument used within the Church itself. However, one has to bear in mind that not all the bishops are in agreement, and there are Catholic bishops and theologians who flat out disagree with the idea that contraception is immoral, so your answer doesn’t definitively settle the question even within the Church. Within civil society, the question is even more complicated. I have been “open to life” myself and have “gone forth and multiplied,” but I live in blessed circumstances. I strongly believe there are people who should never have children and who are certainly not going to abstain from sex. They should absolutely use contraception. I also believe the decision to use contraception should be made by the individual woman or couple and that there are occasions when contraception really is the most moral choice. Today’s compromise relieves Catholic employers of directly funding contraception, so I frankly don’t know what the bishops are on about this time.
I would like the opportunity to defend myself.
My name is Callie Otto, I am 21 years old, and a senior at the Catholic University of America.
I have complete respect for Catholics. I was baptized Catholic, raised in the church, and have attended Catholic school since age 3. I made the decision to leave the church at the age of 15 because I did not support the Catholic views in regard to human sexuality, among other things. I am now a practicing Unitarian Universalist. While I left the church as a teenager, confused and angry, I have since come to appreciate it and find my own interpretation of what Christ preached.
I chose to attend Catholic University because I didn’t even consider the possibility of my social views to be an issue- would Jesus have encouraged the hatred I have witnessed over the past few days?
That being said, whether you agree with me or not in regard to my views on access to contraceptives, I want to set one thing straight. I respect the Catholic Church. I addressed the Bishops specifically because I believe their stance on the issue is not in line with that of most Catholics. I wanted to make sure not to offend anyone in the Catholic community. I’m sorry that you interpreted my tone to be patronizing or self-righteous, because that was in no way my intention.
This is an issue I feel very strongly about. A majority of students at CUA are sexually active. I have friends who are having sex, but are not on birth control because their parents can’t find out, because they can’t afford it, or simply because they don’t understand the risks they are taking. While this is very unfortunate, I believe it is my duty, as a good person and as a follower of Christ, to make sure that I do everything I can to ensure the fewest negative consequences of my peers’ decisions.
I do pray that the Bishops can come to understand, if nothing else, that providing access to birth control is the better of two evils.
I hope you can understand that I say this with all sincerity. I am sorry to those whom I have offended, however, I truly believe that what I am doing is the right thing.
Hi Callie,
Thanks for stopping by to add some very helpful clarification. As you’ll note in one of the previous comments, you’ve already had a defender of sorts re: my “stereotyping.” To wit: Did the NPR reporter know that you aren’t a Catholic but rather a Unitarian Universalist when they quoted you for that story?
As to the substance of the issue, in light of what you say, I think one way of framing the question might be this way: Given that you think the Bishops are wrong, do you still think that they should have the right to be wrong? Should the Catholic church be able to determine for itself what its official beliefs and practices are?
Dear Callie,
Greetings from a CU alum! I am writing concerning you assertions about the level and nature of and challenges to engaging in sexual activity on Catholic University’s campus.
A majority of students at CUA are sexually active. I certainly wondered about the level of student sexual activity during my time at Catholic (early to mid 2000s). I was aware that a substantial number of my fellow students were sexually active but was surprised at the number of students who did (or at least tried to) abstain. I was definitely one of those striving sinners who made a poor choice or twenty in my four years at Catholic. Has anyone at CU (maybe The Tower?) done any substantive statistical research on the level of and opinions on pre marital sexual activity of students on campus? I would love to see those numbers. Regardless of the outcome of such a survey, I must come down on the side of the Church on this one. No matter how many Catholics use contraception, that doesn’t mean the Church should endorse or facilitate immoral acts. When I was CU, I’m sure a good 80% of young men cussed and scratched in public. But I’m sure you wouldn’t call for the university administration to endorse or facilitate the behavior of that uncouth majority.
Students won’t use birth control because their parents can’t find out. Callie, common! That it is ridiculous assertion! CU students may not be DC’s best and brightest, but they’re near geniuses when it comes to hiding illicit behavior from parents, whether it be underage drinking, drug use, or contraception. Twenty five dollars withdrawn from the ATM will get you a 48 pack of condoms from CVS and your parents will be none the wiser. You could tell them it went into the collection basket at the St. Vinny’s 9 pm mass.
Students won’t use birth control because their parents can’t find out. Again, really? Do you really believe students don’t use birth control because its cost prohibitive? I suppose I would say that this could be an excellent opportunity for these cash-strapped CU students to practice fiscal discipline, maybe build a budget. If premarital contraceptive sex is a priority, then set aside funds to support this activity. If CU students are so destitute that they cannot squeeze enough out of their limited funds to buy contraception, then I would recommend giving “free condoms in Washington DC” a google. You’re two clicks away from a list of 37 providers of free contraception within walking distance of Catholic’s campus. You don’t even have to pay for the metro ride.
Students won’t use birth control because they don’t understand the risk they are taking. Engagement in risky behavior is not an attribute unique to CU students. Teenagers rarely understand the risks they are taking. I certainly didn’t understand the risks I was taking when I was 19 years old walking back to campus through Brookland at 2 am in the morning.
I would be delighted to hear thoughts and hope no one has been too unkind to you in response to your recent appearance on NPR.