Tolerance without love is apathy.

Does the Pill Abort?

It is well known that IUDs, Norplant, Depo-Provera, the shot and other "contraceptives" act as abortifacients. (i.e. they don't prevent conception, they prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the mother's uterus) But what about the pill.

Is the pill an abortifacient? The answer is yes - at least part of the time the pill prevents a fertilized egg from implanting.

Here is a video that explains how the pill acts as an abortifacient.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhZOBqdlE5M&feature=related

Why is this a secret? Why have the groups that are so vocal in supporting "choice" not fought for a women's right to make an informed choice? Why have women been betrayed for an ideology of radical individualism?

Jefferson (not George)

Quick Quiz ....what percent of the population, do you think, wakes up in the morning and says to themselves "I am going to do something evil today?" Ok....now keep that number in your head. Stand up. Walk towards the nearest window and look out.

An individual's personal opinion of an act is a pretty poor indication of the actual goodness of the act. We are all human beings. When we feel pressured, threatened or scared we often react in threatened ways. Even worse, we are all experts at being able rationalize these actions away.

The second point to take from this story is that every person is influenced by the presuppositions of their time. We all have blind spots. Thomas Jefferson wrote some of the most inspired words on the dignity and rights of men that the world has ever know. His words literally inspired the birth of democracies around the world. Yet, like many people of his time, Thomas Jefferson owned slaves.

If Thomas Jefferson could not see the humanity of the slaves that were right in front of him, how can we be so certain that we fully appreciate the dignity of the unborn children that the world wishes to hide?

Catholic Conscience

Many Catholics today will tell you: "It does not matter if I follow the church's teaching on abortion or contraception. Vatican II said that all that matters is that I follow my conscience. I am a good person and I have prayed about this issue deeply and I just don't agree with the church. Besides you only have to listen to the Pope when he speaks ex cathedra."

There is a lot to address in this statement including the nature of the Church but I will mainly focus on one issue for now. Ever since the end of Vatican II there has been a lot of conjecture about what the council meant to mean. We are lucky though. We don't have to guess, we can simply read the documents that were promulgated with the council. One of the four constitutions that was promulgated was called: Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church).

Lumen Gentium 25 states:

"Bishops, teaching in communion with the Roman Pontiff, are to be respected by all as witnesses to divine and Catholic truth. In matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent. This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex cathedra;"

A conscience must be formed. A conscience must seek truth, it is not merely personal opinion. I won't go into detail on the nature of the Church but if you read "Crossing the Threshold of Hope", John Paul II talks about how we profess belief in the Church in the creed. That the Church is meant to continue Jesus' ministry on earth: baptizing, forgiving, offering sacrifice and even teaching! As Catholics we believe that the Holy Spirit aids the Church in each of these ministries and that we are to be faithful.

Voting from a Catholic Perspective

‘Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights — for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture — is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.’

Who said this?? Was it the RNC chairman trying to trick the clingers? No... Was it some hypocritical, old fashion catholic trying to get out of paying more taxes? No....Was it some Catholic lawyer trying to position himself for a job in a McCain administration??? No.

It was Pope John Paul II. The same Pope who was almost assassinated on the anniversary (May 13th) of Mary's first appearance at Fatima. (a 1 in 365 probability). Who subsequently concentrated Russia to Mary. With Russia (unexpectedly) falling on December 25 (Christmas) (also a 1 in 365 probability)

Probabilities are not proof but for a modern world that is always calling for proof of God's existence and will they should at least be thought provoking. Maybe we need to listen to our Shepard and reach beyond ourselves and our politic beliefs and allow are political beliefs to be informed not by opinion but truth. Any Catholic who thinks voting for (more) health care or child care tax credits is more important than defending the right to life is not listening to their shepherd. Anyone who thinks that the Democratic Party is the secret pro-life party needs to reflect really hard on whether they are trying to obfuscate their conscience from reality and why.