Imagine a scene from the first century. Emperor Nero has persecuted every Christian that can be rounded up in Rome. By his decree, they are put to death in the most horrific manner to provide amusement for the citizens. This includes being burned alive in order to provide evening lights for the city (a historical fact). After the persecution is over, imagine that Nero decides that maybe he could use the support of the influential Christian community. He arranges to be received by the leader of the Church, St Peter himself. Can we imagine Peter chatting cheerfully with him, or permitting him to participate in the Eucharist unless he repents of his previous actions?
The “Humaneness” of the Twenty-First Century
There’s no one as cruel and callous as Nero around nowadays, right? Wrong. Among the many brutal methods used to abort children in “civilised” countries, saline injection is performed when a pregnancy is more than sixteen weeks. Amniotic fluid is replaced by a very strong salt solution, causing severe burning of the skin, eyes, mouth, and lungs of the child in the womb. The upshot of this burning is to initiate labour within a day or so. If the child survives delivery, he will most likely die shortly afterward. This is a common procedure carried out all the time in the United States and many other countries.
Abortion providers, doctors, medical staff, politicians, and a host of others, facilitate these procedures routinely every day without blinking. Just as Nero burned Christians for the wellbeing of the life of the city, so we burn inconvenient children on the altars of our own wellbeing and convenience.
Cosying up to Evil is Not a Good Pastoral Strategy
Abortion must not become sanitized or euphemized in our minds: it is an outrageous crime against the most vulnerable and is gravely evil. That is why many people were dismayed by the photos of President Biden, whose administration supports abortion, with Pope Francis at their recent meeting in Rome. The beaming smiles, jocular behaviour, and general impression of being back-slapping buddies sent a chill down the spines of those concerned for the lives of the unborn.
Most Catholics accept that Pope Francis has good intentions. He wishes to draw people into a deeper life of faith through friendship, by focussing on common ground and journeying onwards from there. The problem is that this is a pastoral strategy that manifestly does not bear fruit. Lukewarm Catholics are led further astray by the fact that the Pope seems to have no problem with a Catholic politician promoting abortion. Eucharistic discipline, which should be a fundamental feature of the life of a Christian, is grievously undermined.
We must love Pope Francis and pray for him. Although Catholics must respect our pope, respect does not mean we cannot engage in a thoughtful critique of some of his comments and decisions.
The Eucharistic Crisis is Heading for a Climax
We can be sure the Church is in crisis when we see the attitudes of large swathes of the faithful towards the Eucharist. Many Catholics in the Western world behave as if Christ were not truly present in the Eucharistic elements. The general level of understanding of the meaning of the Mass and its association with Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary is abysmal, with a majority of Catholics believing the connection to be symbolic, not real. This crisis – which has been with us for many decades now – seems to be reaching some sort of climax. If a promoter of abortion can be received so happily by the Pope, then what the heck does it matter what the rest of us do? We can be sure of a good reception by Pope Francis and by Peter himself when we arrive at the pearly gates.
How can we respond to this crisis? By turning to Mary, Mother of the Church. Certainly, we must also speak honestly to Catholic public figures whose behaviour is contrary to Church teaching. We must call out Pope Francis when he engages in “pastoral” strategies that cause scandal and confusion. But, first and foremost, we must pray, and the Rosary is a good place to start. In the Rosary reflection that follows, care is taken to emphasize that it is the one praying the Rosary who must first take care to rectify his life before approaching the Eucharist. After that, prayers and reflections are offered for the conversion of those who are in grave sin and yet present themselves for Communion.
The Joyful Mysteries for Eucharistic Coherence
- The Annunciation
When the Angel Gabriel appears to Mary, it is likely that Mary has already consecrated herself perpetually as a virgin to God and intends to live that virginity within marriage to Joseph. That is the best explanation of the strange question that Mary asks, “How can that be since I know not man?” Mary is implying here that she intends never to know a man in that sense (this is explained very well by Brant Pitre in Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary). Confronted by the unexpected upheaval of impending motherhood, Mary bows her head and says, “I am the handmaiden of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word”.
Before receiving Jesus, I must bow my head and submit to his plan for my life. It is not the Christian way to decide myself what is right or wrong, and then invoke God to come and support my cause. I must follow him, not expect that he follow me. Lord that I might conform myself to your will, not expect you to endorse mine! Blessed Mother, we place in your hands all those Catholic politicians who reject the clear teachings of the Church, who effectively say, “I am a devout servant of the Church, Lord, let it be done according to my will”. That they might imitate you, Mary, in your conformity to the word of the Lord.
- The Visitation
When Elizabeth greets Mary, she says (under the influence of the Holy Spirit), “Blessed is she who believed that the word spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled”. Here Elizabeth pays tribute to the fundamental attitude of Mary, who places herself humbly and obediently before the word of God. Mary ponders this word, receives it in her heart, and trusts that the Lord will be faithful to his word.
Lord, that I might open myself to the word that God is speaking to me through the events and people of my life. Blessed Mother, when a politician promotes abortion, he effectively says, “God’s providence will not be sufficient to take care of this family in difficult circumstances. We cannot expect that God will provide, so we will provide by giving the mother the right to eliminate her child and have one less ‘problem’ to worry about”. Mary, that these politicians might learn to trust in the providence of God instead of taking matters into their own hands and relying on evil practices to bring about “good”.
- The Nativity
There was no room for the Holy Family at the inn. Rejected though they were, Mary receives Jesus with immeasurable love and care. Her entire life, she had nurtured and upheld the word of God in her daily life. Now she nurtures the Word of God in person.
Lord, that I might contemplate and receive your word today. You are alive and active in my life, calling me to deeper conversion and to conformity with you. Blessed Mother, that Catholic politicians might allow the Christ child to be born in their hearts through humble contemplation of his word. That they might come to see that this attachment to Christ is the only riches we need, instead of seeking to bring about a kingdom of prosperity through the destruction of children.
- The Presentation in the Temple
At the Presentation, Simeon tells Mary that this child will be “a sign of contradiction”. And indeed he is. When Jesus is presented before us, we are being given the choice between death and life. We can choose him, allowing him to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away, bringing us wholeness and life, or we can choose ourselves, opting to be the measure of our own existence, which ultimately leads to emptiness and death.
Lord, you are held up before us as our sacrifice, our redemption, our model, our brother. That I might accept you alone as my light and salvation. That I might not make other things into idols before which I sacrifice the good things that you give me.
Blessed Mother, those Catholic politicians who promote abortion choose human methods and policies that contradict the Gospel of life as their favoured means to foster “wellbeing” in society. They sacrifice the children of the nation on the altar of prosperity and convenience. That these people might recognize Christ, that sign of contradiction, as the only true source of life and wellbeing. That they might see that his sacrifice is enough to give us real joy and prosperity, not the sacrifice of innocent children.
- The Finding in the Temple
Jesus is found after three days in the Temple, the place of the presence of God, the place of sacrifice. He tells Mary, “Did you now know that I must be about my Father’s business?” The Father’s business is our salvation, and he affects this by sending his Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away. We must join ourselves to him in sacrifice, as Mary did when she agonised for three days in searching for him, a foreshadowing of the three days between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Lord, that I might accept the sacrifices you send my way, uniting them with that of Jesus who offers himself completely so that I will have life to the full.
Blessed Mother, pray for those politicians who preach the false Gospel that the inconveniences of life can be disposed of instantly in order to facilitate a better lifestyle. May they be converted to the Gospel of life, which accepts the struggle and inconvenience of pregnancy, uniting it with the good fight of Christ, in order to bring about a more just and humane world. May the Holy Spirit they received at baptism penetrate their hearts so that they see that one cannot promote the destruction of life in the service of a false Gospel of prosperity and then present oneself to receive the Lord in the Eucharist. Amen.
Edward Benet blogs at www.immaculatemother.org
7 thoughts on “The Rosary, Pro-Abortion Politicians, and the Eucharist”
Illegality will not solve the abortion issue. This immorality is fragmentizing our Church and nation. It’s a worldwide, historical problem of great complexity involving at least social, economic matters and every community. Surveys, terminology, headlines add to the complexity There are many polls regarding abortion. Very few ask why.
So, I am asking fellow readers and writers, to review the collected data and contemplate solutions.
Hearing more about in-depth solutions to moral afflictions, our Church, many Faiths, may improve their reputations, nationally and globally. Many are leaving churches, many losing their faith. Now, it is time for solutions. Please read thoroughly the presented data. If anyone has different non-partisan sources, please present them. I want detailed ideas, not anger, nor hate. (This is a Catholic Publication.) I do not want comments such as improve education, prayers in schools. These are fine, but they alone do not solve the reasons for abortion presented below. My ideas solutions involve ideas based on economic reform. Churches, private institutions can no longer resolve some issues alone.
Everyone struggles with different issues, experiences, problems. As Christians we should look into the makeup of the other, see the person beneath, the decisions made, roads taken and ask why. If sins are committed, condemn the sin, forgive the sinner. We live in a culture of judgement.
The following presents reasons choosing between abortion.
ISSUE: THE NUMBERS
The Guttmacher Institute, (US-based, non-profit on reproductive health), abortion rate is 37 per 1,000 people in countries prohibiting abortion altogether or allowed only to save a woman’s life. In countries broadly allowing abortion, 34/1,000. A difference statistically insignificant. https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/sexual-and-reproductive-rights/abortion-facts/
ISSUE: TERMINOLGY AND EDUCATION
Is there an institutional failure to communicate the importance, the meaning, the mystery of a life, a soul? Notre Dame: McGrath Institute for Church Life, “How Americans Understand Abortion” https://news.nd.edu/news/
• Research found that mutually exclusive labels like “pro-choice” and “pro-life” paint an incomplete, potentially misleading, picture. When you really ask people what forms their beliefs on abortion, they point to personal experience and relationships, not political policies, rhetoric.
• Many admit they lack basic knowledge about gestational development, moral frameworks, their states’ abortion laws and costs of an abortion (financial, physical, mental).
• Most Americans do not actually discuss abortion; they don’t fit within binary position labels, have significant knowledge gaps on the topic, don’t regard abortion in itself as a societal good.
ISSUE: THE DIVISIONS
• WASHINGTON – A study revealed the complexity of Americans’ views on abortion and an openness to discussion. Among the report’s key findings was unanimous agreement that abortion is not a “desirable good.” Matt Hadro/CNA/EWTN NEWS Nation 7/21/20 https://www.ncregister.com/news/
• WASHINGTON – Gallup poll reveals, for first time in two decades, more Americans believe abortion “morally acceptable” than “morally wrong.” C. Rousselle/CNA Nation 6/12/21
• WASHINGTON – The 47% saying abortion is acceptable, is 2% points higher than recorded in two decades. https://news.gallup.com/poll/350756 Megan Brenan
o 47%: abortion is morally acceptable; 46%, morally wrong.
o Americans split between “pro-choice” (49%) and “pro-life” (47%)
o 48% want legalization with limits, 32% completely legal, 19% illegal
ISSUE: IS ANYONE ASKING WHY
Research is limited on why women choose to terminate. Many neither asked nor researched. I contacted Gallup and no survey has ever occurred. I reached out to the USCCB, The Archdiocese of NY, searched data on the internet (results below) where some available data was located.
ISSUE: ACCURATE INFORMATION
Lax approach to data collection. Information is implemented, maintained by states, some chosing not to collect data. Figures for 2018, not expected until mid-2021, limiting research. New Abortion Trends in the United States: A First Look 9/22/20. Tessa Longbons
THE DATA
I. Approximately 18% of pregnancies in the U.S. end in abortion. Multiple factors include access to: health care, contraception, availability of providers. State regulations, i.e., mandatory waiting periods, parental involvement laws, legal restrictions, growing acceptance of non-marital childbearing; economic changes, impact of fertility and contraception. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Abortion Surveillance, 2018 Summaries 11//27/20
II. Research, 2008-2010 Reasons for termination are multiple, bringing the tally above 100%: https://www.verywellhealth.com/reasons-for-abortion
40% Not financially prepared
36% Bad timing, not ready, unplanned
31% Partner relationships (poor choice or new, not supportive, abusive, doesn’t want child, wrong guy or not desiring to be a single mother)
29% Need to focus on other children.
20% Interferes with educational, vocational plans.
19% Not emotionally or mentally prepared.
12% Health-related (for her, the fetus, use of prescription, non-prescription drugs, alcohol, or tobacco)
12% Wants better life for the baby than could provide.
7% Not independent, mature enough
5% Influences from family, friends.
4% Doesn’t want a baby or place for adoption.
Note, half of all unintended pregnancies occur while women are using birth control.
III. Other data:
• Over 50% were already mothers. ajph.aphapublications.org(2014)
• Those facing economic hardships: 51% lived below federal poverty level; 76% of those have insufficient funds for housing, transportation, food. 63% had other children. ajph.aphapublications.org
• 42% of unplanned pregnancies: aborted. Ireland, MD. The Conversation 5/30/19
• 67% of Catholics: Roe v. Wade should not be overturned. http://www.pewresearch.org
• About 25% of U.S. women under 45 undergo abortion. Guttmacher Institute.
• 619,591 abortions for 2018 were reported to CDC from 49 reporting areas. The abortion rate was 11.3 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years. From 2017-2018, total number of abortions and abortion rate increased 1%. In 2018, women in their 20’s accounted for 57.7% of abortions. Rates decreased from 2009-2018 for all women. CDC Abortion Surveillance-U.S., 2018 Surveillance Summaries 11/ 27/20
IV. International findings from 14 countries, U.S. included Cited reasons were socioeconomic concerns or limiting childbearing. Little variation exists by sociodemographic characteristics. Abortions occur for a variety of reasons. Elsevier Inc. Guttmacher Institute, 6/25/17
V. Failure of social support for assistance. Women denied abortions had higher odds of poverty 6 months later than women receiving abortions; more likely to be in poverty 4 years later; 6 months after denial women were less likely to be employed full-time and more likely to receive public assistance. 3/2018, Vol 108, No. 3 AJPH Foster et al.
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The basic data is now posted. Let’s move forward, discussing possible solutions, resolutions. Information can enlighten, reduce fears, save lives. We must learn and resolve why abortion is decided over motherhood.
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Modernization has made this nation, the world, more interconnected. It’s time to forget labels, develop ideas and programs, putting aside some misconceptions of political socialism, communism, etc. We must think as a whole and help the least. It’s time to help the stranger, recognizing everyone as our neighbor.
I am pro-life.
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If it’s “safe, legal and rare” versus “unsafe, illegal and common”, it’s clear to me which side I will be on.
If you believe the pope is God’s chosen leader of the church, why are you questioning his methods? Couldn’t it be that God is leading Pope Francis on a journey that uses a different, yet more effective method of saving the unborn?
I believe the pope is human with the fallibility that everyone else possesses, and I also believe he was chosen by a group of cardinals rather than God. But I also believe that his method – his pastoral method – will do more to save children’s lives than the fire and brimstone, zero-sum-game approach of his predecessors that is being advocated for in this article. The overarching question is whether we want to push the sinners away or go to them. If we choose to continue pushing the sinners away, there will eventually be no one left.
The naivete of your statement is astounding and reflects an almost total lack of knowledge of human proclivities and experience. When evil is not called out and resisted, it will run wild. It has ever been that way in human history. What good can come of condemning evil and then treating evildoers as fully satisfactory members of the human family? Little wonder we have confusion in the pews when even those who wear the purple and scarlet shrink from emulating the prophet Nathan when speaking to David.
Kyle knows that this is a question of doing what works. Blindly pointing to “the Devil” is not effective and you do not have the self-awareness to realize that.
Pope Francis is an Anti-Pope! You are on your own and so is He!!