Last week I raised the fact that The Southern
Cross, the only Catholic newspaper for South Africans, has repeatedly failed to
report on the Obama Healthcare Bill, which is threatening religious freedom in
the USA. My post was titled, “Is Our Catholic
Newspaper Meeting Expectations”.
Again this week, The Southern Cross has failed to
publish any direct articles, about this situation in the USA and the struggle
to get this healthcare bill changed. This despite the fact that about 170 US Catholic
bishops have expressed their outrage at the bill and the fact that organisations,
like EWTN and Priests for Life, have actually initiated legal action to sue the
government in this regard. Religious freedom is at risk and this is not just
about the issue of contraception.
The editorial of The Southern Cross newspaper for this week is titled, “The Catholic Conscience”. It only makes mention of the issue, briefly. Here are my comments, which I made online regarding the editorial:
This editorial speaks volumes.
Again this newspaper has failed to carry any significant report about the
important struggle going on in the USA right now, where fellow Catholics, led
by about 170 Catholic Bishops, are fighting to defend their religious freedom.
(THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A NUMBER OF WEEKS IN FACT, AND YET THIS NEWSPAPER
HAS REPEATEDLY FAILED TO REPORT ON THIS!)
Despite the above, this
newspaper deemed it fit last week to publish a report from the Catholic News
Service regarding allegations – ONLY ALLEGATIONS – of corruption in the
Vatican, which, INCIDENTALLY, had already been fiercely denied by the Vatican
BEFORE THIS NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED. In addition, the editor chose to dedicate an
entire editorial specifically to the subject of the alleged corruption. (I SAY
AGAIN ALLEGED!)
The fact that the editor this
week has chosen to slip the religious freedom struggle in the USA into an
editorial, devoted to the subject of individual conscience, and has not devoted
either a separate article or an entire editorial to the matter, even though he
was prepared to do so about merely allegations against the Vatican, is unconscionable.
It discloses much about the editor and the newspapers personal views on the
subject.
Last week a writer of the
Southern Cross was quick to defend the newspaper against my criticism with a
comment about the support the newspaper gave to the anti-abortion Mass in Cape
Town. This issue in the USA is about much more than just contraception and
pro-life views. There can be no denying it. The Southern Cross has again failed
Catholics in South Africa, and our brothers and sisters in the USA, because of
its silence on this important subject.
I will address separately the
contents of this editorial and another article in this newspaper, about the
supremacy of individual conscience. They both contain views that are erroneous
and that are likely to lead Catholics who read this newspaper astray.
"Conscience" is also a convenient word which excuses the adamant contrary behaviour of any heretic, Gnostic, Arian, liberal or licentious person.
ReplyDelete“Conscience” is often used to excuse downright bad actions, even murder, theft, robbery, suicide, conspiracy, etc.
A "conscience" which ignores the Ten Commandments’ or which bypasses it, is not a "conscience" but the malfunction of knowledge, reasoning, and intelligence required to fulfil the Divinely revealed laws which fulfil the laws of cause and effect. Thus by ignoring these Commandments natural law and ordinary integrity is easily dumbfounded into chaos and unnecessary suffering and rejection.
A "conscience" which is built on misinformation which fails to seek truth and correction is a "dishonest" conscience which undermines one’s true Heavenly potential.
By mixing "free will" with "conscience" and, by this, then, proceeding to justify Sin is an abomination of the purpose of Being.
The strings of a good conscience are pulled, shaped and formed in a life-time by sound catechesis; excellent morals; a love of neighbour; love for the Church; a profound life of Grace; living the communion of Saints with the Immaculate Mother according to the Divine Will of the Blessed Trinity; being / becoming profoundly opposed to Sin and Evil because these are the destroyers of bodies, souls, conscience, and morals, malicious destroyers of countries, nations and states.
I look forward to your comments about the Southern Cross’s views about conscience.
It would appear that the Scross decided to delete your comment made on the article of “Catholic Conscience” Mark. You clearly must have rubbed the editor the wrong way.
ReplyDeleteFunny, they don’t delete comments that are against Church teaching, even comments that are outright distasteful and insulting are kept posted.
Truly shocking, though not at all surprising.
John, the problem is that the editor cannot see past his preconceived idea that this is a personal attack on him, though I have never met him.
ReplyDeleteThe reality is that the Southern Cross has no justification for remaining silent on this important subject and its silence must lead any reasonable person to ask why this Catholic newspaper has remained silent when almost every other newspaper has published some or other article on this subject.
I can find no reason, no mater how hard I try, to justify the silence of The Southern Cross on this important subject and so I must draw my own logical conclusions about their silence.
The problem here rests with the bishops.
ReplyDeleteTheir influence on this paper does not suit all of us: we expect an orthodox paper; while seemingly the bishops are happy that the Cathoic population is fed with something else, possibly the mundane.
Who knows what the agenda. May be they are waiting to cannonise South Africa's first cardinal, Owen McCann, who was the founder of this paper.
Thus,possibly, others at the newspaper, by default, may automatically be elevated to the altars on high!