What’s Wrong With Catholic Socialism

With the arrival of the Pope in the US this weekend, I’ve turned a little pensive.

I am concerned with America’s Catholics, in particular, the 60+% who don’t think it’s important to attend Mass. Given our (or at least, my) particular beliefs in our dogma, skipping out on Mass is skipping out on communing with the Creator. Effectively, it’s like saying, “Hey, Jesus, thanks for all you’ve done, but hey, I was up last night drinking, so I can’t come to hang out.” Hey, we’ve all missed Church for various reasons, and I can understand that our educated, prideful culture doesn’t like getting “preached to”, but if you’re going to call yourself a Catholic, at least go to Church.

I know many, many Catholics of various stripes. I’ve know priests and nuns from various orders, and my Confirmation sponsor is currently the Bishop of Utah (I can’t wait until he’s Pope). And I have noticed a definitive leaning towards a socialist government that provides basic needs for everyone in society, be it welfare, education, or health care. Many of the priests and nuns are products of the 60s and 70s, so it’s not surprising their influence is usually heavy into more liberal interpretations of Vatican II and the faith in general. However, many of the Catholic clergy are educated and, for the most part, familiar with the tenets of the catechism of Catholicism. But what’s clear is that the laity have no idea what that dogma is. I remember having an argument with my high school religion teacher over New Testament scripture and having to correct her because she mixed up two scripture passages. I also lose patience with Catholics who somehow think it’s OK to disagree with the Church on abortion & stem cell research. At that point you really have to stop calling yourself Catholic, folks.

But the big gripe I have now is a row with well-meaning but short-sighted members of the faith who want to see more government involvement in our lives to better assist those in need. Catholics need to stop voting with Democrats because they feel the Democratic social agenda is better aligned with the teachings of the Church. In fact, nothing can be further from the truth. I’m not saying Republicans are Popes-in-disguise, either. Both need to totally reevaluate their platforms, and Catholics need to disassociate themselves with the notion that Government is somehow responsible for taking care of its citizens.

John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president, a Democrat, acted more like a Republican than a Democrat, and he had a great grasp on how the citizenry should respond to their government. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” is a call to service from the citizenry. It’s a call for smaller government and greater participation in Democracy by the individual. Since the 60’s, our government has gotten far larger, our politicians gain popularity with government handouts, and our citizenry demands more and more “freebies” from the government. In the meantime, many expect a large government role as a caretaker of its citizens. Catholics, especially those who want to participate in the faith, should flee from this idea.

St. James (James 2:14-17) talks of faith and works in his letter, and this particular letter should be recognized as a call against socialism:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Catholics who trust in government to deliver what’s needed to their neighbor are just like the man who does not give charity to those in need. A government is not a body of God, but a body of man, as it has no call to anything greater than itself, it is prone to corruption. However, the individual is responsible, especially the Catholic individual, to God and to Jesus. If the person puts his faith into institutions of man to deliver charity, then it is completely misguided. “Give unto God what is Gods, and give unto Caesar what is Caesar” was not talking about revamping the tax code, but instead a call to separate manly institutions from Godly institutions. The individual needs to be charitable, and alone give of their time, treasure and talent to those in need.

Our government allows for tax deductions to charitable organizations, which I find to be complete folly because it contradicts the nature of charity. Charity is selfless giving of oneself. If you give and then turn and expect reward from the government, it is not “charitable giving” and should not be deducted from any tax because nothing was truly given by the individual. In addition, many “charities” receive money from the government for their mission. Charities such as Planned Parenthood are antithetical to the dogma of Catholic faith, and trusting in a government to correctly deliver those funds to Catholic-approved charities is foolishness on the part of the taxpayer. Socialist constructs do not differentiate between non-profit organizations, except for some of those that have relgious connections! While many people feel good about the government providing assistance to those who are needy, the truth of the matter is the government is far more likely to deliver those monies to organizations that are secular or antithetical to the mission of the Catholic Church!

In addition, when the government takes your money (read: taxes), it is by force. By requesting the government to increase its spending amongst the population, there has to be rise in revenue of the government as well, and that is through taxes. Effectively, to make sure the need for “charity” is met by well-meaning Catholics, they are demanding all people, even those who may oppose such giving, to give to the government to accomplish the goals of their religious beliefs. Charity isn’t a vehicle of force, it’s a vehicle of will to assist others. Let there be no intermediary between the Catholic and those in need, for that is the nature of charity.

Social programs provided by the government at the cost of our tax dollars is not what Catholicism is about. JFK didn’t think so, St. James didn’t think so, and I don’t think Christ even thought so. What’s clear to me is that the Catholic faith is about the rallying of the individual to something greater. Voting for candidate who promise more social programs saps Catholicism of its strength in charity and delivers that muscle to the government, an amoral body run by the amoral.

Let the people dictate to the government. Let us as communities focus our efforts on Charity to those in need in our communities. How can a bureaucrat in D.C. possibly understand the needs of the people in your neighborhood? Stop waiting on the welfare check, and take help from your neighbors. Who better to help you and your family?

Democrats Seeking Change

Rahm Emmanuel, the No. 4 Democrat in the House, thinks that the creation of the Senate “was a mistake“.

“As an amateur student of constitutional history and as a member of Congress, I have come to the conclusion that the Senate was a historic mistake,” said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the No. 4 Democrat.

This is similar to the idea floated by Hillary Clinton that the Electoral College should be changed, too.

In the wake of the 2000 presidential election, numerous commentators discovered what they took to be flaws in the presidential election system. For Hillary Clinton, for example, the election of George W. Bush demonstrated that the Electoral College should be abolished in favor of a French-style national election on a one-man, one-vote basis. Displaying her characteristic combination of ideological commitment and historical ignorance, Clinton opined that it simply was not right that the victory should go not to the recipient of the most popular votes, but to the winner in the Electoral College.

The NYT Editorial Board thinks it’s a great idea.

It seems the Democrats want to do away with a republic of states and just make the “United States” into “The One Big State”.

I wonder what other checks and balances they want to toss? If Bush puts one more conservative on the court, I’m sure we’ll see a movement to change the lifetime appointment of judges as well.

Socialized Medicine Recommended Abortion

But instead of an abortion, they had a perfect little baby boy. Nice to see they did get a second opinion.

If anyone tells you that abortion will be the “more humane” choice for your child, get a second opinion. They may be wrong.

But hey, it was a simple mistake. Who could have thought that with Michael Moore railing against the American insurance system? Obviously government is a much better caretaker.

I challenge Michael Moore to a debate!

I challenge him over the geo-political stability and history of the Middle East, what is necessary to fight the Iraq war, abortion, and which fast-food restaurant makes the best hamburger. Oh, and some questions about health care.

I figure he’d like the publicity with his new movie coming out, and there’s no better arena to pique that interest than an open, public debate.

Hey, if he can call out Fred Thompson, (even after a stern rebuttal), I can call him out.

All I Can Say is Wow

The EU wants to put Holocaust deniers in jail for 3 years.

What’s next, global warming deniers? Deniers of Sola Scriptora? Gravity deniers? Fusion sun deniers?

I’m glad they’re testing this government-regulated thinking with the Holocaust first. Considering that the Muslim population is exploding in Europe, and so is militant Islam, the European prisons will be overflowing with Muslim Holocaust Deniers.

Are they going to round up anyone who goes to Iran for “conferences on the Holocaust”?

Given all the other problems the EU is facing, is this issue they really want to be tackling? How to overflow the prison system?

4.4% of you are lazy jerks!

I’m kidding! You’re just out of work.

So, the unemployment rate is at a 5-year-low. Bush has really screwed up the country, hasn’t he? I’m glad we elected a bunch of Democrats. We really need to fix this problem. Too many people are working! I’m so ashamed to be an American.

France: 8.7% (2006 est, according to the CIA).
Germany: 10.8%
Finland: 7%
Sweden: 5.6%
Greece: 9.2%
Spain: 8.1%

I can’t wait for Hillary to get elected and make us a socialist state just like these other ones!

The Neverending Joys of Socialism

Be green or suffer the consequences:

The Government said that every new home should be ‘carbon neutral’ within ten years - and existing properties subject to a ‘home energy audit’ to assess how green they are.

Householders would be given access to ‘hassle-free’ renovation services to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. They would be able to ‘buy now, pay later’ for green improvements as their fuel bills decreased.

Zero carbon homes are insulated to reduce heating costs, use solar panels, windpower or other renewable energy sources, are made with environmentally friendly materials and use energy efficient light bulbs and appliances.

And when the cloud cover increases again, the solar power goes bye-bye and these poor folks have to choose which electrical device to run. It’s like voluntarily returning to the dark ages. The UberHippies must be pleased.

In other news, returning the sand that blew into your yard from the beach could cost you $75,000 or jail time.

It seemed like common sense to shovel it into his wheelbarrow and take it back, load by load, to its rightful place.

But the local council did not share Mr Bulmer’s idea of logic.

Doing that, they told him, would class as fly-tipping, for which the maximum penalty is a £50,000 fine or six months in jail.

Oh, and he would also have his wheelbarrow confiscated.

“I’ve always had problems with sand blowing into my garden but the gales this year have made it much worse,” Mr Bulmer, 79, a retired bank manager, said.

“I asked the council if I could shovel it up and take it across the road and put it back on the beach. They said I could not do that because it constitutes fly-tipping.

“It is crazy. Windblown sand is of high quality - very fine and very clean and I’m sure my sand is cleaner than the sand on the beach which gets covered in dog muck.”

Of course it’s crazy, Mr. Bulmer. It’s a country where the government has way too much power. And as we know, government doesn’t attract the smartest of individuals.

And I complain I have to buy a booster seat for my child.

Socialism works!

In fact, it works so well that 84% of Europeans live above the poverty line!

Compare that with the United States, which has a 12.6% living below the poverty line as of 2005.

Hey, waitaminute! I thought socialism was supposed to help the poor more than capitalism? How can a capitalist society like the United States be taking better care of its impoverished than the enlightened European Socialists?

I’m shocked and awed!

Minimum Wage Hike Leads to Layoffs

Teenagers are losing their jobs and going to the streets where they’ll find sex, drugs and rock & roll.

Had we kept the minimum wage at $5.15, that would be more teenagers working and staying away from the perils of drugs like pot, ecstasy, and Unreal tournament.

**************************************

Speaking of minimum wage, did you know the socialist running for leader of France is advocating raising the minimum wage to about $2000 per month. That’s about $11 an hour for working 22 hours a day. But don’t worry. It won’t run the unemployment rate up, though. Here’s the fun part:

In a two-hour speech to about 10,000 supporters north of Paris, she laid out a 100-proposal platform, pledging to raise pensions, to increase the minimum wage to €1,500, or about $2,000, a month and to guarantee a job or further training for every youth within six months of graduating from university.

So you will get a job. Just the job the government wants you to have, at a whole whopping $2000 a month. Unless it’s a job as a state-sponsored whore. Then they’ll suspend your unemployment benefits because you obviously don’t want to work.

Saturday Night Fun Posts

Are Britons ready to reject socialism?

Glenn Reynolds has a good, level-headed post about global warming and how to approach it. I’m not sure about a ban on private jets, but more nuke-power plants, more efficient wind-farms, tidal-electric plants are a good start. In addition, more efficient power transmission would certainly make a big impact. One of my personal research projects involves carbon-based wires that act as energy-generators when they’re hit by light, something that would be cheap and provide an efficient solar energy transfer that could be used by personal users.

I will say that there’s a HUGE reservoir of energy located in the lower 48 that hasn’t been tapped. It would have a two big advantages (clean power and environmental friendliness), but implementation would be a bit problematic. Stay tuned– I may be very famous is ten years.

I’m predicting the Colts in the Super Bowl tomorrow, 34-20. The Soup’s Joel McHale predicted the Bears 24-21. I don’t think the Bears have the discipline to stop the Colts and it’s going to be a game to watch for the commercials. And Prince! Yes, he’s got his name back!