Courageous Senator Tim Mathern, ND, challenges Catholic bishop's political letter.

[patrice]

This is an interesting article because it shows how Senator Mathern directed his rebuttal toward the bishop's language in a pastoral letter, which reveals a repetition of specific memes in use in the U.S. senate campaign involving Democrat Heidi Heitkamp vs. Republican Rick Berg.

In addition to its demand that Bishop Kagan withdraw his letter, Mathern's response is interesting not only for its political science dimensions, but for the fact that he also addresses Catholic dogma on the matter of conscience. NCR summarizes the current situation regarding the bishop's letter, which will be sent this week, by stating that Bishop Kagan comes close to violating tax exempt status and by supporting Mathern's call that the letter should be retracted.

The bishop's letter and Senator Mathern's letter are appended to this article:

http://ncronline.org/node/37926

That was evidently too much for the Bishop of Bismarck, David Kagan. He has published a letter that he wants read at all Masses this weekend that -- without mentioning names -- effectively endorses Berg over Heitkamp.

As you might expect, Kagan zeroes in on social issues, with no mention of poverty, economic justice, immigration, peace in the world or human rights. He maintains, "A properly formed Catholic conscience will never contradict the Church's teachings in matters of faith and morals."

- snip -

In his press advisory, Mathern corrects the bishop's erroneous teaching on conscience: "A Catholic owes a duty to listen thoughtfully to the Bishop, but if in 'good conscience' he or she cannot give assent, the Catholic must be free to follow his or her own conscience, which is the true moral responsibility." The conscience of a good and thoughtful Catholic, in other words, might or might not square with official teaching.

Mathern also notes that Kagan urges voters not to vote for the more "likeable" candidate. This is just short of using candidates' names. Media in the state have consistently called Heitkamp the more "likeable." Mathern says, "The National Republican Senatorial Committee is currently running an ad that says: 'North Dakotans think they like Heidi Heitkamp. ... You might like Heidi ...

I add my hearty congratulations to Senator Mathern in making this reference to Catholic dogma on the matter of conscience, because IMO were Catholics more courageously true and actively committed to their own teachings on the matter, perhaps a few things in America's recent social history, such as an un-necessary war on an INNOCENT nation, Iraq, and several decades of tolerance for systemic pedophilia in the RC church, would be quite different.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

1. Thomas Aquinas disagrees with the bishop

In the Summa Theologia, I-II, q 19 art 5, Aquinas says explicitly that one must follow one's conscience, even if the conscience is in error. He says that you are obligated to inform your conscience, through study, thought and prayer. However, blindly following what you are told by the bishop is not required -- after all, the bishop himself may be in error.

[patrice]

2. That's the way it used to be taught in the late '60s, because we were dealing with

our peers and others who had gone to the Vietnam War and there was also the example of Civil Disobedience being set by MLK et al in their struggle for Civil Rights.

Thanks very much for the cite. I thought there was something in Aquinas about this. I will go read the original source.

This is, after all, the example we see in the life of Christ and we hear how taking that PERSONAL gamble for the truth/what-is-right is of the essence to Christianity in Jesus' own words on the cross, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani". Whether we recognize it or not, truth is its OWN reward, not something we purchase complete with the guaranteed quid pro quos, or "salvation", or rewards of any kind. We're supposed to stake every second of our lives on our own responsibility to get it right, our own best autonomous effort, for nothing other than that and without actually knowing whether we are right or not. All we have is our best effort and hope and even when that doesn't work out, there are no alternatives.

There's a beautiful figure for this situation in the movie The Mission, before Robert de Niro enters the story there is a vignette of a jungle missionary priest whom the natives have injured and tied to a cross and they set him afloat in a huge river. The last we see of the priest is a long shot with that wooden cross going over the vast edge of enormous waterfalls that fill the entire screen. Amid an absolutely overwhelming roar, the cross, with the unconscious priest still tied to it, plunges straight down into huge billowing clouds of misting waters and disappears, then the story begins.