The Fly on the Vatican Wall

If I had been a fly on the Vatican wall, I wonder what I would have heard in the Pope's meetings with Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi?

Both of these individuals have paraded their Catholicism in front of the media for years, and both of these individuals have done their best to aid and abet the practice of abortion during their careers. Now, whether you support abortion or not, you might agree that if your church says it's wrong, then you should too. Or if you don't agree because you think you should get to have your own independent beliefs within a faith structure, then you could do that as well. I probably see myself in that camp because there are some things I've really struggled with about the Church and cannot fully accept. And while the Church expects you to follow its teachings and comply with them, even the ones you don't understand or agree with, then I'm afraid that sort of faith is based on a system of complete trust in a hierarchy that said hierarchy has corroded all on its own. At least in my view.

Now, if you don't accept something, the Church asks that you continue to wrestle with it and pray for wisdom. And I think that's quite reasonable. However, it seems to me that while you're doing this, you should hold off on doing whatever it is you're doing that is the source of the dissent. In other words, and by way of simplification, if you're not sure that stealing is wrong, then you probably shouldn't keep stealing while you're trying to figure it out.

For Pelosi and Biden, I believe they should have stopped supporting abortion if they ever wrestled with that. But they didn't (and haven't) stopped supporting abortion, so that tells me a couple of things. First, it could be that they have already done their wrestling and come up with a belief that abortions are morally benign. But if they say that abortions are morally benign, then they're in it up to their chins because violating Church teaching on the subject is one of the few documented offenses that can actually get you excommunicated. While mens rea can be a reason why it might not, neither of these two professional politicians can claim that, as they have supported abortion for decades.

So that's actually not what they're thinking. They know what abortion is, and they know that the Catholic Church prohibits it. And they still wave the flag and brag about being Catholic. By now, it's a habit. It's just a tool. Hey, look at me. I'm virtuous. I go to church on Sundays.

No, their tack around the wind is to say that while they don't believe abortions are right (I'm still good with my Church), as a government representative of my diverse constituency I cannot impose my beliefs on theirs (I'm still good with my career. In fact, I'm even more virtuous now because I'm putting the needs of The People before my own. See how selfless I am?)

Celebrities, Royals, and World Leaders React to Death of Pope Francis

I have always wondered what a fly on the wall would have heard in those photo-op meetings that Pelosi and Biden have had with Pope Francis. They meet up, they mug for the cameras, and then they have discussions that we're not privy to. Nancy/Joe comes home; then they go to Mass. And then they take Communion. Hmmmmmm. From that, I can glean three possibilities. One, the Pope did not discuss their support of abortion, which would be extremely disappointing and negligent. Or two, the Pope discussed their support of abortion and told them it was sinful, out of bounds with the Church, and that their souls were in grave mortal error, but did not excommunicate them nor prohibit them from taking Communion. Three, he discussed their support for abortion, told them it was wrong, said he would pray for them, and sent them on their way. Which I think would be extremely weak of him. He's supposed to be the shepherd and the teacher of the faithful. And a response like that would fulfill neither of those roles.

In my view, abortions can be likened to drive-by shootings, where Nancy/Joe would say Abortions? Well, I wouldn't advocate one for my own family members, but I can't force that belief on my voters. This works for them because we can all agree that a victim of a drive-by is definitely going to be a human being, so they can condemn that. But if you're a practicing and "faithful" Catholic, a fetus or baby is a human, too. So if they're going to use the I wouldn't get one for myself defense, then they're essentially telling you that it's bad if a kid on the street gets gunned down, but completely acceptable to destroy a kid in utero because a kid in utero is not actually a person. And if that's what they really believe, then they should face the penalty that the Church prescribes, as they have consistently and regularly used their positions to aid and abet the abortions of millions in order to have their very lucrative careers.

Now, there may be a fourth possibility regarding Francis' discussions with Nancy/Joe, and that could have gone something like this....You cannot serve both masters, and you must choose one road or the other. It is a moral wrong to try to walk down the middle of an either-or situation in which you assist in the destruction of millions of lives.

That could have occurred, too, but given the way things have continued to go for Nancy/Joe, I don't really believe that happened. So here we are, looking for a new pope. I see that Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke is thought by some to be a possibility, but I kind of doubt it. Trump likes him, and he likes Trump, so he's probably out. Francis picked a lot of men to be cardinals under the age of 80, and I think they will probably elect someone like him. But in a few weeks, I guess we'll find out.