Unfortunately his leanings are quite progressive. We've had occasion to comment on the evidence in the past. In this latest issue of Our Parish Times he wrote a column entitled "Celebrating Life, Equality and Education". Regrettably it is much worse than the usual progressive screed. Please go to page 16 of that pdf. In one paragraph he wrote glowingly of the March for Life. However, he started the next paragraph by saying "I take a pastoral view of this issue". Uh-oh! There's that word "pastoral"! We know now that it has ominous undertones, thanks to the way Pope Francis has used that word to camouflage all sorts of dissidence and heresy. Msgr Enzler merely followed suit. Here is the rest of Enzler's "pastoral view". To wit: "Let’s start by admitting it’s wrong and admitting that abortion is in fact taking the life of an innocent baby. At the same time, let us as a Church be welcoming to all who may be considering or have had abortions. We don’t condone it, but we need to meet them where they are, recognizing that people are forced to make decisions in all kinds of circumstances. While we don’t agree with the decision, they still need to be welcomed and loved in our Church as part of God’s family." Shall we unpack all this "pastoral" double-talk?
Let's do this "bullet style".
- The phrase "at the same time" sets the stage for the treatment of a pro-abortion mentality as being equivalent to reverence for life.
- "we don't condone it, but we need to meet them where they are" It sounds nice, but "where they are" is literally hell-bound. Where is the acknowledgment that the Church must immediately call such people away from abortion to immediate repentance?
- "people are forced to make decisions" Wrong. No amount of "force" can ever justify a choice for an intrinsically grave evil such as abortion. Enzler doesn't acknowledge that those "decisions" are impermissible. What does that say about his own beliefs regarding abortion?
- "while we don't agree with the decision" It's not a mere difference of opinion. Abortion is a mortal sin against God's commands. Where is the truly pastoral concern? Where are the Spiritual Works of Rebuking the Sinner, Instructing the Ignorant?
- "they still need to be welcomed" If one has committed the sin of abortion, they will find this welcome as they enter the confessional and confess this (and all other) mortal sin. No other "welcome" will do.
If the topic of Enzler's article was "racism" as opposed to "abortion", would he be evincing such moral relativism? Of course not! But consider what was written of him in my previous posts. We see that at the very best, he is less concerned about the murders of 3500 babies daily than he is about amnesty for border-crashers, etc. Of course there are big bucks to be had from the latter. The tiny babies? Not so much!
I've been blogging on such mess for several years now. Still I find it difficult to believe that a Catholic priest could vomit forth such pablum. Consider that he's CEO of Catholic Charities. Does he occupy this position despite his position - or because of it? I suspect the latter. This, and other problems with Catholic Charities, makes it an organization not worthy of one penny from faithful Catholics.
Re: your mention of "racism" vs "abortion": spot on! This is the point of my article linked below. The emcy bullies do NOT want mercy for all; apparently they want if for adulterers and those who voluntarily engage in disordered sexual acts, but not for those who accept and believe all the Church's magisterium. Guy McClung, Texas
ReplyDeleteJoyful, Fruitful Racism - Catholic Canada
www.catholicanada.com/2017/09/17/joyful-fruitful-racism/
Joyful, Fruitful Racism. Posted September 17, 2017 11:02 pm by Guy McClung. Joyful, Fruitful Racism. Around the world, from the local parish to the highest levels of the Vatican, the papal exhortation Amoris Laetitia (AL) has been interpreted by some to justify, even to elevate to the level of virtue, actions of some of the ...
That view that some abortions are permissible is damnable.
ReplyDeleteThe mass slaughter of prenatal children is the most horrific and vile perversion ever conjured into existence by our species. The number of lives killed by abortion has eclipsed every other unnatural cause of death in recorded history combined.
ReplyDeleteAll five million unborn babies alive in America today can be killed tomorrow, legally and unstoppably, on the whim of their mothers.
The MSGR is simply repeating Protestant theology, and that is a sin.
Janet, I agree that Catholic Charities is not worthy of any support from faithful Catholics - mostly because of the co-mingling of voluntary Catholic donations with government funds (extorted from taxpayers), in many of the programs - with the inevitable corruption that follows. However, I think you are making too much of Msgr. Enzler's statement. Technically, we cannot avoid making choices. If we do not get out of bed in the morning, we have chosen to stay in bed. And that's just the first minute of the day. So we are "forced" to make choices - all the time. What if we were to say that "we as a Church should be welcoming to all who are tempted to sin, or who have already sinned" ? Would you disagree with that? (I hope not - else this Sinner may not feel welcome.) Msgr. Enzler is clear that he condemns abortion as a grave sin. Perhaps the wording his statement is unfortunate - since, as you point out, someone could read into it that "all kinds of circumstances" are a justification for murder. But we are quibbling over semantics. Msgr. Enzler's statement is well within the traditional Catholic concept of "hating the sin, but loving the sinner."
ReplyDeleteIt is not mere "quibbling over semantics". Specific words have specific meanings. "We may not agree with the decision"? We're not talking of a mere difference of opinion here. Msgr Enzler owns his words, just as we all own ours. However, to put this in context, understand that Enzler contributed to the political campaigns of two rabid pro-aborts: Mrs Chris Matthews and John Delaney.
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