Foloww Up to Criteria for Endorsing a Candidate - A House Divided

At the risk of getting myself in more trouble than I did with my previous post on this subject, I am going to stick my neck out a bit more with today's observations. These matters are obviously highly charged with emotions, and at the risk of igniting those emotions a bit more, I will take a Michael Voris approach in today's remarks. 

As I seem to have stepped on a few toes by defending Lake County Life PAC's decisions in some of their endorsements of candidates, who did not hold a "100%" pro-life viewpoint, I may step on a few more with what I say next. Though my intent is not to step on anyone, but merely to point out that this is a much more complicated issue here ... and challenge people to think a bit more on just exactly WHY pro-lifers are so divided.  

It appears to those pro-lifers, who will describe themselves as being 100%,   that those they see as being less than 100%, are the crux of the problem.   Those others, though they also see themselves as being 100% pro-life, nevertheless, see the pro-life mission as a "spiritual battle, fought in a political arena which necessitates full understanding of the rules of engagement in that political arena."    

This division amongst pro-lifers has been going on for many years now, while babies continue to die. Why?  Since the infamous decision of Roe v Wade in 1973, groups of Lay people decided to get together to fight against this decision.  Why was it that Lay people felt they needed to do this? Where was the Church?  

As a young Catholic couple, my husband and I, who regularly attended daily mass, never heard a peep from the pulpit. We even heard that priests were telling women to "follow their own conscience" concerning birth control pills. My husband and myself believed for many years, that we were going to be the only Catholics left on the planet. Coming from the Hippie generation, you can imagine, we were certainly not very popular amongst our peers. But, more distressing, was the attitude of many priests, who also made us feel as though we were dinosaurs from the past.

One day, in particular, we asked one of the priests from our parish, Santa Maria in Mundelein, "why do we never hear anything from you priests about the evil of abortion that is scouring our land?"  His reply?  "Well", he blithely responded, "Perhaps it's just not a burning issue with other people, as it is with you."  Burning issue?   "Well, it will be a burning issue when they're in hell!", I angrily retorted!  The priest had nothing more to say, and I walked away so disheartened and confused.  This attitude on the part of the clergy only continued during our 5 children's growing and formative years, to the point where we ended up homeschooling our youngest child.

Where was that Voice of Authority, I had grown up with, which morally guided and led Catholics in every area of their lives? It seemed that the Flower Power & Free Love Age of Aquarius had infiltrated the Catholic Church, with priests wearing butterfly vestments, and becoming Johnny Carsons as they faced the people at the liturgy of the mass, trying to be hip and relevant.  I'm getting nauseous just recalling this nonsense ... which has yet to breathe it's last gasp.


This all reached critical mass with the priest scandal, wherein the full effects of disobedient clergy, to Humanae Vitae, became fully evident, and we soon understood why priests were too busy to lead their sheep.

So, back to my main question in this blog ... "Why are pro-lifers divided"?  Is it really because some of them are more pro-life than others?  Why are they so divided on how to elect pro-life candidates?  Is it really because some of them are less pro-life than others?

In any family, institution or army, there must be "LEADERSHIP"!  In the absence of leadership, the troops will become confused and disoriented and fight amongst themselves.  Many will be lost or desert, or fall into the hands of the enemy.  In the absence of said leadership in the Church, lay people have been on their own, trying to decide moral questions amongst themselves, oft  times arguing amongst themselves over those questions.  This absence of leadership has especially led to confusion and division amongst pro-lifers. In any questionable situation, there needs to be a "voice of authority", which ultimately arbitrates and settles the argument.  If that voice of authority is lacking, nothing but division will follow.

"And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand." Mark 3:25