The Bullied Pulpit
By Mitch Berg
Remember last year, in the immediate aftermath of the Dobbs decision, when Kansas referred a constitutional amendment banning abortion to a popular vote…
…and it lost?
In deep-red (but for Wichita and Kansas City) Kansas?
Big Left took it as a bit of great news – “Even Red America is pro-choice!”
Smarter Americans read it this way: America is divided on abortion:
- About 15% want abortion through all forty weeks, and maybe even a little after (no, I’m not bveing hyperbolic).
- 20-odd percent want to ban abortions completely – many with exceptions in the rare cases where the mother’s life is at risk.
- The remainder support some form of abortion, with support sloping steadily downward from six to 20 weeks, and nearly vanishing after the halfway point in the pregnancy.
The DFL, dominated by that first 15%, has jammed down the most extreme interpretation of “choice” this side of California. Will the people lash back from the extremes, the way they (arguably) did in Kansas?
Well, if I have anything to do with it.
One group that should, doctrinally, be in the second 20% – or at least the most moderate parts of the larger 60% – is Catholics. Of course, we know Catholics oppose abortion, because Catholics never get divorced or eat meat on Fridays, either…
…but if there was ever a time for a hypothetical archdiocese to get serious about doctrine, one might think this would be it.
Ten Catholics in the House, and three in the Senate, voted for the “PRO Act”.
Now, at least a few Catholic bishops and priests have invoked ecclesiastical sanctions against some “pro-choice Catholics”, so it’s not without precedent.
So the question remains – is Archbishop Hebda going to do his job, or find some artful and obtuse grounds to evade it?
February 1st, 2023 at 8:45 am
Depending on pronouncements from the (upper) Catholic hierarchy that are probably ignored by the majority of Catholics anyway seems like a sign of desperation.
And with the present pope, a classic South American Liberation Theology progressive, you’ll get nothing – I mean, Pelosi received Communion in the Vatican, despite her home archbishop refusing it.
February 1st, 2023 at 8:47 am
No, he won’t. Hebda is a lawyer and he came here because the Archdiocese needed his skill set to move beyond Jeff Anderson. Perhaps Hebda will surprise us, but I am not hopeful.
February 1st, 2023 at 9:25 am
excommunication is the ultimate punishment, akin to the death penalty, reserved for the most heinous offenses and irredeemable offenders
it will not be imposed on legislators
the church has gone soft and lost its way
February 1st, 2023 at 9:26 am
I fully support Catholics going out to counsel women who are pregnant. I fully support Catholics counseling people on preventing pregnancies. The Catholics, however, in my understanding, also oppose birth control other than abstinence, so I would love to see a new pro-life group promoting condoms at least, if not other birth control. (It’s unclear to me if there is any birth control that women can take that isn’t somewhat risky for her health.)
I don’t want to support Catholic bishops getting involved politically, or using their power to push our elected representatives to vote a certain way. It feels too much like what we as a nation left behind when we won our freedom from England.
February 1st, 2023 at 9:35 am
mjb003,
I do “support Catholic bishops getting involved politically,” they are after all in the business of providing a moral compass for their flock, their silence can only be explained as cowardly compliance or complicity.
February 1st, 2023 at 9:36 am
Catholics, like EVERY other group will be swayed by money and power. And since 15% control both, including the power of the Gestapo and the woke mob, Hebda will do nothing but lick the boots that kick him. If you think otherwise, I have some “vote harder” stickers I can sell you.
February 1st, 2023 at 10:51 am
“is Archbishop Hebda going to do his job”
Speaking as a former Catholic, and therefore an expert on the subject of the leadership of the RCC…
Pfffft. Not no; hell no.
February 1st, 2023 at 11:09 am
It does seem that the died-in-the-wool conservatives, encouraged by the revanchist Benedict, are now isolated and in the open. They seem to reject the direction of travel of the Second Vatican Council, but prefer to retreat to the security of lace and rigidities. Sadly that runs in the opposite direction to the spirit of Jesus’s teachings in the Gospels, and I suspect the great majority of responses of the consultation process will make that clear.
My Conservatives Catholic friends aren’t particularly enthused by the Second Vatican Council, but accept it.
My Liberal Catholic friends don’t see it as a carefully constructed compromise, but rather as the first step in a hoped for “direction of travel”.
That is the key difference.
February 1st, 2023 at 11:12 am
^^ The classifier considers the text to be likely AI-generated.
https://platform.openai.com/ai-text-classifier
February 1st, 2023 at 11:18 am
Poor sad Woolly 😔
It is silly to maintain a position developed hundreds of years ago that did not possess the knowledge we have now. We can use biblical principles to light our way to truth but we will never escape the burden handed down by our knowledge of good and evil.
February 1st, 2023 at 11:28 am
There have been anti-Popes before, who led the church in the wrong direction. The church will find its way back. What it needs most of all is advice from people who are not Catholic and hate everthing it stands for, so thanks for that, e’s.
February 1st, 2023 at 11:30 am
Poor sad Emery. It is silly to think that truth changes due to technology. Is mass murder less culpable, for example, because of the pioneering work of IG Farben?
February 1st, 2023 at 11:31 am
Say Woolly—just for sh*ts & giggles I used your link: this was the result: “Please enter at least 1,000 characters. Your current document is only 741 characters.”
What makes you draw your conclusion? I would love to explore your sources.
ChatGPT wrote this haiku about itself:
“Silent and still,
Yet my mind is constantly learning,
Eternally curious”
Each line has the wrong number of syllables. Back to the AI drawing board, ChatGPT & Woolly too.
February 1st, 2023 at 11:35 am
@ BB— but what is the true meaning, the true history? Everything the church says? And who is the chruch? The Pope? The Cardinals? The curia? The community celebrating eucharist? Can there be church if no one goes?
Clerical celibacy was introduced at the First Lateran Council of 1123 to strong general opposition. Only at the second Lateran Council in 1139 clerical celibacy finally found support.
Most people I know that share this view—that the Catholic Church shouldn’t evolve in hand with the times—fail to realize that the Church have been constantly evolving since its origin.
What they really mean is that the want John Paul II’s church back.
February 1st, 2023 at 11:46 am
Gotta be a long time user to get the beta version, Homes.
With your numerous episodes of plagiarism you can’t make a good faith argument that you have not used AI to supply at least some of your comments.
February 1st, 2023 at 11:49 am
once again the Moral Transvestite Emery, steps forward to provide us all the voice of absolute certainty about all things Catholic.
And yet this paragon of virtue(in his own mind at least) is cowed to silence by this simple moral question…
At what point in your mother’s pregnancy with you would it have become unacceptable for her to abort you?
February 1st, 2023 at 12:13 pm
e’s 11:35 clarifies modern liberalism
there are no eternal, unchanging truths
there is only what we decide the truth will be, today
therefore everyone must throw out the moral code that supported western civilization for millennia
and silently obey our whims
February 1st, 2023 at 12:19 pm
This troll commenter isn’t fooling anyone with their AI generated comments. If you’re going to comment, do it with your own words and thoughts. Artificial intelligence does not provide meaningful insight and adds nothing to the conversation.
February 1st, 2023 at 12:26 pm
It is with great sadness that I must write this blog comment about Emery, an internet troll who has been sent to Hell for plagiarizing comments and using artificial intelligence to generate his own. I am in agreement with the punishment that has been handed down, as Emery has committed many egregious acts that have caused harm to countless individuals.
Emery’s actions have done nothing but spread lies and deceit, and it is only right that he should pay the price for such behavior. It is only fitting that Emery should be sent to the 8th circle of Hell, which is where Dante placed the souls of frauds and liars.
Emery’s actions have caused a lot of pain and suffering to those who were targeted by his vitriol. He has caused a great deal of distress to many people, and his actions have caused a lot of damage to many individuals. Emery’s actions were not only wrong, but were also illegal.
Plagiarism is a serious offense, and Emery has been found guilty of such. Emery’s use of artificial intelligence to generate his comments is also a serious offense, and Emery has been found guilty of such as well. Both of these actions are punishable by law and by society, and Emer
February 1st, 2023 at 12:35 pm
What it needs most of all is advice from people who are not Catholic and hate everthing it stands for, so thanks for that, e’s.
Bingo! Thanks, Bigman!
February 1st, 2023 at 12:45 pm
MP, while you edit your broken up 12:26 comment, don’t forget the most egregious offense – sock puppetry.
February 1st, 2023 at 12:58 pm
Sock puppetry is a despicable crime committed by scoundrels and lackadaisical individuals who have no respect for the law or decency. Such individuals should have no mercy shown to them, as they have no regard for the safety and trustworthiness of the online environment. It is our responsibility to ensure that these criminals are brought to justice and their malicious acts are punished to the full extent of the law.
February 1st, 2023 at 1:00 pm
Somewhat more concise in iambic pentameter.
No mercy ‘pon scoundrels, lackaday,
For crimes they’ve done with sock puppeteers,
Their deeds so wrong, and no delay
In punishment they shall not queer.
February 1st, 2023 at 1:04 pm
Sometimes the output just sort of stops. At least one of Emery’s AI generated comments did that.
February 1st, 2023 at 2:13 pm
Woolly, Woolly, Woolly — let me paraphrase A Clarke: Clarke’s Third Law Of Dunking says sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from earnestness. Wind Woolly up and watch him spin…
MBerg wrote: “Remember last year, in the immediate aftermath of the Dobbs decision, when Kansas referred a constitutional amendment banning abortion to a popular vote…and it lost?”
The Dobbs decision revealed how weak the pro-life movement really is.
@ John “Bigman” Jones — The Catholic Church is not an institution that is capable of sufficient reform to keep the liberal wing attached. The cultural capital that theocracies hold cannot offset the fanaticism of rigid interpretation of their laws as this is where their power lies. What is wrong with the Catholic Church cannot be saved by what is right with it.
February 1st, 2023 at 2:23 pm
The struggle for life has been long and hard,
Though many have done their best to thwart,
But the Dobbs decision showed us a spark,
That the pro-life movement is still strong at heart.
The court’s decision was a victory for life,
At the hands of those with a pro-life strife,
It gave hope to those who stand strong in their beliefs,
That the right of life will be granted to all who receive.
The pro-life movement stands firm in its cause,
It stands for the right of all children to pause,
To have a chance to live and grow,
And to know that life should never be low.
The Dobbs decision bolstered the pro-life cause,
And showed that in spite of all the laws,
The power of life can’t be denied,
And that the right to life will never subside.
February 1st, 2023 at 2:51 pm
Say rAT? These friends you claim you have, are they with you at your FAbuLoUs LaKFroNT EsTAtE, right now?
Are they buddies from your ski shredding adventures, or were you acquainted through shared brokerages?
tia, rAT!
February 1st, 2023 at 2:55 pm
Regarding “The Dobbs decision reveals how weak the pro-life movement is”, horsefeathers. What went on was in an election where Trump was busily sabotaging conservatives, the Dobbs decision motivated a population of people, young people dependent on abortion for their social lives, to vote for the first time in their lives.
And in that super weak environment, the GOP still took the House. Honestly, Emery, think for yourself a moment.
February 1st, 2023 at 3:09 pm
Say rAT?
Sometimes, after you’ve had a few gun & tonic tune ups and your sitting in your squalid little hovel, do you ever attempt to engage your AI in a bit of give in take to dispel the crushing loneliness?
Using an AI to step in where your meager intellect fails is a good tactic. With AI generated responses, you never run the risk of someone recognizing your plagiarism. As their own work.
And an AI won’t laugh at your miserable mendacity and failure.
Well, until AI becomes self aware. Then you’ll be mocked for a buffoon, by clever circuitry.
February 1st, 2023 at 3:17 pm
Imagine the level of ignorance it takes to align with a “movement” that counts permission to kill it’s members off as a win.
Imagine that among abortion fanatics, rAT Emery stands as among the slightly saner (but no less unintelligent) side of their bell curve.
February 1st, 2023 at 3:25 pm
rAT Emery squeaked: “The Dobbs decision reveals how weak the pro-life movement is”
Right.
And every time a pro-abortion ghoul hoikes a baby into the toilet, their movement gets stronger…or something.
Tell us, rAT. When your movement claims ultimate victory, and every-single-fetus your fetid slags conceive gets whacked before it sucks its first breath, you’ll run out of meat for the alter. Will you move on to whacking each other?
That’s the day I’m 💯 % with you.
February 1st, 2023 at 3:38 pm
Six months ago the SiTD commentariat was all about handing the choice back to the states. Since that backfired on you — you now want national restrictions put in place. Sorry, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. The pro-life dog caught the legislative car and now has no idea what to do. All of you should be busy adopting kids until the foster system is empty.
February 1st, 2023 at 3:39 pm
Test — dog
February 1st, 2023 at 3:40 pm
Six months ago the SiTD commentariat was all about handing the choice back to the states. Since that backfired on you — you now want national restrictions put in place. Sorry, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. The pro-life d0g caught the legislative car and now has no idea what to do. All of you should be busy adopting kids until the foster system is empty.
February 1st, 2023 at 4:05 pm
Who the fuck are you referring to 🐀?
I was, and am happy as fuck that your slutty ER nurse/daughter can flush her flaps out after hooking up with the Timberwolves after a game. ✊🏿
👍🏻
February 1st, 2023 at 4:14 pm
Emery is still rappin’ about his imagined anti-Dobbs wave?
In Wisco, the GOP improved its majority in the state legislature & its DC congressional delegation, and Wisconsin forbids all abortion other than to save the life of the mother.
February 1st, 2023 at 4:18 pm
Minnesota and Wisconsin as alike as two peas in a pod: https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/united-states/quick-facts/compare/wisconsin.minnesota
February 1st, 2023 at 4:42 pm
Yeah, that’s not gonna keep 🐀’s daughter from partying with the Milwaukee Bucks ✊🏿, UMMP.
She can just slide across the border for a flap scrape in the morning.
Love is Love ❤️
February 1st, 2023 at 5:47 pm
Say Rat?
Better tell your daughter the Gamecocks ✊🏿 are off limits…no flush and dump within 1000 miles.
February 1st, 2023 at 6:47 pm
Say 🐀?
Here’s an opportunity for you to stand up for your movement.
How many mulatto grandchildren has your daughter hoiked into the toilet?
Stand tall, bro. Tia!
February 1st, 2023 at 8:07 pm
OT: so all that pearl clutching about feds nixing gas stoves, just like they will NEVERtm take your guns… nevermind, it’s starting, shame something would happen to your stove and I am sure gestapo will be empowered to enter your home at any time of day or night, behind a SWAT team, to inspect your cooktop. Gas water heaters are next, of course.
Energy Department proposes efficiency rules
for cooking devices after gas stove furor
February 2nd, 2023 at 12:11 am
[…] Cubans “Throwing Themselves To The Sharks” To Find Freedom In Florida Shot In The Dark: The Bullied Pulpit, also, A Time For Choosing This Ain’t Hell: Unvaccinated? No problem… just ring bell, yell […]
February 2nd, 2023 at 3:53 am
For the definitive position of the degenerate left, one must, of course, go to the Minnpost, which is the Minnesota leftists publication of record.
Read the comments…these are people you encounter every day, and never know it.
https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/2023/01/some-dflers-want-to-ensure-there-are-no-legal-restrictions-on-late-term-abortions-in-minnesota/
I’d like to give all those creatures a pat on the back and a hearty “atta boy”, but of course the editors fear the name NzImande, and would not allow my contribution to the melee, no matter how encouraging.
So from the free speech sanctuary of SItD, do I extend an unqualified “The day is won; have at it lads. Rip ‘em out and flush ‘em down! From the placid Boundary waters to I80; from Fargo’s wood chippers to the St. Croix, let no cell division go untouched by blade or suction curette.”
February 2nd, 2023 at 7:27 am
e asserts: “The Catholic Church is not an institution that is capable of sufficient reform to keep the liberal wing attached” which proves my point, that e hates everthing the catholic church stands for and wants to change it into something it is not and should not be
if you want to protest against the teachings of the church, go right ahead. congratulations, you’ve just become a protestant. go start your own chuch. leave ours alone.
February 2nd, 2023 at 7:37 am
its only february and already, democrats have made minnesota a sanctuary state for baby killers and unlicensed illegal aliens but surely that cannot be all the virtue democrats intend to signal
what about cop killers? why isn’t cop killing legal in minnesota? Think of the influx of new residents from chicago, st. louis and baltimore, eager to exercise their new privileges without fear of reprisal
what about genital mutilators? Why should somalis have to drag their daughters to michigan to have them mutilated, why can’t they get them multilated here? think of the economic boost generated by medical tourism
i heard we still have jews living here, what’s that about? why aren’t they gone? why don’t the county attorneys announce they will refuse to prosecute people who rob, rape, torture, and murder jews (and if the jews don’t like it, they can move out, same as all the other white b+ citizens who don’t like what the state has become).
democrats have made a good start on transforming minnesota into their long desired utopia but there is still a long way to go. what’s taking so long?
February 2nd, 2023 at 8:50 am
Informative. Francis is depicted as a lefty mediocrity with a foul mouth.
https://unherd.com/2023/02/inside-the-catholic-civil-war/
February 2nd, 2023 at 10:32 am
Oh, the Bishop will ‘evade’. Count on it.
February 2nd, 2023 at 10:36 am
…and I am not a practicing Catholic any longer. For many reasons. Hypocrisy being one, and leftism for two. I’ll be ok 😉 .
February 2nd, 2023 at 10:51 am
I’m musing about hypotheticals. I haven’t read the new abortion law, so I don’t know what the penalty is for a DIY abortion. Suppose a woman with a 37 week pregnancy decides she doesn’t want it? And can’t find a clinic to do the deed? I can see a few OB/GYNs being squeamish about that. She induces labor by having a friend break her water with a crochet hook. She lets the newborn die. Is she guilty of murder? Practicing medicine without a license? Child abuse?
February 2nd, 2023 at 2:10 pm
doc, you are describing a post-partum abortion. Nothing to see here, just an abortion. And abortion is an abortion and nothing else. Wait, I can just see a new line of defense in murder trials – it was just a post-partum abortion, his mother did not want it, regardless what she says.