A bunch of people are running around saying, "Look how Catholic Obama is, he is for the poor, for social justice and against war. His policies will make our economy better." (maybe, maybe not)
And so what if it does? It's a matter of proportions. Those things are certainly desirable and generally consistent with Catholic social teaching.
But if you slam the door on discussion and put all hope of stopping the wholesale slaughter of millions (read, so-called "Freedom of Choice Act") beyond reach, then what good is it? We'll be crowing about how nice our new car is, while wading in the blood of innocents. Talk about straining out the gnat while swallowing the camel (Mt 23:24). We will have focused on the lesser good while ignoring the greater good.
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his immortal soul?
Many are thinking: we will save the economy now, do some Catholic social justice good now, and we can always return to the nasty issue of fighting intrinsic evils later. There's always time for that later ... isn't there?
Don't bet on it.
2 comments:
Good quote. I'll be using it a lot in the nest 2 weeks.
Thanks; I was a bit angry when I wrote that so it may not be as "polished" as I would like it to be.
Still, I think the point stands.
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