Holy Ground? Sacred Space?
I don’t even know what to say about this. Maybe they can bless nuclear warheads and lethal injection chambers next.
Tip of the biretta to Fr. Timothy.
This entry was posted on January 29, 2008 at 9:43 am and is filed under church politics, politics, silly church leaders, social justice . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
January 29, 2008 at 10:24 am
Jesus in heaven, how long is this going to go on?
January 29, 2008 at 11:18 am
Well, given our Christian history, we’ve blessed all sorts of bombs and war ships in the past, crusades even. Probably even nuclear warheads. I wouldn’t be surprised. Until we face our history squarely in this regard, I suspect we’ll continue to see liberals and conservatives bless what they agree with.
January 30, 2008 at 10:30 am
I oppose abortion as a form of birth control (we have 4 children) but I don’t think I’d be all up in arms about clergy blessing a place that cares for and supports women who have come to the conclusion that this is their only real option.
Until our churches and society in general can give real and tangible support in other ways and not be judgmental about choices or mistakes that are sometimes made then abortion is going to remain a real needed option. We may not like it but then we’ve got to come up with a better and more compassionate solution.
January 30, 2008 at 10:52 am
Tom – Are you familiar with Seamless Garment? Check out the website: http://www.consistent-life.org/index.html
January 30, 2008 at 2:20 pm
I like their mission statement. I can go for that. Unfortunately a lot of the “pro-life” supporters (meaning anti-abortion) are also pro-war (specifically pro-Bush’s war) and pro-death penalty. There’s nothing consistent about them.
I try to be anti-abortion as far as I can, but
when our society doesn’t provide adequate child care resources for the working poor,
when men are not always held responsible for the children they father,
when violence in society and warfare in the world doesn’t consistently view life as a gift to be valued,
when women are often victims of violence,
when even in many churches women are not considered full and equal partners
when medical care is not available equally to all who need it
then I don’t think things can be so black and white when it comes to this one issue.
Our church has committed to praying for wisdom, guidance, understanding, and love for all who are struggling with the reality of abortion; praising God by celebrating and demonstrating respect for human life in our worship, education, service, and outreach; proclaiming in word and deed God’s compassion for all.
January 30, 2008 at 4:01 pm
I think a lot of so-called pro-life folks are absurd. As you so rightly point out, it is all about abortion. I have to tell you, the Seamless Garment and whole life ethics have really changed the way I think about this stuff. It is not about overturning Roe v. Wade (here in the States), it is about addressing some of the systemic reasons we see abortions, the death penalty etc.
January 31, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Sorry, folks, but I get really tired that whenever Planned Parenthood is mentioned, people automatically label it as “abortion factory.” While yes, Planned Parenthood does provide pregnancy terminations, it also provides a whole panoply of reproductive health services for underserved populations. It’s an incredibly valuable service, and a terribly dangerous one in this day and age.
I also hold the peculiar point of view that most men should do way more listening and way less talking when it comes to issues of women’s bodies. Given the amount of power and control men have traditionally held in the public and private spheres of (women’s and children’s) lives, the sheer volume of men’s voices over an issue that predominately doesn’t involve them strikes me as ludicrous. Yeah, fix the system–that would be good, but until then, kindly don’t tell me what I can/need/want to do with my body, unless you have asked (and received!) my permission first.
February 4, 2008 at 9:19 am
Sorry to have voiced an opinion on my own blog.
I think most pro-abortion people don’t really care whether it is a man’s voice or a woman’s voice in the end, since neither are actually listened to unless they agree with the agenda. When men speak to the issue, they are enforcing patriarchy. When women speak against abortion, including Norma McCorvey of Roe v. Wade fame, then they are merely tools of the patriarchy. So let’s be real honest here about who is and who is not “listening”.
Regarding Planned Parenthood, I am fully aware of other services they provide and no one has painted them as an abortion factory. Providing low-cost care for women who may not have access to some of the preventative services many take for granted is valuable and laudable. However, the article cited revolves around abortion, thus the direction of the conversation here.
If you had read more carefully the conversation at hand, you would find that no one here has mentioned trying to prohibit women from seeking a legal abortion. I for one think trying to overturn Roe v. Wade is silly and won’t actually help reduce the number of abortions. Neither will people screaming at women going into a Planned Parenthood for a pap smear or an ultrasound. But just like I want to live in a world where we aren’t blowing people up with remotes and drones dropping cluster bombs, and a world where we don’t execute mentally retarded offenders, I would like to live in a world where women don’t feel like this is their only viable choice.
Call me a dreamer.
February 5, 2008 at 10:10 am
And you and I are totally on the same page there!