In a recent news article (Fri. 10/23/09) and a pea-brained editorial (Sat. 10/24/09) regarding Anglicans joining the Catholic Church, the Los Angeles Times again displays its utter ignorance of the Catholic faith.
The Times' editorial is yet another weak attempt to air the paper's position that homosexual acts and women priests should be fully embraced by the Catholic Church.
1. The Times editorial repeats the often-heard canard, "Jesus said nothing about homosexuality." In fact, Jesus most certainly has said a lot about it. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, "God is the author of Sacred Scripture" (CCC 105). One source for this is 2 Timothy 3:16, which asserts, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching." Therefore, Jesus, as the second person of the Holy Trinity, has spoken on the issue of homosexuality, not only through natural law, but through the Bible (via Leviticus, Romans 1, and 1 Cor. 6, among others).
2. The Times editorial also claims that because women cannot be priests, they are denied "full participation" in the Catholic Church. What baloney. All people are invited to participate fully in the Church. But as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians, we all have our unique gifts and roles. There's a lot more one can say about this, but let's just say this is just complete ignorance from the Times.
3. Meanwhile, the Times news article asserts that the Catholic Church does not allow women priests based on "principle." Well … not quite. As I've written before, in the Catholic Church, "Holy Orders" is a sacrament, and sacraments were instituted by Jesus himself. The Church simply does not have the authority to change a sacrament. For more on this, read the essential John Paul II 1994 letter "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis."
There's a lot more to take issue with in the Times' article and editorial. (Such as their very flimsy claim, "[The Church has] changed their thinking over the years about everything from usury to the culpability of Jews for the Crucifixion to the desirability of religious tolerance.")
How frustrating it must be for a knowledgeable Catholic to pick up the Los Angeles Times and see the Catholic faith misrepresented so often …
