Would They Vote for Barabbas Again?
by Dan Coyne
"Give us Barabbas," the crowd roared. And with that, the majority had spoken and our Savior was handily defeated in a democratically conducted election.
Christ's lopsided electoral loss ought to have been enough to convince anyone that eternal truths cannot be determined simply by a majority vote. As St. Augustine once noted, "Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it; right is right even if no one is doing it. But bad ideas never seem to go out of style, which is why organizations like Voice of the Faithful will always be appearing and sooner or later disappearing.
The Orwellian-named Voice of the Faithful comes to us from, of all places, Massachusetts – a place where every six years the majority of Catholic voters turn their backs on the unborn and roar "Give us Teddy Kennedy." Egged on by the anti-Catholic media, Voice of the Faithful wants to help bring about a more "democratic" Catholic Church. The same voters who gave us Teddy Kennedy and Bill Clinton should now, presumably, be determining who the next bishop or cardinal will be in their diocese. Once this voting thing catches on, who knows what will be next. Perhaps the undemocratic and harsh Ten Commandments could be put to a popular vote and retooled into a more user friendly Seven Suggestions. These new democratically elected saviors are going to have their work cut out for them.
As detailed by Crisis Magazine Editor Deal Hudson in a special report, the first major Voice of the Faithful conference recently took place and the featured speakers included a wide range of Catholic dissenters. These folks included, but were not limited to, abortion supporters, women priestess advocates and many other well known critics of traditional Catholic beliefs. Indeed, there appears to have been so many dissidents and radicals speaking at the Voice of the Faithful conference that it would have been virtually impossible to hold a simultaneous Voice of the Unfaithful conference at another location.
Catholics, faithful and otherwise, are justifiably angry with the current Catholic leadership here in America. Many of us are also confused and even despondent. Into this crisis stepped Voice of the Faithful. It initially presented itself as an inkblot in a Rorschach Test, allowing each anguished Catholic to see in it whatever he wished. And so, Catholics of all types turned to this organization searching for some vehicle, any vehicle, to make their anguished voices heard by our bishops. "Do something. Anything!"
By associating with so many who openly question the Magisterium, Voice of the Faithful has now clearly forfeited any claim to be an actual voice of the faithful. Those looking for a Catholic vehicle by which to make their voices heard now need to start looking elsewhere. It was, after all, dissent and dissent alone that got us into this mess, and more dissent is not going to get us out of it. As Father Richard John Neuhaus has pointed out, there are three causes of the current crisis – "infidelity, infidelity, and infidelity." The cure therefore is clear – fidelity, fidelity and fidelity.
If nothing else, Voice of the Faithful should serve as a wake up call to the American bishops. The flock is restless and in desperate need of a few courageous shepherds willing to lead. In Dallas, the bishops sought only to appease its critics in the media. As a result, the root causes of the current crisis were completely ignored and the flawed document drafted by the bishops will soon be rejected by the Vatican. Scribbled on the rejection form sent back to the bishops from Rome should be a personal note from Pope John Paul II. "Try Catholicism – it works!"
Daniel P. Coyne is the President of Cleveland Right to Life. He recently helped co-found Hail Holy Queen Communications, a nonprofit organization committed to bringing Catholic radio to Northeastern Ohio. Dan can be reached at danielpcoyne@aol.com.
