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December 19, 2017 (American Life League) — Fidelity and faithfulness aren’t mere words we should use occasionally or lightly. They are a way of life.
Merriam-Webster defines fidelity as “the quality or state of being faithful.”
Pro-life and pro-family leaders around the world have recently signed a document entitled “Pledge of Fidelity, Faithful to True Doctrine, Not to Erring Pastors.” This is a statement of commitment pledging that we will remain faithful to the true teachings of the Catholic Church. This pledge is needed at this moment in time in ways we cannot underestimate.
As the pledge states, there is confusion in the Church, especially on the subject of Catholic teaching regarding questions related to the sanctity of marriage, respect for human beings, and the intrinsically evil aspects of contraception, abortion, and all manner of attacks on the innocent human person from his biological beginning until death.
In our current culture, it is particularly urgent to understand the incredibly beautiful truths about marriage. As Pope Paul VI made clear in Humanae Vitae: “It is a serious error to think that a whole married life of otherwise normal relations can justify sexual intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive and so intrinsically wrong.”
Why? First and foremost because regardless of how the world speaks in our day, sexual relations should be reserved for a husband and wife within the context of marriage. This is according to God’s design. In addition, there is so much evidence, provable from both science and sociology, that the use of contraception leads to abortion, invites abortion as a backup to contraception, and actually causes abortion in many cases. Based on these facts, we are obliged to not only listen to Pope Paul VI, but to appreciate his wisdom and faithful teaching. Explaining God’s plan for marriage, he wrote:
Married love is also faithful and exclusive of all other, and this until death. This is how husband and wife understood it on the day on which, fully aware of what they were doing, they freely vowed themselves to one another in marriage. Though this fidelity of husband and wife sometimes presents difficulties, no one has the right to assert that it is impossible; it is, on the contrary, always honorable and meritorious. The example of countless married couples proves not only that fidelity is in accord with the nature of marriage, but also that it is the source of profound and enduring happiness.
Real happiness, then, begins with an understanding of fidelity in marriage as well as fidelity to God and His design, His law, and His love for each of us as His children.
In our day, these truths are not clearly understood. In fact, they are rebuked in many corners, including some Catholic commentary. One glaring example of this is a recent commentary by pro-abortion Catholic senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. In a published offer to dialogue with Archbishop Joseph Naumann, the newly elected chair of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Kaine suggested that his personal opposition to abortion qualifies him to speak with the archbishop on their differences. Perhaps he has forgotten that just a year ago, when Kaine was Hillary Clinton’s running mate, the archbishop wrote:
Why is Senator Kaine personally opposed to abortion, if he does not believe that it is the taking of an innocent human life? I hope in his science classes at Rockhurst he learned that at the moment of fertilization a new human life has begun with his or her own distinct DNA — different from the genetic code of both the child’s mother and father.
It is difficult to imagine that Senator Kaine has not seen the ultrasound images of his children and grandchildren when they were in their mother’s womb. Is the senator unaware that abortion stopped the beating hearts of 60 million American children aborted legally since 1973? . . .
Does anyone really have the choice to end another human being’s life? Our choices end where another individual’s more fundamental rights begin.
Thankfully, Archbishop Naumann is a shepherd who cares about souls because he is faithful to the truth. Kaine, on the other hand, is faithful to his politics. Therein lies the problem.
So our Pledge of Fidelity becomes the platform — the foundation — for those of us who stand with Archbishop Naumann, Cardinal Raymond Burke, and so many other faithful priests and prelates in this struggle to teach the truth and expose error.
Fidelity: being faithful to Christ Who IS truth. The future of mankind depends on it.
Reprinted with permission from the American Life League.