Many Cheers for Fr. Tom
I must preface this post by stating that I have no intention of this post becoming some sort of "political commentary." See my original post on this blog if there is any doubt. However, there are certain politicians, public figures, and commentators who like to call themselves Catholic, and those people need to have the error of their ways revealed to them.
Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, President of Human Life International, attempted to do just that with Sean Hannity, one of America's foremost conservative talk radio hosts. In his efforts, Fr. Tom was met with nothing less than fallacious arguments, cliches used to "justify" morally reprehensible actions, and outright contempt by the latter personality.
So that readers have some background on the issue: Hannity is professed Catholic who PUBLICLY dissents from the Church's teaching on artificial birth control. As such, he creates scandal for other Catholics who listen to his show. He leads them to believe that the Church places this particular issue in some sort of "moral gray area." Believe me: that is absolutely not the case!
Fr. Tom attempted to rectify the issue by engaging in a PRIVATE dialogue with Hannity; he put forth an invitation to meet for open dialogue and the beginnings of Hannity's conversion. No response was received.
Then, on a recent Friday during Lent, Hannity made a wise-crack about being condemned to Hell because he took a bite of chicken on a day of mandatory abstinence from meat. Maybe he was joking, or maybe he was misinformed about what the Church teaches about such a sacrifice. But, in the end, that point becomes irrelevant. (For the record, the Church is very clear about what she teaches on both issues. The distinction, however, is that one issue--artificial birth control--is a grave moral evil.)
Fr. Tom happened to hear about Hannity's wise-crack and wrote his weekly e-newsletter on the scandal caused by the latter's public dissent on the issue of birth control. That was immediately met with an invitation, by Hannity's staff, for Fr. Tom to appear on Hannity and Colmes to "debate" the "devout Catholic." (Click here to link to the video.)
The encounter showed Fr. Tom as a well-educated, reasonable man who had Hannity's, and the nation's, best interests at heart. He was a true pastor. On the other hand, Hannity was his usual self. He never allowed Fr. Tom to complete a coherent thought by constantly interrupting, he twisted Fr. Tom's words until they were unrecognizable, and he used "arguments" that never returned to the real issue--his heretical stance on artificial birth control.
There were several points on which Hannity was overtly wrong. A "profound believer in life" and "someone who doesn't want to see abortion" should recognize that all forms of birth control prevent life, and that many forms of birth control don't prevent conception but cause the death of a fertilized egg (a life). The fact that not all humans "share the Catholic faith" has no bearing on whether or not their bodies were created to bring forth life, and that a fertilized egg is the very first stage of that process. Statistics prove that birth control is not a simple means of preventing abortion. Finally, that "the Church does support a form of birth control--natural birth control," is absolutely false. A man who "studied theology" and Church teaching in the seminary ought to know that Natural Family Planning is not to be used as "birth control" but is to help married couples understand, engage, and be comfortable in their sexuality while being "open to life." (Many people, not only Catholics, use NFP to get pregnant, not simply to avoid pregnancy.)
On Monday of this week, Fr. Tom wrote a special edition of the e-newsletter to address the treatment he received by the so-called "devout Catholic." Again, Fr. Tom proves to be rational and, most importantly, pastoral. Hopefully, he has opened a door for the conversion of many Catholics who dissent from the Church on this and other issues.
Let us pray for Sean Hannity, for dissenters from the True Faith, and for Fr. Tom in his effort to evangelize and preach the Truth.
God Bless.
Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, President of Human Life International, attempted to do just that with Sean Hannity, one of America's foremost conservative talk radio hosts. In his efforts, Fr. Tom was met with nothing less than fallacious arguments, cliches used to "justify" morally reprehensible actions, and outright contempt by the latter personality.
So that readers have some background on the issue: Hannity is professed Catholic who PUBLICLY dissents from the Church's teaching on artificial birth control. As such, he creates scandal for other Catholics who listen to his show. He leads them to believe that the Church places this particular issue in some sort of "moral gray area." Believe me: that is absolutely not the case!
Fr. Tom attempted to rectify the issue by engaging in a PRIVATE dialogue with Hannity; he put forth an invitation to meet for open dialogue and the beginnings of Hannity's conversion. No response was received.
Then, on a recent Friday during Lent, Hannity made a wise-crack about being condemned to Hell because he took a bite of chicken on a day of mandatory abstinence from meat. Maybe he was joking, or maybe he was misinformed about what the Church teaches about such a sacrifice. But, in the end, that point becomes irrelevant. (For the record, the Church is very clear about what she teaches on both issues. The distinction, however, is that one issue--artificial birth control--is a grave moral evil.)
Fr. Tom happened to hear about Hannity's wise-crack and wrote his weekly e-newsletter on the scandal caused by the latter's public dissent on the issue of birth control. That was immediately met with an invitation, by Hannity's staff, for Fr. Tom to appear on Hannity and Colmes to "debate" the "devout Catholic." (Click here to link to the video.)
The encounter showed Fr. Tom as a well-educated, reasonable man who had Hannity's, and the nation's, best interests at heart. He was a true pastor. On the other hand, Hannity was his usual self. He never allowed Fr. Tom to complete a coherent thought by constantly interrupting, he twisted Fr. Tom's words until they were unrecognizable, and he used "arguments" that never returned to the real issue--his heretical stance on artificial birth control.
There were several points on which Hannity was overtly wrong. A "profound believer in life" and "someone who doesn't want to see abortion" should recognize that all forms of birth control prevent life, and that many forms of birth control don't prevent conception but cause the death of a fertilized egg (a life). The fact that not all humans "share the Catholic faith" has no bearing on whether or not their bodies were created to bring forth life, and that a fertilized egg is the very first stage of that process. Statistics prove that birth control is not a simple means of preventing abortion. Finally, that "the Church does support a form of birth control--natural birth control," is absolutely false. A man who "studied theology" and Church teaching in the seminary ought to know that Natural Family Planning is not to be used as "birth control" but is to help married couples understand, engage, and be comfortable in their sexuality while being "open to life." (Many people, not only Catholics, use NFP to get pregnant, not simply to avoid pregnancy.)
On Monday of this week, Fr. Tom wrote a special edition of the e-newsletter to address the treatment he received by the so-called "devout Catholic." Again, Fr. Tom proves to be rational and, most importantly, pastoral. Hopefully, he has opened a door for the conversion of many Catholics who dissent from the Church on this and other issues.
Let us pray for Sean Hannity, for dissenters from the True Faith, and for Fr. Tom in his effort to evangelize and preach the Truth.
God Bless.
