Over the years, Nancy Pelosi has been a staunch supporter of abortion rights, gay marriage, and assisted suicide. I tend to disagree with her, but I do agree with her stances on those issues. With that said, I find it hard to believe that someone with these views could present themselves as a devout Catholic. The last time I checked, the Catholic Church was strongly opposed to abortion, assisted suicide, and gay marriage.

I’m trying to figure out if Nancy Pelosi’s inconsistency is due to her ignoring the differences between church doctrine and her voting record in an attempt to be everything to everyone, or is due to a lack of intellect. With Madame Speaker, either one is possible.

I’m strongly pro-choice, but I don’t want a dime of taxpayer money spent on abortions, except in the cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. If one of these conditions doesn’t exist, then the abortion is an elective procedure used to remedy irresponsible behavior. What’s next, allowing people to get taxpayer funded liposuction because because they’re too lazy to exercise and eat right?

The bishops are right on this issue, but of course, they’re dead wrong on so much else. In the same letter, they criticize Congress for forcing legal immigrants to wait 5 years before they are eligible for Medicaid, and for supporting a bill that would prevent undocumented workers illegal aliens from purchasing insurance through an exchange. After all, the undocumented workers illegal aliens only trespassed into the country and spit on our laws on a daily basis. Why not give them a break?

If you’re a Catholic who agrees that illegal immigration is a major problem facing the United States, I ask that you withhold financial support for the church. Any hard-earned money you give to your local diocese will likely find its way into supporting those who are threatening our country’s economy.

Pope Benedict criticized Irish Bishops for doing wha the Vatican expected of them

Pope Benedict criticized Irish bishops for “grave errors in judgment,” which led to many children being abused by priests and nuns. Catholic Bishops in Ireland deserve the criticism, since they were complacent while priests and other members of the Church harmed young parishioners. Unfortunately, Pope Benedict glossed over the major cause: The Vatican.

The abuse allegations in Ireland are not confined to that country alone. Allegations came to light in the United States several years ago, along with Germany and many other European nations. It’s also likely that the number of allegations will increase as victims gain the courage to face the Catholic Church and their abusers.

Were the Irish Bishops also responsible for abuse allegations in other countries and continents? Of course not. Each diocese was working on orders from the Vatican, which some feel encouraged a veil of secrecy. If blame is to be assigned, a good portion of it needs to be directed at Pope Benedict himself:

While a cardinal at the Vatican, Joseph Ratzinger penned a letter instructing bishops around the world to report all cases of abuse to his office and keep them secret under threat of excommunication. Irish bishops have said the letter was widely understood to mean they shouldn’t report the cases to police.

In addition to telling bishops to keep quiet or else, Joseph Ratzonger aka Pope Benedict also contributed to the abuse of children:

…reports emerged last week that while he was archbishop of Munich in the 1980s, Ratzinger approved therapy for a priest suspected of molesting boys. The priest was then transferred to a job where he later abused more children. He was convicted in a criminal trial.

So to summarize, we have a Pope who encouraged bishops to hide allegations of abuse or face excommunication, along with personal failures that contributed to the abuse of more children after an abusive priest was transferred. His hypocritical behavior and failure to take responsibility are a disgrace to Catholicism.

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Bishop Thomas Tobin appeared on “Hardball” to discuss his decision to ask Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy to refrain from receiving Holy Communion. The funny thing is that Thomas Tobin is criticized in this clip, even though Patrick Kennedy began this nonsense by criticizing the Catholic Church’s stance on abortion, then brought up a conversation he had with the Bishop 2 years ago, when he was asked not to receive Communion.

In the interview, Chris Matthews seems thoroughly confused. Part of it may be due to him attempting to reconcile his prochoice stance with his life as a Catholic. He continually criticizes the Bishop and essentially demeans him by asking how he would write particular laws, and attempts to make him look incompetent.

Unfortunately, Chris Matthews misses the big picture. He is right in saying that Patrick Kennedy’s voting record is none of the Church’s business. His error is in not realizing that his life as a Catholic certainly is fair game. Besides being prochoice, Kennedy supports legislation that would increase the availability of abortion. These actions run counter to Catholic teachings and the Church has every right to call someone out for not following their faith. When you present yourself as a member of a particular faith, you’re essentially voicing acceptance of their beliefs.

This topic is actually quite interesting to me. I was raised as a Catholic, but I am staunchly prochoice, I support gay marriage, and I’m against open borders. All three of those views are at odds with the Catholic Church. These positions, along with theological reasons, have led me away from the Catholic Church. I don’t present myself as a Catholic, and I don’t expect the Catholic Church to conform to my world view, or to accept my views. If you don’t believe what you are supposed to believe, then how can you be a believer? This seems obvious to the Bishop and I. It’s unfortunate that Patrick Kennedy and his conflicted friends aren’t able to understand.