Where has all the Courage Gone?

I once knew a young woman who taught Braille to the blind. She was part of the charismatic renewal and went to all their functions. Then one day she disappeared. She left Catholicism to follow Pastor Rennie Scott at Truro Episcopal Church. Truro had a tremendous reputation. It was actually Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' parish before he became a Catholic. The pastor, Rennie Scott, preached the gospel with zeal and a love for the truth. And if you asked some of his parishioners why they were there they also said, "for the fellowship." But how could a believing Catholic give up the Eucharist? I could only conclude that my acquaintance didn't really know her Catholic faith. How many Catholics share that deficiency? And why? Could the shepherds' failure to preach the hard truth be part of the answer?

Back in the early 80s, I met Rennie Scott. A friend and I went around the area meeting with Catholic priests and Protestant ministers trying to get them to lead their flocks to rescue at abortion businesses. We met with the priests' council in D.C. as well as with then bishop Thomas Welsh and his priests group.

To his credit Bishop Welsh later organized a big rally at the Northern Virginia Women's Medical Center, a leading abortion business in the area, Sadly nobody was willing to risk arrest. I wonder if they would have been more willing if the people being killed were Catholic priests, bishops, Protestant ministers, and the laity's own already-born children.

At any rate, of all those we went to see, Rennie Scott was the only one to say he would participate if other pastors did. Well, they wouldn't. We had the power to stop abortion in its tracks if the shepherds acted like David with his sling defending the little lambs from the wolves. Imagine the power of a note posted on the Church door:

No Mass today. Father is in jail for defending the least ones of our flock. There will be a rescue at the local abortion clinic on Friday. Father can't be there, but you can. He will join you in spirit with his prayers. And please, demand that Father be released from jail!

How long could abortion have lasted if every Catholic bishop, priest, and layman acted like they truly believed the babies being murdered were equal to themselves or their children? And there's safety in numbers. In the early days, the police were reluctant to arrest. Operation Rescue had an incredible impact until the Empire struck back with FACE legislation. How many have the freedom to face draconian prosecution and long terms in jail? 

Courage/fortitude is one of the four cardinal virtues. It is sadly lacking today especially among Church leaders who appear to value human respect more than God's laws. I'm reminded of the scene in The Hiding Place, a film about the Nazi occupation of Holland. Corrie Ten Boom and her father meet with a protestant minister and beg him to hide a Jewish baby on his farm. He recoils in horror. "Risk all for one Jewish baby?" he asks. Yes, pastor, risk all for one of Christ's precious little ones in danger of murder. After he leaves, Corrie fumes to her father who replies stoically: "Just because the mouse is in the cookie jar doesn't make him a cookie." Too true! Just because someone calls himself a Christian doesn't mean he acts like one.

The Ten Booms lived in Haarlem and are credited with saving over 800 Jews in the Netherlands. In Amsterdam, only fifteen minutes away by train, a Catholic family hid the Franks and others. I recommend the two movies about these courageous heroes who risked their own lives to save the innocent. The Hiding Place is online. So is The Attic: the Hiding of Anne Frank. 

I'm happy to say that at least a few Catholic priests have risked their freedom to defend the unborn over the years. Fr. Norman Weslin was a late vocation who raised a family before entering the priesthood. He founded Lambs of Christ, a group that used non-violent direct action to defend the little ones. Fr. Weslin turned his family home into a shelter for unwed moms. He engaged in dozens if not hundreds of rescues. We had the blessing of hosting him on one of his trips to D.C. and Virginia. His last action shortly before he died was to protest Notre Dame inviting Barack Obama to give the 2009 commencement speech and receive an honorary degree. Only 20 students out of 3000 were appalled enough to boycott the event. Two students interrupted the speech, but thousands gave Obama a standing ovation. They did that for Hitler too. To say the least it was not the finest moment for Notre Dame's president, Fr. John Jenkins, who will have to answer for that on Judgment Day. 

Other priests who have defended the babies include Fr. Fidelis Moscinski of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, Fr. David Nix of the Denver Archdiocese, and Fr. Stephen Imbarrato. A handful of bishops have also been active in defending the unborn. I remember Bishop Austin Vaughan, auxiliary of New York, particularly who participated in Operation Rescue. When he was involved a number of his priests joined him. That was true leadership! Several other bishops have been outspoken on the issue taking seriously their obligation to teach and form the flock in the truth.

Today the Red Rose Rescue movement continues to fight for the lives of the babies putting themselves in harm's way without consideration for themselves. Not everyone has the freedom to do that because of the duties of their state in life, but we can all pray and financially support those who do. And even more, we can never fail to speak up for life even when we expect the message to fall on deaf ears and hard hearts.

Jesus, Lord of life, protect the littlest lambs and preserve them from death. Give us the courage to be their advocates. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.