Rick Santorum’s Cafeteria Catholicism
On Bill O’Reilly’s FOX News program Wednesday night, Rick Santorum found himself defending his views on contraception. Reports Mediaite:
“It’s going to be a national demonization and you’re going to be portrayed as an extremist,” O’Reilly explained, “and some of your views are out of the mainstream according to polls.” He noted in particular that 98% of Americans support the freedom to use contraceptives, while Santorum believes states have a right to ban them. Santorum noted that the Vatican had restricted the use of them and that he believed states that approved of them should be able to legalize them as well.
Added Santorum: Bill, you’re a Catholic, Catholic Church teaches contraceptive is something you shouldn’t do.
O’Reilly continued to chide Santorum for his supposedly “extreme” views, but I applaud the Senator. There should be more Americans willing to stick to their faith even when it is unpopular or they stand in the minority. There was a time when more Americans agreed with Santorum about contraception. This doesn’t necessarily make Santorum’s position any more or less right or wrong, only more or less popular. Big difference.
But the problem with Santorum is he picks and chooses when to stick to his Catholic faith. The Vatican is so dedicated to protecting life that it looks down on contraception, but the same is true of its view of “preventive war.” There is a time for war, says Catholic teaching, but only as a last resort and only in accordance with the Church’s Just War Theory
When Cardinal Ratzinger was asked whether a U.S. led war on Iraq would be “just war” he replied before it started: ”Certainly not… the damage would be greater than the values one hopes to save.”
Ratzinger added: “All I can do is invite you to read the Catechism, and the conclusion seems obvious to me… the concept of preventive war does not appear in The Catechism of the Catholic Church.”
When Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, he said during his Easter message in 2008: “Nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees…”
Catholic leaders generally said that America’s decision to attack the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001 was a just war because the U.S. was defending itself after 9/11. Ron Paul, a devout Christian who also subscribes to Christian teaching on just war, also voted to go to war with Afghanistan after 9/11.
But both Pope Benedict and his predecessor Pope John Paul II agreed that the Iraq War did not qualify as a “just war.” Paul agreed with the Vatican. Here Paul echoes the Catholic Church’s position on preventive war:
Santorum has called Paul’s foreign policy everything from dangerous to crazy. But is the Catholic Church “dangerous?” Is the Vatican “crazy?”
Santorum was a strong advocate for the Iraq War and still champions the concept of preventive war.
Santorum should be applauded for sticking to his faith and Church teaching on contraception. But perhaps he should be consistent and begin to apply that teaching to his foreign policy as well.
