Thinking Catholics(tm) sneer at “breeders” and wonder why they are dying off
There’s a certain type of Catholicism practiced by the “Thinking Catholics”(tm) at the National Catholic Reporter that reminds me of the slur thrown at Catholics by the Episcopal Church’s bishopess recently. It’s a kind of religious faith that sees sex as primarily intended for gratification and children as a burden both on a couple and on the planet. Luckily it is a barren philosophy doomed, by its very definition, to extinction.
So why again? Apparently the bishops feel that people just aren’t listening. If that’s their hunch, we’d agree. Why aren’t they listening? Let’s consider for starters the document on contraception. A lot of the U.S. bishops today might say there are a lot of bad, or at least ignorant, Catholics out there, Catholics influenced by the contraceptive culture, for instance, who no longer know good from evil.
Maybe they’re right. More likely, though, it’s because the teaching makes little sense, doesn’t match the experience of lay Catholics and tends to reduce all of human love to the act of breeding.
That’s right, they referred to the act of conceiving and bearing children as “breeding,” which is found most often today by certain kinds of liberals, especially by those who are barren by choice, either because they hate children for one reason or another or because they are homosexual/lesbian. Ask moms of three or more kids and they’ll often tell you tales of others (often angry single women) who have spit the word “breeder” at them in contempt. Yet here we have an ostensibly Catholic newspaper editorial using it in a similar context.
Rejecting parenthood, a gift from God that shows us his point of view
“Breeder” and “breeding” evoke the image of animals who reproduce not out of love, but out of sheer rutting instinct. This is how this barren viewpoint sees those of us who welcome children as gifts from God, who allows us to co-create with Him immortal beings who are placed in our charge to love and to form. Parenthood is a gift from God that allows us to understand in a limited way God’s love for us, a love which endures despite our metaphysical equivalent of spitting up on Him, crying at all hours of the night, making poopy diapers and all the rest. If we can love our children so, how much more must God love us? Yet those “Thinking Catholics” (tm) have rejected all that as mere “breeding.” Reject parenthood and you reject God, our Father.
Later they write: “It’s either be open to having kids or married sex is no more significant than an encounter with a prostitute.” Well, yes, and that’s not a new concept found in the bishops’ letter. Sex stripped of its procreative meaning, its co-creative significance is indeed what they accuse us of promoting, but what they embrace instead: It is mere rutting, the seeking of pleasure for self-serving reasons. “God give me this pleasure, but don’t give me the gift of experiencing your love in all its wonderment.” Sex that is not a complete self-giving and abandonment in love; sex with reservations does indeed have more in common with the contractual relationship with a prostitute (and exchange of goods and services) than it does with the covenantal relationship with your spouse (an exchange of persons).
What’s sad is that with all the evidence right in front of them, they just can’t see it for what it is: a dead and dying barren point of view.
I am very grateful I have 3 nephews and 1 niece. Two days ago my sister had a boy and last summer my other sister had a boy. My brother isn’t married yet, but I hope he will have many kids. As a priest who has given up marriage and kids (it isn’t as easy as it sounds), I am grateful to see large families especially from serious Catholics. I never criticise families with one or two kids (I know a couple that conceived their first child after many years of trying. I give it NCReporter another 10 years before Ignatius Press buys it. There will be nobody around to run it.
To play devil’s advocate: I don’t think the NCR author was referring to human procreation as breeding himself. In fact, it appears that he was saying that the content of the bishop’s letter reduces all of sexual intercourse to breeding, which in his opinion is incorrect.
Note I don’t agree with his overall assessment, but I do tend to think he wasn’t saying what Dom seemed to believe that he was saying.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/27/06 at 08:20 AM
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Thinking Catholics(tm) sneer at “breeders” and wonder why they are dying off
There’s a certain type of Catholicism practiced by the “Thinking Catholics”(tm) at the National Catholic Reporter that reminds me of the slur thrown at Catholics by the Episcopal Church’s bishopess recently. It’s a kind of religious faith that sees sex as primarily intended for gratification and children as a burden both on a couple and on the planet. Luckily it is a barren philosophy doomed, by its very definition, to extinction.
Witness the latest editorial in the NCR that takes the US bishops to task for their recent pastoral letter on marriage and family, especially as it relates to contraception. In particular, I’m struck by these paragraphs highlighted by Jeff Miller, especially the last word in it.
That’s right, they referred to the act of conceiving and bearing children as “breeding,” which is found most often today by certain kinds of liberals, especially by those who are barren by choice, either because they hate children for one reason or another or because they are homosexual/lesbian. Ask moms of three or more kids and they’ll often tell you tales of others (often angry single women) who have spit the word “breeder” at them in contempt. Yet here we have an ostensibly Catholic newspaper editorial using it in a similar context.
Rejecting parenthood, a gift from God that shows us his point of view
Technorati Tags:bishops, Catholic, childrearing, contraception, dissent, liberalism, media, parenthood, USCCB
“Breeder” and “breeding” evoke the image of animals who reproduce not out of love, but out of sheer rutting instinct. This is how this barren viewpoint sees those of us who welcome children as gifts from God, who allows us to co-create with Him immortal beings who are placed in our charge to love and to form. Parenthood is a gift from God that allows us to understand in a limited way God’s love for us, a love which endures despite our metaphysical equivalent of spitting up on Him, crying at all hours of the night, making poopy diapers and all the rest. If we can love our children so, how much more must God love us? Yet those “Thinking Catholics” (tm) have rejected all that as mere “breeding.” Reject parenthood and you reject God, our Father.
Later they write: “It’s either be open to having kids or married sex is no more significant than an encounter with a prostitute.” Well, yes, and that’s not a new concept found in the bishops’ letter. Sex stripped of its procreative meaning, its co-creative significance is indeed what they accuse us of promoting, but what they embrace instead: It is mere rutting, the seeking of pleasure for self-serving reasons. “God give me this pleasure, but don’t give me the gift of experiencing your love in all its wonderment.” Sex that is not a complete self-giving and abandonment in love; sex with reservations does indeed have more in common with the contractual relationship with a prostitute (and exchange of goods and services) than it does with the covenantal relationship with your spouse (an exchange of persons).
What’s sad is that with all the evidence right in front of them, they just can’t see it for what it is: a dead and dying barren point of view.
COMMENTS
I am very grateful I have 3 nephews and 1 niece. Two days ago my sister had a boy and last summer my other sister had a boy. My brother isn’t married yet, but I hope he will have many kids. As a priest who has given up marriage and kids (it isn’t as easy as it sounds), I am grateful to see large families especially from serious Catholics. I never criticise families with one or two kids (I know a couple that conceived their first child after many years of trying. I give it NCReporter another 10 years before Ignatius Press buys it. There will be nobody around to run it.
Posted by Father Ethan on 11/27/06 at 05:57 AM
To play devil’s advocate: I don’t think the NCR author was referring to human procreation as breeding himself. In fact, it appears that he was saying that the content of the bishop’s letter reduces all of sexual intercourse to breeding, which in his opinion is incorrect.
Note I don’t agree with his overall assessment, but I do tend to think he wasn’t saying what Dom seemed to believe that he was saying.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/27/06 at 08:20 AM
Comments are being moderated. After you submit your comment it could take up to a couple hours, but usually only a few minutes, before it will appear. Thank you for your patience. If you have any questions, you may contact Domenico Bettinelli.