Ottawa Archbishop Prendergast and Phony Catholics

Timothy Bloedow, Canadian author, culture warrior and guest columnist over at No Apologies, is peeved at phony Catholics.

What I can’t understand is why people who have rejected Catholicism still want to be considered a “Catholic”? The same goes for anybody, regardless of what classification we’re talking about. You have Evangelical Christians and people of other religions trying to pull the same stunt.

Timothy is chiming in on a news report centering on Ottawa Archbishop Terrance Prendergast—and to which I linked in an earlier posting. 

Bloedow is peeved at the response by certain “Catholic politicians” to the Archbishop’s recent comments about denying Holy Communion to pro-abortion Catholics.

So, what brings on this criticism of phony religion? It’s the responses of various Catholic Members of Parliament to Ottawa Catholic Archbishop Terence Prendergast’s recent statement that he would deny communion to pro-abortion MPs.

Some real Catholic MPs like Tom Wappel, Pierre Lemieux and Andrew Scheer answered like Catholics. But a number of Liberal MPs made it clear in their answers that they are Fundamentalist Secular Humanists, not Catholics.

Bloedow is not afraid to speak his mind and he regularly wages a strong campaign against what he believes are the evils threatening Canadian society. I agree with him on a good number of points.

Like Tristan Emmanuel, he is an Evangelical Christian taking on the huge task of trying to engage Christians in the public square. I admire their enthusiasm and tenacity. 

However, Stefan Jetchick recently took on Bloedow and his book “State vs. Church: What Christians Can Do to Save Canada from Liberal Tyranny” in this series of email exchanges, where he raised a number of concerns about Bloedow’s approach. Read the exchanges and see what you think. 

But at least these guys are trying hard to fix some of the monsters let loose in Canadian society due to the neglect of authentic Christian teaching by Catholic Bishops in Canada. Unfortunately, I’m of the opinion that only the Bishops themselves, after due repentance and reparation, are truly able to return Canada to a sound footing and future. After all, Bloedow and his colleagues seem to have tunnel vision in the matter of runaway sterile sex among Christians and political “conservatives,” a handicap that virtually cripples them in getting to the root of Canada’s present woes. 

I do think that Archbishop Prendergast has planted some rare and hopeful signs of change in his recent outline of Catholic teaching concerning pro-abortion politicians who call themselves “Catholic” but he will have to quite literally move some of the gates of hell which have been positioned in Canadian society over the last forty or fifty years. 

Is he up to it? I really don’t know but I have complete confidence that if he moves forward step by step, does not waver in his responsibilities as Bishop, and if he holds complete fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church, God Himself will move those gates. I think it’s very important for Christians, especially Catholics, to do whatever they can to encourage the Archbishop in the monumental task which he seems to be considering. 

Consider emailing the Archbishop right now and commending him for his statements so far. Then encourage him to keep moving this agenda forward. Remember that the Archbishop’s initiatives could trigger the very reformation that we so desperately need here in Canada to stem the tide of our demographic demise as well as the very culture of death which is daily smothering truth and our freedoms. 

Most Rev. Terrence Prendergast, D.D.
Archbishop of Ottawa
1247 Kilborn Place
Ottawa, Ontario K1H 6K9
Phone: (613) 738-5025 ext. 233 Fax: (613) 738-0130
email: archbishop@ecclesia-ottawa.org
Website: http://www.ecclesia-ottawa.org 

And finally, to get a sense of the frustration and cynicism that currently exists among Catholics on the subject of Canadian Bishops defending Catholic truth, take a look at Paul Gordon’s comments on Archbishop Prendergast’s “idle chatter.”