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End the Truce: The High Court Leak and the Challenge to Catholic Institutions

Posted on Sunday, May 8, 2022
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AMAC Exclusive – David P. Deavel

The recent leak of Justice Alito’s drafted opinion overturning Roe v. Wade has not only exposed the hollowness of the American Democratic Party’s pretended commitment to “norms” (Joe Biden won’t even condemn the leak or the doxing of the Justices’ home addresses) and “democracy” (the end of Roe means that abortion supporters actually have to argue to voters why the killing of innocent human life in the womb should be allowed). It has also exposed yet again how although Catholic teaching on this topic—which follows the actual science—has not changed, the situation New York Times columnist Ross Douthat has referred to as “the truce” still obtains in American Catholic life. For the good of both Catholic life and American life, this truce must end at some point.

            What is this truce?  Douthat described it in a 2016 essay as a kind of unstated and unofficial agreement of Catholic bishops to continue to officially uphold Catholic doctrines and the natural law in public while often tolerating “disagreement, relativism, and dissent” in “the everyday life of Catholicism.” This situation, ongoing since the late 1960s, has meant that, though there are many thriving and vibrant Catholic parishes, even some ordinary parishes bear the marks of trendy social thinking. Much worse, many Catholic educational and charitable institutions function effectively as secular liberal strongholds. Apart from some excellent and thriving colleges and universities such as the University of Dallas, the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Belmont Abbey College, and the University of Mary in North Dakota, Catholic higher education institutions are by-and-large de facto secular and even anti-Catholic even if they sprinkle a bit of Catholic language about “human dignity” and “the common good” over their products and have “offices of institutional mission” on campus.

In an article in the Jesuit periodical America asking whether colleges and universities that no longer have members of the religious orders that founded them even present, one vice president of mission at a small college founded by Dominican sisters reflects on the questions at the heart of the “expression of the mission and Dominican Catholic identity of the institution.” “What does it mean to work with faculty to center justice, antiracism, and culturally responsive education? What does it mean to center, for the whole college, a culturally responsive ministry? What does it mean to be an inclusive college environment that is welcoming and serving of all students, particularly historically underrepresented students?”

            Nothing about Jesus. Nothing about his Church or her teachings about faith and morals that are meant to illumine human existence. This academic bureaucrat’s notion of “Dominican Catholic identity” has nothing to do with either St. Dominic or the Catholic tradition. It is pretty much identical to every other critical race theory-inflected mission at secular colleges.

            And you can bet that the “justice” and “inclusiveness” doesn’t reach to children of any color in the womb. A search of that college’s website finds only one reference to “pro-life” in a news article about an athlete who was part of the pro-life club—at her high school.      

One might think that Catholic universities and the orders that founded them would say something about the possibility that the youngest humans might now be protected in law. But almost all of the biggest ones and most of the smaller ones have nothing to say about it. They are happy to pontificate on race and “gender” but not on the evils of abortion. Likely because most of their own administration and faculty don’t think it is an evil.

Georgetown University, founded by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and the oldest Catholic higher educational institution in the United States, has for many years claimed the title Catholic even though it now functions largely as a leftist citadel whose professors can publicly wish for the violent death of Brett Kavanaugh supporters and express desire to castrate the corpses and feed them to swine with little repercussion. A search of its website and the social media feeds for its law school indicate no word at all on this momentous leak. On May 2, the day the opinion was leaked, Georgetown’s Twitter feed highlighted the school’s Lavender graduation ceremony for “LGBTQ and ally undergraduate and graduate students.”

The Jesuits themselves, an order of priests that long ago went woke and whose numbers have been cratering, have said nothing on their websites or social media feeds. One bright spot, however, is that a youngish Jesuit priest named Sam Sawyer published an article in America celebrating the decision and unambiguously affirming the justice of protecting unborn human life. Though the article is not perfect (its “explanation” of why Americans who support abortion might be distrustful of this decision is filled with a great many one-sided left-wing political talking points), it at least affirms the truth about abortion.

Would that the order itself (which famously allowed the pro-abortion Massachusetts Congressman Robert Drinan to remain in the order despite his voting record) or any of its 28 colleges could get to that point.

Yet it’s not just the Jesuits or their institutions. It’s a great many Catholic institutions from universities to grade schools to charities in which being pro-life (among other things Catholic) is merely tolerated and not celebrated since those who have charge of things are quite often not pro-life themselves.

Catholic bishops have by-and-large abdicated their duties with regard to politicians who vote over and over for pro-abortion policies (among other things taught as grave evils by the Church). One might forgive them for not taking more action since Pope Francis seems averse to holding politicians accountable for their behavior. But with regard to Catholic institutions themselves, they have the capacity to stop the truce. When supposedly Catholic institutions do not have the integrity to make hiring and policy decisions that reflect a truly Catholic institution, bishops can deny them the right to call themselves Catholic.

I became a Catholic twenty-five years ago this month, and I’ve found that many American Christians, even if they do not agree with Catholics enough to become one, respect the Catholic Church for her consistent teaching and her witness and look to her for partnership and even leadership in promoting the kind of society that they want to live in.

When Catholic institutional walk doesn’t match Catholic moral talk, they are less inclined to join her in worshiping Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. They are also saddened that America is losing a potent force for making this country great. They don’t want the Church to make a truce. They want her and all her institutions to fight for what is right and good.    

David P. Deavel is editor of Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, co-director of the Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy, and a visiting professor at the University of St. Thomas (MN). He is the co-host of the Deep Down Things podcast. Follow him on GETTR @davidpdeavel.

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Diane M. Watson, M.Ed.
Diane M. Watson, M.Ed.
1 year ago

Personhood is not just a Catholic perspective. Prior to Roe vs. Wade a doctor in the Boston area was on trial for ending the life of a child seven months in the womb who would have lived had the physician not brought about death through a surgical procedure not labeled an abortion. He lost his MD and did 2 years in prison. The trial was in the paper daily circa mid to late 1960’s.

WILLIAM MCKENZIE
WILLIAM MCKENZIE
1 year ago

Although right on abortion, Roman Catholic doctrine is definitely not to be generally accepted by any means. It is rife with blasphemies and anti-biblical tenets.

Becky
Becky
1 year ago

Tired of all the lunatic drama… If Roe vs Wade is overturned at the fed level — where it NEVER should have been — it will simply be returned to the states to decide. This would be the Constitutional way of law. Unless specified in the Constitution as being assigned to the federal government, law making belongs to the states.

Barb304
Barb304
1 year ago

If Roe v Wade is overturned not only will babies continue to die but a lot of Mothers will die with them! Why, you say? Because we will see the return of illegal abortion! GOD BLESS the USA

Judy K.
Judy K.
1 year ago

There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Father of all, the bible says. Catholicism is a Cult. God’s Word states that true religion is visiting the fatherless and poor widows, And that charity covereth a multitude of sins.
We are warned throughout the Scriptures to not be deceived. ‘Study the Scriptures, to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed.’
‘ In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.’

D.P.
D.P.
1 year ago

One can accurately say, from this article and others like it, that overall, Christianity is no longer the Scripture-based religion it once was in this nation. For the most part, nearly all main line orders of this faith have sold out to secular thought. Hypocracy is rampant in most supposed “Christian” higher education institutes, and religious orders. This has to do with money and power over and above faith and righteousness. While there remains enclaves of true Christian practice and doctrine, they are slowly being eroded from without and within. Christianity in America is for the most part, in name only when it comes to the official practice and process, while individual believers still may hold to the truth of God’s Word and will. The numbers tell the story….as church attendance declines, giving drops and actual practice of the faith falls away. But this is not new…..by simply reading the history of both Christian and pre-Christian activity, the cycle of faith verses heresy is long standing. The Bible is one prime example, as read, of how people fail, rise again, fail again, rise again and so on. Organized religion, in particular Christianity, has been overtaken by secular humanist thought, evolutional theory, and false teaching and idolatry toward materialism….making it no different than any other organized order in the end. The “faithful” know this, bemoan it, but know that God is still master of all, and in the end, He has overcome all things. So, you truly faithful, stay in the Word, keep your prayer life alive, share the good news of Christ as Savior, and trust God above all others. Your individual faith matters more now than ever!

Willy
Willy
1 year ago

IMHO: Most people have quit following “scriptures” and interpret them to satisfy their desires. This includes our US Constitution and Bill of Rights. Humans certainly need guidance now more than ever, since they’re not being taught to think for themselves, or persons other than themselves, or think critically. Advice from most of their “friends” is not very reliable for obvious reasons! Instead they are failing to follow any and all guidance provided by anyone serious, real or imaginary, including various “gods.” Karl Marx, Bill Gates, Anthony Fauci, George Soros, Joe Biden, and Klaus Schwab are not very “godly,” in spite of their massive misdirected egos (follow the money), and eventually we will likely end up doing what “Senator Chuckles” Schumer threatened the SCOTUS with… “Pay The Price,” whatever that means. That may not be very pretty!

The issue is having a “leak” in the Judicial Branch, not Abortion. In this case “abortion” is just being used as a volatile political talking point for the Extremist Democrats to provide a distraction for their current erroneous agenda, and should not even be being discussed here. Abortion is not a constitutional right since it is not directly addressed in the Constitution which limits the government’s authority over the people, therefore it is left to the State government or the People, and since most Preachers, Bureaucrats and Politicians have no medical sense and little medical training, it should fall to the people. The most affected would be the pregnant victim. The victim can seek advice from their trusted religious leaders or parents if desired, but that leadership can be overly emotional or misinformation than truth. Frankly, the situation is nobody’s business other than the person with the problem, and how she handles it should be up to her, or him, if the democratically imagined pregnant male is ever discovered.

My taxes should not be used to pay for anyone’s abortion unless the cause is beyond the control of the victim, such as a rape or a serious health issue affecting the fetus or the expectant mother. The rest can pay for their own drug problems, pleasure, or lack of judgement. Don’t want a baby to care for and love? Use a condom, a pill, get spayed or neutered, or just abstain, but don’t burden other people with your preventable personal problem.

Casey C Matt
Casey C Matt
1 year ago

What received no coverage here was the plan, still on the table by the EU with US support trying to sanction the Orthodox Christian Churches in the East. Thankfully the eastern European countries where the Orthodox faith is followed refused to go along with the satanic attempt but folks, that is the sort of stuff we are financially being ruined by at the ORDERS of our own government.

Morbious
Morbious
1 year ago

Many Christians Used To respect the catholic church because of its unwavering opposition to abortion and homosexuality. That respect has been diluted as the church veered leftward. The terrible scandals didnt help either. This is a loss for all of us because the church used to be pretty hardcore in its moral demands. A member was, once upon a time, obliged to recall his sins weekly, go to confession, do penance on Saturday then attend mass sunday and receive communion. Then, in a state of grace try his best to avoid sin during the next week. In short, the church was a strong force for social cohesion. Leftism destroys everything it touches.

Kay
Kay
1 year ago

Since this leak, I have never heard so many women stand up and cheer because they have 3, 4, 5 abortions. Guess they could not afford 50cents for the pill. Biden is a hypocrite as a Catholic he should be denied communion. He is satan in sheep’s clothing

Vonniequirk
Vonniequirk
1 year ago

Jesus clearly stated “ Matthew 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

Vonniequirk
Vonniequirk
1 year ago

I left the Catholic “church” many years ago. I did not want to be associated with hypocrites!

Leo 1001
Leo 1001
1 year ago

Biden is smart – for a change. He’s not going to comment on speculations!

I don’t blame him. This is all about getting bent out of shape over nothing.

legally present
legally present
1 year ago

Catholic charities in the Rio Grande Valley are one of the BIGGEST promoters of illegal entry into our country. So I’ve lost ALL respect for the Catholic religion, they are not the only ones aiding and abetting illegal alien entries into our country, but are the largest ones in the valley. Killing 73 MILLION babies in the womb is OK, and allowing Millions of illegals is also OK. WHY is my question?

Stephan
Stephan
1 year ago

Christian or for abortion, you can’t be both. One excludes the other.

I chose life, and Jesus.

Ken Westenkirchner
Ken Westenkirchner
1 year ago

This country is headed for trouble..we have always turned to our basic foundational values focusing on Judeo-Christian values which have served us very well to make us the most powerful nation in the world. Our leaders in religion

Bob
Bob
1 year ago

Apostasy is nothing new. Scripture, where Christ followers MUST begin, reveals God recognizes the child in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5 says He’s the one actually forming the baby). Let the heretics be recognized and labeled as such, and by all means given no weight.

Larry Wilkens
Larry Wilkens
1 year ago

I understand, I’ve been part of the catholic church for 38 years I feel decieved by the leadership. I’m leaving going to a bible believing WELS. God will be their final judge all we can do is point out their error about life.

K
K
1 year ago

When it comes to Doxing Anyone, I believe that is essentially a call for harassment and threatening to the people that the Reprobate Minded Progressive Left have called to happen. It’s despicable that some Leftist has done this to the Supreme Court Justices!!!! It’s time for “WE THE PEOPLE” The Legal Citizens Of The United States Stand Up For What Is Truthful And Honorable! Prayers for Father God, Jesus Christ Protect All Of The Supreme Court Justices, Their Families And Homes. What has happened to the United States is all on the Reprobate Minded Donkeys, Biden, His Puppeteer, Chuckles Harris and all of this administration!!!! They are destroying the United States from what Father God intended it to be!!!God Bless The United States And Hold Up Her Constitution!!!????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Linda
Linda
1 year ago

I am a Catholic and I can’t understand why anyone would want to abort a baby. There are many things on the market to prevent having a one. Our so called democratic party here have no respect for life because if they did abortion would not be allowed, especially up to the birth of the child.

Jeff Noncent
Jeff Noncent
1 year ago

The leak of the Supreme Court should tells us they are not in charge that’s the reason why Joe Biden did not say anything about the leak and it shows whose during the dirty work for the Democrats and the Republicans and that is the Devil himself but it shows us that God is not fooled either

Tom
Tom
1 year ago

Why hasn’t the Pope excommunicated Joe Biden for his push to legalize abortion. The pope’s Inaction in this situation makes him and the Church complicit with Biden in promoting abortion.

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