There is no reason to get upset with Bishop McElroy

And there is no reason to make political hay from this.  His statements are clear: we must care about the poor, about the world, about human life.  Yep.  Nothing to argue with there.  What there is to argue about are those who seem to think one particular way or another is the same as following Jesus.  I get the feeling as I read so many praising the good bishop that how they are reading him is that abortion and post-Christian sexuality are bad, but the really important thing is to accept Democratic Socialism or you don’t love Jesus.

I’m not saying you can’t embrace Democratic Socialism, though you clearly can’t openly support abortion or assisted suicide.  But you can make the argument that, despite evidence to the contrary, Democratic Socialism is the best way to go.  You can argue, despite clear and obvious agendas beyond the realm of science, that the modern Leftist approach to climate change just happens to be right – except for that whole ‘reduce the human population’ part.

Likewise, you can argue that rejecting some of these more radical spins on the science, or opposing socialism in any form, or trying to tweak capitalism and cleanse it of its abuses, is the better way.  You can argue that the Free Market is the better way for the poor and the needy. 

There is room to debate.  Where there isn’t room is to take the basics and begin to apply absolute dogma to how we go about solving the problems.  For those who will equate disagreement with the Bishop’s teachings as somehow hating him or hating Jesus, are as much the problem as anyone who actually does hate the poor or not care about the environment. 

Likewise, those who see the Pope’s or the Church’s clear shift to a more conciliatory attitude toward liberal ideas as the same as Gospel truth, and further discount the sins that cry out to Heaven to vengeance in order to accommodate a new relationship with these changing ideas, are the ones who need to take a breath.