The Catholic Church and Democracy

One of my teachers said that 65% of students cheat. That's right, 65%. Against the student conduct policy of ours and all other institutions of learning, 65 out of every 100 students plagiarize, share tests, write on their hands, use their phones, etc in an attempt to get the grade they want, because they're not willing to take the effort to learn properly and honestly to earn the grade the want. So, after assessing the statistics and getting pressured by students to allow cheating for easier grade attainment, many institutions have decided to drop their rules on cheating entirely. Yep, that's right...students are no longer held liable for knowing the information in order to pass a particular class. If a student wants to learn the information for later use they can study and learn, but if they want to bring in their laptop and copy the test answers from Wikipedia, well that's fine too. Not only that, but students at these schools are now able to submit any documentation of their knowledge (without checks for accuracy) to these universities in exchange for a bachelor's degree. Yes, they can actually write out their qualifications, self-determined and without the restrictions of the university, determining whether they deserve a degree. It makes sense though, right? If you can't enforce policies that were meant to ensure that people walking out your doors are prepared for the world outside, just change the rules! Now everyone is happy.

OK, so that was all a fictional account, as I'm sure you might have guessed. No, universities are not dropping the no-cheating policies. In fact, since I've been back in school there has been a full-page addendum with every syllabus I receive detailing what constitutes cheating. The guidelines are quick to point out that expulsion is likely if you are caught cheating. That's pretty much a death toll for a career in your area of study if this happens. Imagine if schools changed their policies based solely on student preference. The ugly possibilities are endless, just use your imagination.

Now, compare this little bit of fiction to the real-life pressure the Catholic Church has faced over the years and is facing even more today regarding their stance on birth control. The popular line goes something like: "65% of Catholics contracept, why doesn't the Church change its stance on contraception and sterilization?" *sigh* This is the argument kids use when they want to go to that questionable party or the like, "Come on Mom, everybody's doing it!" As if parent's judgement is based solely on the "survey says:" model.
[content update: see Cardinal George's comments below:]

Practically, we’re told that the majority of Catholics use artificial contraception. There are properly medical reasons, in some circumstances, for the use of contraceptive pills, as everyone knows. But even if contraceptives were used by a majority of couples only and exclusively to suppress a possible pregnancy, behavior doesn’t determine morality. If it can be shown that a majority of Catholic students cheat on their exams, it is still wrong to cheat on exams. Trimming morality to how we behave guts the Gospel call to conversion of life and rejection of sin.
Theoretically, it is argued that there are Catholic voices that disagree with the teaching of the church and therefore with the bishops. There have always been those whose personal faith is not adequate to the faith of the church. Perhaps this is the time for everyone to re-read the Acts of the Apostles. Bishops are the successors of the apostles; they collectively receive the authority to teach and govern that Christ bestowed upon the apostles. Bishops don’t claim to speak for every baptized Catholic. Bishops speak, rather, for the Catholic and apostolic faith. Those who hold that faith gather with them; others go their own way. They are and should be free to do so, but they deceive themselves and others in calling their organizations Catholic.
Cardinal George, 2/26/12
[original blog posted 2/15/12]

The Catholic Church has remained unchanging in their teaching on this issue throughout its entire 2000 year history. In 1968, following the rise of the Sexual Revolution and facing pressure from internal and external forces, Pope Paul IV wrote his encyclical "Of Human Life", a document written to explain the Church's teaching on human sexuality and the great meaning and depth that it entails. In it, Paul IV writes:

In the attempt to justify artificial methods of birth control, many have appealed to the demands both of conjugal love and of "responsible parenthood," it is good to state very precisely the true concept of these two great realities of married life...conjugal love reveals its true nature and nobility when it is considered in its supreme origin, God, who is love"

For the entire encyclical, click here.

So should the Church simply drop this beautiful and personal dignity-centered teaching solely on the basis that many of those claiming the title "Catholic" do not agree? Should we give in to society's view that sex is simply a biological means for pleasure that should be "protected" from the unwanted stress and inconvenience of children? Should we agree with many who view pregnancy as an "illness" to be prevented by hormonally stopping a women's normal body function? (this point alone drives my crazy thinking that so many women voluntarily ingest pills and have no idea the long- and short-term affects of it on their bodies) I think the clear argument is that no, the Catholic Church should not change their teaching on sex and contraception due to the pressures of those who don't agree. The Church sees sex as a beautiful gift from God; society sees it as something everybody's going to do because they can't help themselves, so let's sterilize them to prevent more unwanted people. The Church sees a woman's natural biology as a means to space pregnancies. Society sees a woman's natural biology as a stumbling block to hassle-free sex and in need of medical alteration. If we were to follow popular thought and abandon age-old teaching, then many more people would do whatever they want "guilt free"...but it still would not be right.

In America we generally think that democracy is the way to run everything. Let the group decide! Let's get the group consensus! Let's go sit in front of some buildings until they do what we want! That's not how truth works. Don't get me wrong, I think that democracy is the best governmental option that we have, but it's good for government. If the Church, schools, businesses etc all adopted democracy then we would be in a very bad place. Because whether we like it or not, people do need guidance. As an individual I don't know everything. My human nature is pretty weak, and without guidance I would be inclined to do whatever feels best to me in the moment. In matters of faith, education, business, etc this model would result in a complete institutional collapse.

The Church has stood unchanging in its views on this and every matter of morality and ethics since it began 2000 years ago. Even during the early 20th century as almost every other Christian denomination began allowing their members to contracept, the Catholic Church held firm in the assertion that truth stands unchanging, no matter the changes that the world around us should undergo.

I know that I'm part of a literal minority these days. My view is unpopular and often deemed "out of touch" and based on "medieval beliefs". I'm OK with that. I'll continue to get looks when I go out with my wife and four kids age 6 and under. But I'm going to keep embracing that line "You must be Catholic with all those kids!" with pride, because I'm part of a Church that defends God's truth above all else. In this crazy world that's something to be proud of.