Pastoral Statement on the U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson
The Most Reverend Alexander Sample,
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It is with profound appreciation that I extend my thanks for your Pastoral Statement on the U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson. Though you failed to sign the statement, I am confident the words are yours. Thank you for not trying to mask your tribulation by using fancy distractions, such as hiding behind a recorded video of your statement that would distract your diocese by focusing on the jubilation in your “profound sense of victory for us as Catholics.” Such trickery is a distraction.
Thank you for your expression for all of “us as Catholics,” and not simply relying on the Pew Research Center’s 2014 Religious Landscape Study that states, “Among Catholic Republicans and GOP leaners, 55% say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, identical to the share among all Republicans. At the same time, 64% of Catholic Democrats and Democratic leaners say abortion should be legal in all or most cases” (Lipka). Statistics can be misleading. Your assurance that this is for “us as Catholics,” and that it is “our goal” and “our battle” reassures me to know where we stand.
Thank you for expressing that, “While this announcement may come with a profound sense of victory for us as Catholics, I must remind you it may bring a sense of anger and confusion for others. The truth is, these people have been deceived.” These people, who are indeed not part of “us as Catholics” must have been deceived. Surely, “we are the people of hope and forgiveness.”
I appreciate your commitment to the synodal process. While we have “done so much to help women and men heal from abortion, provide support to women who choose life, offer love and compassion to former abortion workers, and address the reasons why women seek abortions and offer meaningful alternatives.” And, though you have personally declared “shepherds of the church must listen to the people of God whom we are called to serve” (Langlois 10/25), your eloquence assures me there is no need to improve conditions based on unwanted pregnancies, rape, incest, or the endangerment to the life of the mother. Thank you for the declaration that “there is no new program since Jesus already gave the program through his life, teachings, death, Resurrection and the great commission to spread the Gospel” (Langlois 10/25). Everything needed to address these moral, social, ethical, political, and medical questions is well documented in your Scripture, somewhere.
As my daughter prepares to move on with her seventh-grade Catholic school education here in Portland, I am confident here in your reassurance that, “We must encounter our Lord Jesus Christ in a new and profound way” (Langlois 10/25). I assume our new and profound way will be with the old program we got almost 2000 years ago, although I search for guidance and clarification on your declaration that, “We need to use new methods to reach people today. The old methods don’t work so well” (Langlois 10/25). I will teach my daughter that “this is a deeply spiritual process” (Langlois 10/25) that should not be debated “as if this were a political process” (Langlois 10/25).
I am reassured by your commitment to the statement that “Our battle to protect the most fragile and vulnerable of all human life, namely the unborn child, continues on the state level, including here in Oregon.” As my daughter edges towards her 13th birthday, it comforts me to know that she is no longer part of the most fragile and vulnerable of all human life. “Jack Doe 550” was around the same age in the 1990s — maybe he will be the catalyst where you “believe God is sparking something here that will be seen and be a witness to others” (Langlois 10/25). I know that all cases are public. “Nothing is hidden” (Zarkhin), you said, though we are comforted that you “declined to comment on the case, saying it was in attorneys’ hands” (Zarkhin). Let’s focus on the battles that matter.
I am most comforted by your guidance on speaking to transgender friends, as I assume these words also apply to those questioning the unified Church’s stance on abortion: “One caller asked Archbishop Sample how to speak to transgender friends. He encouraged the man to keep loving without dismissal or rejection before finding a good time to suggest proper help. ‘To love them doesn’t mean we accept the lie,’ the archbishop said.” (Langlois 6/17). You are absolutely correct.
I love all Christians. I love all Catholics in the Catholic Church. I do not accept the lies.
I do not believe, and I know for a fact, that this Supreme Court decision does not come with a profound sense of victory for many Catholics – many more do not feel a sense of rejoicing. I support women who choose not to have an abortion as much as those who do make that choice with their bodies. I will continue to listen to the people of God whom I am called to serve. I embrace the fact that new programs are desperately needed, and I will support that effort in any way I can. I recognize that 2000-year-old Scripture, rewritten thousands of times by some of the greatest sinners of humanity, is not absolute. Nor is a document written 236 years ago. We must revise, reinterpret, and expand our vision as our world changes.
I am a sinner in the eyes of the Catholic Church. I was married, in a Catholic Church, under the grace of God in 1993 (around the time “Jack Doe 550” was sodomized in a Portland Roman Catholic parish) but divorced soon thereafter. I married again yet divorced another time. My second wife had an abortion. The pregnancy would not be viable and endangered the mother’s life. Her decision, with my love and support, enables us to welcome our fabulous daughter into the world less than two years later – a miracle not possible without the bounty of medical, social, and technological advancements since the year 32 A.D. Before these advancements gave us that (third) chance, they gave me a new lease on life when I was first debilitated by multiple sclerosis in 1999. My faith, family, and love gave me the strength to fight. Advancements in medical technology changed the world as we knew it – again, and again.
“A church that stands back and let’s matters flow as usual will suffer in modern times” (Langlois 10/25), but the church that helps forge new paths can irrigate the world with a bounty never before realized.
When my daughter shared a note with me that read, “I’m Gay,” we had a wonderful conversation on the drive to school (Catholic school). She is beautiful, expressive, and in no way someone who “suffer[s] from genuine gender confusion, [who needs] good counselors to help them discover their true identities” (Langlois 6/17). She is exploring her own identity, as are many of the young girls and boys in your Catholic diocese [FYI]. None of them share concerns with gay, trans, straight, or any gender identity. If she decides to return for a seventh grade, she will not simply conform to the standards that “A man’s body doesn’t make sense without a woman’s body and a women’s body doesn’t make sense without a man’s body” (Langlois 6/17). By that standard, does the body of a celibate man make no sense?
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If you truly believe a person should be barred from receiving communion because of their stance on abortion (Borrud), please add me to your roster of disavowed. I will not confess and receive “absolution of this grave sin” (Borrud).
I humbly welcome a deeper conversation at your convenience.
With love and blessings,
Kevin
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Kevin J. Byrne
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Works Cited
Borrud, Hillary. “Portland archbishop agrees Nancy Pelosi should be barred from Communion due to Roe v. Wade support.” The Oregonian/OregonLive, 30 May 2022, https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2022/05/portland-archbishop-agrees-pelosi-should-be-barred-from-communion-due-to-her-support-for-codifying-roe-v-wade.html.
Langlois, Ed. “6/17 – Archbishop urges truth and love on controversial issues.” Catholic Sentinel, 17 June 2022, https://www.catholicsentinel.org/Content/Faith-Spirituality/Living-Faith/Article/Archbishop-urges-truth-and-love-on-controversial-issues-/4/29/45908.
Langlois, Ed. “10/25 WATCH: To encounter, listen, discern.” Catholic Sentinel, 25 Oct. 2021, https://www.catholicsentinel.org/Content/Faith-Spirituality/Archbishop-Sample/Article/WATCH-To-encounter-listen-discern/4/253/44388.
Lipka, Michael and Gregory A. Smith. “Like Americans overall, U.S. Catholics are sharply divided by party.” Pew Research Center, 24 Jan. 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/24/like-americans-overall-u-s-catholics-are-sharply-divided-by-party/.
Zarkhin, Fedor. “‘I am sorry beyond words’: Portland archbishop addresses sex abuse while diocese faces new lawsuit.” The Oregonian/OregonLive, 27 Aug. 2018, https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2018/08/jack_doe_sues_portland_archdiocese_as_archbishop_calls_for_change.html.?