Saturday, September 15, 2007
FROM THE EMAILBOX
Spirit & Life®
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63)
Human Life International e-Newsletter
Volume 01, Number 84 | September 14, 2007
.................................................................................. www.hli.org
Beyond Belief: Is Hannity Getting Religion?
Has anyone noticed how Sean Hannity's "tele"vision of America has gotten a bit more, shall we say, "religious" recently? In the past few months Mr. Hannity has aired some very interesting documentaries on religious and pro-life issues that never seem to have gotten coverage on cable TV before. His major weekend show even has a feature called "Beyond Belief" which deals exclusively with religious themes such as the Shroud, exorcism, the stigmata, miraculous cures, etc. After the reaction to the famous "contraception" interview I had with him on March 9th, I suspect that Fox News clued into how many traditional Catholics are viewers of their network and are now playing to that audience. As entertainment, these shows may pull big ratings, but I doubt that real Catholics will be convinced of any real conversion on Mr. Hannity's part from his cultural Catholicism to authentic Catholicism.
On the plus side, we owe a great debt of gratitude to Sean for last week's documentary on the perverse deceptions of Planned Parenthood in trying to open their new abortion fortress in Aurora, IL. Apparently the 15 abortion services that advertise or operate in Aurora already were not enough, so the masters of abortion had to step in there to provide more killing services. Sean's program highlighted not only the legal manipulations but showed the actual documentation and featured interviews with activists like Eric Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League and abortion survivors. The graphic interview with Yvonne Florczak-Seaman was unprecedented in detailing the brutal nature of the abortion industry and its destructive effects on women. Sean couldn't have done a better job in going after the abortion kingpins!
The irony of exposing Planned Parenthood, however, is that Hannity's own position on contraception is literally no different than that of the murderous organization. In the March 9th interview, he used the hackneyed argument that if we want to reduce abortion we need contraception. Well, this argument is no less deceptive than the hypocrisy that he condemns in Planned Parenthood. Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota said something similar last year: "Since half of all pregnancies are unintended and half of those result in abortion, I suggest [pro-lifers] put their money toward family planning services to people who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it and thereby really make a difference in the rate of abortion."
What Sarah conveniently neglects to tell us (and what Sean refuses to acknowledge) is that more than half of all abortions in the US are done as back-up for failed contraception. On that same show, former abortionist Beverly McMillan admitted as much when she said that the clinics try to get teenage girls into their clinics for three or more abortions in their lifetimes. The only way this can be done is through contraceptive promotion. Sean Hannity seemed to be unconvinced of that argument when I made it, but it is nonetheless true and, I might add, it is the Catholic Church's official teaching.
While I am grateful for his exposé of Planned Parenthood, what we still need from Sean Hannity and other "Catholics" in the media is some evidence that they are faithful to the core beliefs of the Church. Anyone can provide religious entertainment for ratings, but Catholics in public life have an extra grave obligation to be faithful to the Church's vision, not their own "tele"vision.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International
P.S. By the way, just for the record, I did indeed write to Mr. Hannity after the March 9th interview and ask to meet with him again. He did not answer my letter, but then again, I didn't expect him to. What I do expect of him, however, is some deep soul-searching to decide whether his Catholicism is a matter of entertainment or a matter of salvation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fr. Euteneuer doesn't say it, but I will. You have to back up still further if you want to eliminate abortion...you have to eliminate adultery and fornication. Or at least you have to develop a concensus that sex belongs within marriage and only there. More often than not the aborted pregnancy involves an unmarried woman. The wives I know who have discovered they are pregnant when they didn't want to be just made room for another kid.
Of course playing fast and loose with the marriage vows ala annulment doesn't contribute to the protection of the unborn either. A stable marriage is essential for the welcoming of children.- ct
