Thanks to Speaker Pelosi…

The Church is speaking out. The long and unchanged teaching of the Catholic Church on the sanctity of life and the responsibilities of faithful citizenship are the center of attention. Still.

This is not going to go away, or blow over. Several bishops were quick to issue strong clarifications of true doctrine after she mangled it on Meet the Press last week. Over the weekend, many parish priests explained it to their parishioners. Here’s a compelling account:

This weekend, Fr. John De Celles, an associate pastor at Old St. Mary’s Church in Alexandria, Va., delivered a homily squarely confronting Pelosi and her thinking, but put the debate an interesting historical context. Fr. De Celles reminded his parishioners first of the papal response to slavery: “In the year 1839 in a document called In Supremo, Pope Gregory XVI reiterated the Church’s ancient teaching against slavery, specifically reproaching those who: ‘dare to …reduce to slavery Indians, Blacks or other such peoples…. as if they were not humans but rather mere animals.’” Unfortunately, continued Fr. De Celles, “some Catholics, in particular, some American bishops — especially Southern bishops — tried to argue that the doctrine didn’t apply to American slavery, because somehow it was ‘different.’ It seems, caught up in the prevailing attitude of the world around them, these bishops twisted the clear teaching of the popes into something that makes us sick to think of today.

Good analogy. It fits, of course.

The confusion generated by the American bishops contributed, De Celles suggests, to the Dred Scott decision, written as it was by “devout Catholic Roger Taney.” This is what happens when “bishops — and priests — fail to clearly teach, or purposefully dissent from the well defined doctrine of the Church, handed on and protected by the office of Peter.

We’ve had many bishops and priests historically very active in the civil rights movement. The issue remains the same….all human persons have equal dignity, value and rights.

Fr. De Celles, drawn into the theological debate by a self-professed Catholic politician, reminded Pelosi, and those Catholic politicians that agree with her, that “it is always a grave or mortal sin for a politician to support abortion.” To those that argue that a priest shouldn’t enter the political fray, he responded that “it was the Speaker of the House who started this; she, and other pro-abortion Catholic politicians, regularly cross over into teaching theology and doctrine. And it’s our job to try clean up their mess.”

And boy, are they doing it now.

Bishop Michael Sheridan.

Bishop Samuel Aquila.

Bishop David Zubik.

(Besides all the others reported on over the past week.)

And then there are media folks.

Cal Thomas.

Kathleen Parker.

Actually, this newly charged public debate started at the Saddleback Civil Forum over the question of when a baby gets rights, and when life begins. It will figure prominently in the November elections. Which is a change that’s long overdue.