On "Criteria Catholicism" and abortion

“As in the wake of Notre Dame’s invitation to President Obama, the message (George) Weigel and the like-minded are sending is clear: one’s position on abortion is the defining feature for faithful membership in the Roman Catholic Church.

To link so imperiously authentic Catholicism with one’s attitude toward abortion, however, confines the fullness of discipleship. It encourages people to think, ‘I am against abortion; thus, I am a good Catholic.’ The position incites people to exalt viewpoints alone, and to license an illusory holiness without setting one foot forward on behalf of the poor, without visiting the imprisoned, or without feeding the hungry or ministering to the sick; without sustaining a renunciation or commitment reflecting the complete change of heart and the heroic agape love to which Our Lord calls us.”

— New Patheos columnist Matt Emerson

Read his new column “After Manresa“ for more.