Joseph Sobran’s
Washington Watch

More on Mr. Schiavo

(Reprinted from the issue of April 7, 2005)

I hardly know what to say about the Schiavo case now, as it looks certain that you will have gotten bad news before you read this. At times like this all commentary seems futile. And yet one hates to assume the worst even when the worst seems inevitable.

God bless those, including Jesse Jackson, who have tried to save Terri Schiavo.

I’ve been surprised to find disagreement from readers who say they usually agree with me. Some of them accuse me of imputing bad motives to Michael Schiavo. I didn’t think I was imputing any motives he would deny. He has another woman now and he wants his wife dead. Is this in dispute?

Having said that, I add that he is willing to torment her parents. Now that he is a parent too — not by his wife but by his “fiancée” — you’d think he could imagine what it might be like to watch your child die. What has he done to soften the Schindlers’ grief and pain? At every step he seems to make it worse.

Yet opinion polls overwhelmingly support him. Once again I learn, sadly, that I didn’t know my fellow Americans as well as I thought I did.
 
The Same Old Pope

Is it a sign of the times that the Holy Father was placed on a feeding tube just as Terri Schiavo’s had been removed?

A quarter of a century ago, the new Pope’s contagious courage thrilled the world as he stood up to Communism as Christ defied Pilate; with the confidence of truth. He was hale, vigorous, handsome, and, as Popes go, youthful.

Now the frail old Pope’s courage inspires us once again as he faces the end, his brave spirit undiminished by a dependent condition which in another man might move us to nothing but pity. Now he is fighting for life — and, as always, for the dignity of life.

If we could say a few words to him now, they would surely be something like “Holy Father, in all the years we’ve known you, you haven’t changed a bit!” This is the same man who, in one of the most riveting acts any Pope has ever performed, personally visited and forgave the fanatic who had tried to assassinate him.

Dear John Paul, must we finally lose you now? You’ve shown us how to live like our Lord. With your last labored breaths you are still showing us.
 
That Memo

The notorious Republican memo crowing that the Schiavo case might be “a great political issue” that would rouse “the pro-life base” was apparently a forgery.

Nobody can trace it to its author, and certain passages of it were lifted verbatim from an innocuous memo by a Florida congressman, showing that the whole thing was concocted.

I heard, believed, and repeated this lie. Glad to correct it.
 
Sola Scriptura?

Another disagreement from a reader may amuse you as much as it does me. An old Protestant acquaintance objects that praying to our Lady is “unbiblical.” In a way, you have to admire a fundamentalist who still objects when a Catholic publication carries Catholic teaching. It’s heartening to know that not everyone has succumbed to the ecumenical spirit.

Of course we have to understand that when some people refer to the “Bible,” they are referring to a collection of sacred books assembled by the Church and much later mutilated by heretics. Their Bible isn’t the one still used by the great majority of Christians.

Moreover, “unbiblical” isn’t a biblical term. The Protestant principle sola Scriptura wasn’t found in the Scriptures themselves; it isn’t there, and it couldn’t be. In the early Church, the Scriptures were still being written, and it was centuries before the Church really defined the canon (which heresy would later try to change).

The very idea of “owning” a Bible in those early days would have been hopelessly impractical. Everything had to be copied by hand, and who even knew what should be copied? In the Gospels, Christ often cites existing Scripture, but says nothing about future Scripture. If He’d wanted that, He could have written it Himself. A mystery to ponder: He trusted His own words to have power — to outlast Heaven and earth! — with no apparent thought of their being written down.

Parts of the Bible itself are “unbiblical”! St. Paul distinguishes between binding divine commands and his own personal advice, for which he claims no authority. Still, he never tells us that he is writing “Scripture” even when he praises Scripture. Heresy creates awkward situations for itself. (Chesterton writes hilariously about this in The Thing.)

Meanwhile, early Christians had to do without a definitive Bible for nearly 400 years, relying on the Mass, the sacraments, and Tradition. If Christ had meant Scripture to have the central place Protestantism would claim for it, surely establishing the canon would have been an early priority. As Hilaire Belloc writes, being a Christian meant much more than holding certain views; it meant actively belonging to a visible society. Not until the Protestant era did religion become private “opinion.” How could the Christian faith be spread before the era of the printing press and widespread literacy?

Protestantism couldn’t be. Catholicism could, and was.

The Scriptures necessarily left countless matters of faith and worship implicit. But if we can pray for each other in this life, why can’t we ask the saints in Heaven to pray for us? As a young convert, I found this perfectly reasonable. The Bible isn’t always self-explanatory, or self-certifying. Not every book claims to be inspired, and even if it did, it would prove nothing. Other authority is needed.

Protestantism got rid of a lot of things that were perfectly biblical, beginning with the Bread of Life announced in John 6. Christ’s solemn words at the Last Supper became merely “symbolic,” and the Protestant “Lord’s Supper” a feeble substitute for the sacrifice of the Mass; St. Paul’s warning against receiving Communion unworthily likewise makes little sense if believers (who are already “saved” anyway) are only taking ordinary bread and wine.

According to fundamentalists, “This is my Body ... Blood” is about the only part of the Bible that mustn’t be interpreted literally. Some of them go so far as to say that “wine” doesn’t mean wine!

The Mass is a gift that keeps on giving. Heresy is a theft that keeps on taking. I don’t accuse today’s Protestants of committing heresy; but they have inherited it, and they and their children are still being deprived of some of God’s most precious gifts.

Few things are as wonderful as having Protestants rejoin us, whether they come back to us through reading the Bible or through rediscovering the Mother of God.


SOBRAN’S looks at the curse of judicial tyranny. If you have not seen my monthly newsletter yet, give my office a call at 800-513-5053 and request a free sample, or better yet, subscribe for two years for just $85. New subscribers get two gifts with their subscription. More details can be found at the Subscription page of my website.

Already a subscriber? Consider a gift subscription for a priest, friend, or relative.

Joseph Sobran