Peter Kreeft answers the question, "Can a Catholic be a Liberal?"

This interesting report is by Doug Erickson in the Wisconsin State Jornal, as reported by Fr Z here. I'll just snip a bit here...

There is no middle ground to Kreeft. It would be silly and redundant to him, for instance, to call someone a “pro-life Catholic.” You cannot be anything but against abortion to be a Catholic, Kreeft said.

“To be a Catholic is to take the whole deal,” he told the crowd.

Kreeft said several definitions of a liberal can and should fit Catholics, including “someone who is generous and unselfish” and “someone who highly values liberty and freedom.”

On abortion, Kreeft contended Catholics are the “true liberals,” because a liberal wants to extend liberty to the oppressed, and “the unborn are the most oppressed,” he said.


Kreeft said these Catholic advisers “told the Kennedys how they could get away with murder.” Kreeft then made one of his boldest comments of the evening, suggesting the theologians who first convinced Democratic politicians they could support abortion rights and remain Catholic did more damage to the Catholic Church than pedophile priests.

“These were wicked people. These were dishonest people. These were people who, frankly, loved power more than they loved God,” Kreeft said. “Sorry, that’s just the way it is. In fact, I’d say these were even worse than the child molesters — though the immediate damage they did was not as obvious — because they did it deliberately, it wasn’t a sin of weakness. Sins of power are worse than sins of weakness. Cold, calculating sins — that’s straight from the devil.”

Read the full article here

Some strong words. First I am glad to see that the primier Social Justice issue is being called out; the bulk of purported social justice advocates these days seem to have no interest in the lives of the unborn, demonstrating a very inadequate understanding of justice and the hierarchy of value that necessarily attaches there-to.

It is the strong condemnation of dissident theologians which I believe is remarkable - a bit of straight talk the likes of which is rarely heard. Then to put it in perspective by stating that it caused more damage than pedophile priests; amazing. He's right, of course.