I really like this commentary JC, it was very enlightening for me. At the same time though, I must pose to you the question: When the media (which serves the pro-abortion agenda) and the government (which also has largely served the pro-abortion agenda) fail to do their job - either unintentionally or deliberately (I'd argue the latter, especially in the case of the media) - in investigating the practices of the abortion industry (or any industry, for that matter), how then can the criminal actions of Planned Parenthood and their kind be made known to the public (who is funding said organization(s))? Is it fair to keep the truth from the taxpaying public? It would seem that without the actions of LiveAction, the truth about these appalling violations of the law that go on inside of these abortion mills would never be discovered, or at least not for many years. I'm not saying that I necessarily think it was right at the end of the day (I'm also not saying that I necessarily think it was wrong either), but I think that this is a fair question to ask.
To be fair, it is entirely possible that good results will come of these actions, and I do welcome these good ends, even though I disapprove of the means. It is also entirely possible that she or someone else will be able to offer a convincing justification of lying (in this case), e.g. under Just War Theory, etc. Until this latter happens, any good which comes of these stings is basically good being brought out of evil. However, I would certainly like to join with Reginaldus of The New Theological Movement for commending whatever good intentions Ms Lila Rose may have during all of these operations. We can always hope that by God's grace good ends will come of this situation, whatever are the means.
With that said, it's worth considering that if Planned Parenthood is ultimately defunded as a result of this, that will be a very good result--but for the wrong reasons. Yes, if they are helping prostitution rings which use underage girls (or prostitution rings in general) or other forms of sexual predation (which we knew about before this whole Lila Rose sting operation; see for example, Planned Parenthood's legal problems in Kansas) then they deserve to be prosecuted and to lose their federal funding. But even if they did not do this, they would still be a wicked organization in the (witting or unwitting) service of Moloch, an organization whose success depends on the sacrifice of the unborn. This is why we want to see them defunded; this is why they must ultimately be closed down. The cover-ups for prostitution, rape (statutory and otherwise), racism, etc--these are horrific too. But they are only the icing on the cake in comparison.
As for how the public would become aware of all this: I suspect we would continue to gain awareness slowly but surely without the aide of the sting operations. This is in large part because of the conversions of hearts: the Bernard Nathansons and Abby Johnsons of the world. These people and others like them had genuine conversions--as best I can tell--because they were won over by truth. These conversions may be sparked from such things as new technology--sonograms--or the constant presence (and slow, imperceptible effect) of the peaceful prayer vigils. They were hardly prompted by the shock value of a few videos gained through sting operations which employed lies (or, at the very least, extremely strict "mental reservations").
I will agree with Mr Joseph Bottum of CatholicVote and with others who assert that we are at war with the Culture of Death. The tactics of Lila Rose may win use a few immediate battles, and I welcome the victories (though not the methods used); but the war is fought on a deeper level than this. These tactics can win battles, but they could ultimately cost us the war, or worse, they could ultimately lead to a merely Pyrrhic victory.
That is to say, we may successfully defund Planned Parenthood--a victory in the short term, and a huge one at that. But in so doing, we will have forfeited the high ground regarding truth, and so will pay for our victory in the loss of likely conversions. The war which we're fighting is over abortion, it is true: but it is a spiritual war in addition to being a merely social-cultural one. Yes, we need to win the social-cultural front of the war, and defunding Planned Parenthood in this way might help us to do that. It also risks the backlash that people will associate the wrong of Planned Parenthood entirely with the fact that it is greedy enough for profits to cover-up a prostitution ring involving minors, and that the abortions themselves were no wrongdoing.
What this will not do in the least bit is help us to win the war of the more important front, which is the spiritual front. That abortion is among the worst forms of murder--it deliberately takes an innocent human life--I do not deny. I do, however, deny that the worst effect of abortion is the death of the child's soul. This effect is horrible, but worse than this is the effect which this has on the perpetrators' souls. We do not know what happens to the baby upon death: we can only speculate; he is, at least, free of any actual sins, and bears only the stain of original sin into the next world. We need not speculate the effect of abortion on the soul of the abortionist and his willing accomplices (including the mother and/or any who were involved in the making of this decision). Our Catechism and the Tradition of the Church--as repeated by the fathers of the Church--say enough on this. It is a grave offense, and thus is almost certainly a mortal sin, the punishment of which is damnation if unrepented.
Saving lives is important, and we should work to do whatever we can to do this. But there is one thing more important, and that is saving souls. Lying will not accomplish this. We need look no further than the pro-abortion reactions, which will be repeated by not a few people who otherwise might have been ready to hear the truth. The fact is that the argument is already being made that Lila Rose used deception to obtain these videos--so why not use deception in the editing or in the representation of what is said on the videos, too*? As Mr Mark Shea has noted in a similar context, this becomes an uphill battle to prove the honesty of the videos' content since "you are setting yourself the task of trying to get me to trust that somebody who approves of lying is not lying to me."
In ceding that section of the moral high ground, we are trading triumph in the long-term war for a few more immediate victories. To paraphrase Mr John C Wright, patience and vigilance are among the weapons we must use in our war, since our real enemy in this one is an immortal foe. Planned Parenthood and their ilk are his minions in this war, willing or unwilling; but our real enemy is the devil himself, and Moloch his lieutenant. The best weapons against the prince of all lies is truth, because we cannot defeat him with his own instrument.
Moreover, contra Mr Bottum, this war is fought not only in the battlefields of politics, economics, and the culture, but primarily from the convents and monasteries, the churches and the alters. Our greatest weapon is prayer and the grace of God, and our greatest triumphs are the conversions of hearts to God's love, minds to His truth, and souls to His Faith. This cannot be truly accomplished with the tools of the devil--lies, violence, etc--but only be practicing these things to which we claim to hold. "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).
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*For the record, I don't believe these particular charges. I think that what she caught on tape is true and not edited in a deceptive manner. But then, I'm already more-or-less on her side in wanting Planned Parenthood to become a thing of the past.
With that said, it's worth considering that if Planned Parenthood is ultimately defunded as a result of this, that will be a very good result--but for the wrong reasons. Yes, if they are helping prostitution rings which use underage girls (or prostitution rings in general) or other forms of sexual predation (which we knew about before this whole Lila Rose sting operation; see for example, Planned Parenthood's legal problems in Kansas) then they deserve to be prosecuted and to lose their federal funding. But even if they did not do this, they would still be a wicked organization in the (witting or unwitting) service of Moloch, an organization whose success depends on the sacrifice of the unborn. This is why we want to see them defunded; this is why they must ultimately be closed down. The cover-ups for prostitution, rape (statutory and otherwise), racism, etc--these are horrific too. But they are only the icing on the cake in comparison.As for how the public would become aware of all this: I suspect we would continue to gain awareness slowly but surely without the aide of the sting operations. This is in large part because of the conversions of hearts: the Bernard Nathansons and Abby Johnsons of the world. These people and others like them had genuine conversions--as best I can tell--because they were won over by truth. These conversions may be sparked from such things as new technology--sonograms--or the constant presence (and slow, imperceptible effect) of the peaceful prayer vigils. They were hardly prompted by the shock value of a few videos gained through sting operations which employed lies (or, at the very least, extremely strict "mental reservations").
I will agree with Mr Joseph Bottum of CatholicVote and with others who assert that we are at war with the Culture of Death. The tactics of Lila Rose may win use a few immediate battles, and I welcome the victories (though not the methods used); but the war is fought on a deeper level than this. These tactics can win battles, but they could ultimately cost us the war, or worse, they could ultimately lead to a merely Pyrrhic victory.
That is to say, we may successfully defund Planned Parenthood--a victory in the short term, and a huge one at that. But in so doing, we will have forfeited the high ground regarding truth, and so will pay for our victory in the loss of likely conversions. The war which we're fighting is over abortion, it is true: but it is a spiritual war in addition to being a merely social-cultural one. Yes, we need to win the social-cultural front of the war, and defunding Planned Parenthood in this way might help us to do that. It also risks the backlash that people will associate the wrong of Planned Parenthood entirely with the fact that it is greedy enough for profits to cover-up a prostitution ring involving minors, and that the abortions themselves were no wrongdoing.What this will not do in the least bit is help us to win the war of the more important front, which is the spiritual front. That abortion is among the worst forms of murder--it deliberately takes an innocent human life--I do not deny. I do, however, deny that the worst effect of abortion is the death of the child's soul. This effect is horrible, but worse than this is the effect which this has on the perpetrators' souls. We do not know what happens to the baby upon death: we can only speculate; he is, at least, free of any actual sins, and bears only the stain of original sin into the next world. We need not speculate the effect of abortion on the soul of the abortionist and his willing accomplices (including the mother and/or any who were involved in the making of this decision). Our Catechism and the Tradition of the Church--as repeated by the fathers of the Church--say enough on this. It is a grave offense, and thus is almost certainly a mortal sin, the punishment of which is damnation if unrepented.
Saving lives is important, and we should work to do whatever we can to do this. But there is one thing more important, and that is saving souls. Lying will not accomplish this. We need look no further than the pro-abortion reactions, which will be repeated by not a few people who otherwise might have been ready to hear the truth. The fact is that the argument is already being made that Lila Rose used deception to obtain these videos--so why not use deception in the editing or in the representation of what is said on the videos, too*? As Mr Mark Shea has noted in a similar context, this becomes an uphill battle to prove the honesty of the videos' content since "you are setting yourself the task of trying to get me to trust that somebody who approves of lying is not lying to me."
In ceding that section of the moral high ground, we are trading triumph in the long-term war for a few more immediate victories. To paraphrase Mr John C Wright, patience and vigilance are among the weapons we must use in our war, since our real enemy in this one is an immortal foe. Planned Parenthood and their ilk are his minions in this war, willing or unwilling; but our real enemy is the devil himself, and Moloch his lieutenant. The best weapons against the prince of all lies is truth, because we cannot defeat him with his own instrument. Moreover, contra Mr Bottum, this war is fought not only in the battlefields of politics, economics, and the culture, but primarily from the convents and monasteries, the churches and the alters. Our greatest weapon is prayer and the grace of God, and our greatest triumphs are the conversions of hearts to God's love, minds to His truth, and souls to His Faith. This cannot be truly accomplished with the tools of the devil--lies, violence, etc--but only be practicing these things to which we claim to hold. "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).
-----
*For the record, I don't believe these particular charges. I think that what she caught on tape is true and not edited in a deceptive manner. But then, I'm already more-or-less on her side in wanting Planned Parenthood to become a thing of the past.
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