I had been contemplating my next blog piece about the supposed difference in generations. People constantly saying this generation doesn’t do this, that generation didn’t do that and so on. But I had to take a break from writing that piece once I had dinner with my in-laws last night. I just got back to the house from having dinner. We have dinner with them every Thursday to check on them and visit. Today, Jen was in Massachusetts doing some work as part of an extended trip up north to see the eclipse. I went to my in-laws for dinner and was it good. Grilled Delmonico steak, fries, sautéed mushrooms & onions, and salad. Yes, all cooked at home, not take out. And red wine. Sorry back to my thoughts.
My mother in-law is the Reverand Cynthia Koski – ordained United Methodist clergy. Four years in seminary and 3 years post denominational requirements, and God knows how many years as the pastor of a church. Now that sounds pretty fuckling spiritual if you ask me. We were talking about the recent decision by the brilliant Arizona legislature to roll back the State’s abortion laws to 1864 – codified in 1901. Now that is forward thinking. And we talk about today’s generation. Sorry, that is the next blog post.
So, my mother in-law starts to tell me about a time when she was involved in a religious conference round table with a few Roman Catholic priest. The discussion centered around babies born to a drug dependent mother. Crack babies as some people call them. I’m not sure how the conversation got to this point, but somewhere in the discussion, my mother-in-law asked the priest around the table if any of them had been in a NICU to see any of the babies. She told me many of them, if not all of them did not know how to respond to the question. I guess there was some disagreement about why they have not gone to see any of the babies, maybe because they weren’t baptized yet? Somehow during the conversation between my mother-in-law and I, she made the comment that roman catholic priest don’t give last rights to dying infants. I said, no way. Really?
I had to google it. Low and behold I found this;
- The last rights, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christina faith, when possible, shortly before death (Wikipedia).
- The Roman Catholic view is that baptism is necessary for salvation and that it frees the recipient from original sin. Roman Catholic tradition teaches that unbaptized infants not being freed from original sin, go to limbo. An afterlife condition distinct from hell (Wikipedia).
- Church doctrine now states that unbaptized babies can go to heaven instead of getting stuck somewhere between heaven and hell (we use to call this purgatory in catholic grade school). If limbo doesn’t exist, what happened to everyone who was supposed to have been there already? They’ve probably been in heaven all this time, but no one knows for sure. (Slate.com)
- The Catholic Code of Canon Law states that “a minor before the completion of the seventh year is called an infant and is considered not responsible for oneself (non sui compos). With the completion of the seventh year, however, a minor is presumed to have the use of reason”, (I don’t know anyone who is 8 years old who has any reason, maybe that is part of the problem). It is assumed that if you have not reached the age of reason, then you do not know right from wrong and cannot sin. Therefore, it serves no purpose to administer the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to a child under the age of reason.
Now I realize why we always felt fearful with everything we did as a young child. They (the church) scared the shit out of you. Maybe that was the purpose. But I think there are many better ways to get that point across. So is it possible that priest don’t go in and see infants in the NICU or tend to those infants who are dying because they haven’t reached the age of reason. I’ll say it again I know a few people who are well passed the age of reason (8), who still have an issue with reasoning.
Being unsure whether I was being hard on priest and the Catholics again, I asked my son Ryan (MD) if he sees priest in the hospital or going into the NICU. Ryan has worked in the Pediatric ICU, but has not spent time in the NICU. Ryan told me that there are chaplains who provide spiritual care to patients, but are not necessarily ordained in any specific denomination. I’m sure after tonight’s phone call, he will be asking around in the hospital tomorrow to be sure.
If you follow the thinking of the church and some very conservative legislators, an embryo is considered a person at the time of conception, and every person is a child of God, then why shouldn’t an infant deserve some type of spiritual prayer or laying of hands at the time before death. Or are they just considered children of God when it’s convenient to their cause. All of this developed by a group of men, based on a book written hundreds of years ago, who have never (in most cases) been married or experienced the birth or death of their own child. They seem to think they possess the right to tell others what to do.
Maybe we should ask Donald Trump his opinion. His opinions seem to be guiding a lot of decisions lately, even though he holds no public office.
- He says he is well versed in the catholic faith, doesn’t know a single verse from the bible & carries one when convenient
- He knows more about reproductive rights that anyone, even though he has changed his mind several times on the subject.
- If you ask me, his opinion on this certainly matters and is the right one, based in fact.
Thank God (my God as I see him/her) that I use my religion as a basis to build my life, on how I treat people, how I respect others, why I volunteer my time. Not how I govern or lead.