Some Catholic Workers have Drifted from Their Catholic Roots

I created a meme with a picture of Dorothy Day and a quotation attributed to her: "To me, birth control and abortion are genocide. I say, make room for children, don't do away with them."

 

I then posted the meme on my Facebook page, and on a Catholic Worker Facebook page.

Wow. The reactions on the CW page.

Some folks acknowledged that that would be her view, and a number of them liked the meme.

But a number of people said they disagreed with her, and even defended abortion.

On a CATHOLIC Worker page??

And some of the them trotted out the usual clichéd pro-choice language and arguments - " forced pregnancies" and "men can't get pregnant so they have no say" to cite two examples.

I have a hard time with people who identify themselves as Catholic, then reject very clear church teachings. Sadly, parts of the CW movement have drifted very far from their Catholic root. One of the local Worker houses - a house for which I briefly served as a live-in staff member years ago - supported a number of questionable positions, and even housed a church run by a woman priest. I stopped supporting them over that one.

I have seen questionable views and positions proclaimed in some SW newspapers/newsletters, so I'm not totally surprised. But I am saddened. I fully support the services CW houses provide to the poor and homeless, the concerns for racial justice and workers' right, the opposition to unjust wars, and so on.

Those are all Catholic concerns. Alas, some of the newer concerns are more secular progressive ones than Catholic ones.

I wonder what Day would make of this. She kicked people out for co-habiting - I wonder what she would do about this.

Pax et bonum