I have seen people driving their cars that have the American Life League bumper sticker that proclaims, "You can't be both Catholic and pro-abortion" and sometimes this makes me so mad. Although I completely agree with it, it's the fact that those cars belonged themselves to people that I want to say, "You can't be both anti-helping the poor and Catholic" on any number of issues. Yes, I place abortion as a higher standard than helping the poor, but amazingly enough there are Catholics who believe we shouldn't help the poor because, "They don't' deserve it." These same Catholics are probably pro-war (even when it doesn't fit the Just War doctrine) and pro-death penalty in more circumstances than it can be applied. What right do they have to correct another Catholic? They are all sinning in the same way; they rip pages out of the catechism. "I don't like the Immaculate Conception." RIP. "I like contraception." RIP. "I like abortion." RIP. "I don't like Catholic social teaching." RIP.
The funniest part is when some priests try to convince them on one of these points. The priest appeals to logic and normally begins with, "Rome teaches because…" The people respond, "I'm sure Rome has its reasons, but Rome also teaches that X is how to say Mass, and you do Y." The priest has no authority to stand on at all because he doesn't follow Mass rubrics. I'll give a real example that happened at a liturgy committee meeting I attend: a woman, out of nowhere, suggested we switch to gluten-free bread for Hosts and alcohol-free wine for the Blood. Our pastor said to do that would be idolatry. "It's been a teaching of the Church since the Apostles that specific types of bread and wine must be used." Within five minutes, he then broke his own Mass rubric by stating that we would not change our posture at the "Ecce" to kneeling but stand as already do. He thinks Rome, the USCCB, and our bishop are wrong on the posture at that time. So instead of taking the issue up with any of those three, he decides to just ignore that rule. Later, that same woman who suggested the change of communion material said to me that she doesn't understand why some rules are breakable and others are not. She maintains that we should change to unconsecrat-able substances and thinks that some rules in Catholicism are breakable and others are not. (Next time she disagrees with a Church teaching, why even take it up with a priest? That's the example that was set for her.) John Kerry said the same thing in regards to abortion and poverty. Priests who ignore Mass rubrics to a disservice to all by supporting the very cafeteria Catholicism they wish to annihilate. It's the same monster in a different form. Thankfully, a younger generation of priests seems to be getting that.