I’m back at home and now somewhat relaxed after my conference and travel this week. Despite everything I was able to take some things away from the conference, mostly from the informal gatherings. This is something that I took away from one of those times drinking beer and eating donuts with my brother combat veteran priests.
I have never been a fan of civil disobedience mainly because of my experience. I was a Navy brat during the anti-war protests of the 1960s and 1970s and a Sunday School teacher told me that my dad was a ‘baby killer.” In college I had things thrown at me and was verbally assaulted when walking to class in my Army ROTC uniforms. In 2003 I had to walk through a crowd of Iraq war protesters to get to a Starbucks in Jacksonville Florida, they too were rather abusive and disrespectful. I believe that “Nazi” was the kindest word used by these people. As such I am wary of any protest movement. I believe that they can get out of control and devolve into something destructive to their actual often noble goals.
I believe there are times when a government can make laws which are unjust and need to be corrected. Prime examples include slavery and civil rights. Many Christians apply the same standard to Federal and State Laws which allow abortion. Many in the early days adopted the protest models of the 1960s as ways to exercise civil disobedience. I think there is a time for this and a way to do it right, but those who decide to take up the methods of civil disobedience need to be very careful of the slippery slope and often unintended consequences of their actions.
I am against abortion. The vast majority of abortion opponents are peaceful and law abiding. However there is a radical fringe in the anti-abortion movement, just like those in other movements who endanger all who stay within legal means to change those laws. The fringe has become even more vocal and incendiary since the election of President Obama. As a Regular Navy officer I may have my political viewpoint and party affiliation but have to remain apolitical. My models are men like George Marshall and Colin Powell who were able to serve under Presidents of both parties in trying times. Some may see this as wrong. However it is a deep part of our nation’s military tradition and as a Christan and an officer I am distinctly uncomfortable with people who commit blatantly illegal and often immoral and hateful acts to eliminate something that they see as evil. I’m sorry, one cannot as a Christian use the “end justifies the means” approach to changing what they disagree with. I may agree with one’s cause, but will not in any way support illegal or potentially deadly means to correct a problem. It took William Wilberforce decades of parlimentary sessions to slavery abolished in England and end British particpation in the salve trade. He did it though and did so without a civil war. The way we oppose things matters and ends can never justfy the means, if the means are wrong.
The actions of fringe elements and rouge actors have often hurt the pro-life movement. Actions by some were so extreme that Janet Reno, President Clinton’s Attorney General considered labeling anti-abortion groups as terrorist organizations. This was not aimed at peaceful protesters but rather the actions of people who bombed abortion clinics, killed physicians who performed abortions, and either verbally or physically assaulted women going to abortion clinics. These people claimed to be obeying a higher law and executing God’s judgment on these people. Other individuals especially in the early days of the movement incited violence during protests provoking police crackdowns. These not only jailed the instigators, but the peaceful protesters as well, providing these otherwise law abiding citizens with criminal records and convictions. Once again, the vast majority of pro-life people and groups condemned the actions of the fringe, but those actions were used by abortion proponents to paint all anti-abortion groups with the same label.
For peaceful and law abiding people and groups who actually care about the lives of their opponents as well as the unborn there is a danger in taking part in demonstrations and marches. The danger is that any such demonstration can be infiltrated by others who do not share the same goals. There is the possibility that opponents of these groups could join the demonstration and commit acts which are blamed on the protesters. This is a tactic used in many parts of the world. Likewise there are those on the fringe of the actual movement who many have mental imbalances or are so consumed by the righteousness of their cause who are willing to do anything to accomplish their mission, even if it means endangering others who may share the goal but are working within the law. These people believe that they are above the law of the land because they are supported by a higher law. Such actions discredit the legitimate and non-violent protesters and endanger their cause. This happens in a number of ways, but the chief way it works against the goals of the protesters is that people who may actually be in favor of their cause are turned against it by such actions.
When Christians protest what they believe are laws or actions of the government they need to be careful when conducting such actions. The biggest concern is that when a protest is launched the organizers do not control all of the actors. Rogue and even criminal elements can join the demonstration and through their actions bring about a police response. There are also people who have become “professional” protesters. Every movement has these people, they live for the protest and even if they bring about change they move on to another cause. This happens across the political spectrum, one only has to look at protesters who moved from the Vietnam War, to anti-NATO, anti-American nuclear weapons in Europe, to Environmentalism, the Iraq War to whatever cause is now in vogue or waiting in the wings. Conservative Christian professional protesters take up abortion, prayer in schools, homosexuality, and a host of other causes. The same actors seem to be at every event and always hog the media spotlight, I’m not going to name them, but just watch and it is almost always the same people getting interviewed or arrested. Again most are peaceful and appear to me to be attention junkies, but there are some who have advocated violence or other illegal acts. Quite often professional protesters paint caricatures of their opponents, and use vicious, inflammatory and derogatory terms and images to demonize and dehumanize them. Regardless of their cause or political orientation, professional protesters primarily serve their need to stir up controversy and be in the media spotlight.
Professional protesters of all stripes often feel a sense of persecution by the government and often accuse agents of the government, be they military, law enforcement, administrative or judicial personnel as having a bias against their cause or group. There have been growing cries about persecution of Christians from the Religious Right. However, most government agents are neither corrupt or on an anti-Christian crusade. Most are honest people who try dispassionately enforce or interpret the law and many are Christians.
A prime example of this is the Commanding Officer of a former Navy Chaplain who was convicted by court-martial for disobeying lawful orders. This officer, as well as the Chaplain’s previous commander were crucified in the media by many supposedly Christian or conservative groups. These critics including former politicians, judges, pastors and pundits raced to support this chaplain’s fraudulent claims. After he ws convicted and put out of the Navy they pretty much abandoned him. However, these peoples actions, along with those of the Chaplain were destructive. The Commanding officer was a devout Christian and member of a large evangelical-Pentecostal type church. He was driven out of his church by his pastor and others who believed the supposedly “Christian” conservative media claims against him. The positive coverage of the actions of these conservative professional protesters by media outlets such as World Net Daily are commonplace and actually damaging to the witness of the Christian Church.
Conservative Christians now have to be even more careful because most of their causes and many of their organizations are seem by many as appendages of the Republican Party whose politicians have often embraced them, promised to assist them in order for their political support and then never delivered. The linkage of many groups and Evangelical Christian leaders such as James Dobson to the Republican Party could be construed as no longer a religious or moral protest, but a protest waged on behalf of a political party. Christians need to keep in mind that others will use their good intentions for their own purposes and that it is possible for their witness to be compromised by their associations with such people. Christians are not above the law of the land even if we believe there is a higher law. The highest law of Christians is even when injustice occurs to respond in love with an eye to God’s grace and mercy. Doing so does not mean that Christians are as condoning evil as some say. It means that we will speak the truth in love and work within the law to change unjust laws. By doing so we ensure that all people have the right to life and all the liberties of this country regardless of who they are or what they believe. Christians are not above the law.
The Inglorius Padre Steve's World 
Great post! When I read your article, I couldn’t help but think about those hateful people from some, roguish Baptist church who protest at funerals of fallen soldiers, Sailors, airmen, and Marines. They claim to be protesting homosexuality, but the choose to do so in possibly the most hateful manner imaginable. Somehow, they connect the valiant actions of those who died for their freedom with the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy ordered by President Clinton. How they can make that connection defies all logic and any rational theological thinking. Their actions are indeed irrational–and very charged with emotion disguised as Christian belief.
This emotional irrationality is what happens to Christians, or anyone else, who take pseudo-religious political activism to the extreme. I think that this has truly taken place in much of the anti-abortion protesting in the past; making that form of protest ineffective and, in many cases, counterproductive. How does one logically argue that it is Pro-Life to murder or fire-bomb the physicians and their families who perform abortion? It is a hard sell; and it is only based on an emotional, irrational response to one’s convictions. While I agree with the principle of voicing one’s objection to the abominable actions of the abortion industry, I think that we should re-think that strategy of how to make the point. The fact that the anti-abortion protests have been virtually hi-jacked by the small percentage of nutcases who employ violence to make their point, makes re-thinking that strategy even more important. It is really difficult to talk of God’s love for the unborn while you are physically and emotionally assaulting the very person you are trying to convince. Pax, Greg+
Steve,
I don’t think that I made myself clear in the last comment. I don’t believe that the majority of anti-abortion/pro-life protesters are violent. I believe that they will not resort to violence in any way to make their point. However, they are opening themselves up to being lumped in together with the violent fringe of the movement. When a protest is deemed an unlawful assembly by the authorities, everyone who refuses to disperse, both the peaceful and the violent, are arrested, because at that point, they have violated the law.
Had I participated in one of these protests as a young adult and been arrested, I would have had the same criminal record as the violent protester. Had I been arrested at a pro-life/anti-abortion protest, I would be ineligible for my security clearance, thus removing my eligibility to serve as a priest in the military. I would have never been able to minister God’s Word and Sacraments to Marines and Sailors while engaged in ground combat in Iraq.
That is really something to think about. Christian leaders should be very careful when they take their youth to these protests. They may end up being inadvertently responsible for disqualifying them for future service to the Kingdom of God. When I was 18 to 23 years old, I would have had no clue that an arrest record could have ruined my chances to be a military chaplain. I did not even know at that age that I would have ever felt God’s leading to become a chaplain.
I can’t help but wonder if there is some better form of getting the point across. I remember how St. Paul, who strongly opposed idolatry, kindly and politely commended the Athenians for their piety. After that, he tried to convince them of the Gospel in a respectful manner. Most of American Christians today would have tried to call fire down from heaven to consume both the idols and the idol worshipers! I can’t help but wonder if the abortion clinic protest is not somehow the anti-thesis of how Paul would have handled the same subject.
Pax,
Greg+
Greg+
I couldn’t agree more. The “pro-life” movement has become fixated on a strategy which has little usefulness in today’s world. It may have worked in the 1960s but since then this format has been rather unsuccessful, not only for the pro-life movement but also for those on the left. Protesters of almost all groups are now deemed more of a nuisance by people who have real lives and real problems. Protesters get so “into” their movement that they almost have blinders on to anything else and have almost no self awareness. In other words they don’t understand how reasonable people might respond negatively to vitriolic and sometimes violent attacks when in fact they might agree with and support them if they were not being complete idiots. I believe that Justice Scalia even made a similar comment not long ago about how irritating it was for special interest groups to harass judges to make what should be legislative decisions and one of the groups that he referred to was the anti-abortion movement. Scalia as we know is no fan of abortion and been a consistent voice on the Court for the unborn. A recent case of this harassment was where a man trying to prove that President Obama is constitutionally ineligible to be President confronted Chief Justice Roberts at a lecture to demand he review the case. Another person on the same subject made threats to a Federal judge who had denied one of the myriad of cases that these people are filing and went to World Net Daily when Federal Marshals went to his home to question him. These people are doing exactly what they condemn the political left of doing by attempting to subvert the electoral and legislative process by going to the court and getting activist judges to do their dirty work for them. It is hypocritical and dare I say dishonorable, especially when people who profess the Christian faith use such unscrupulous means to attain their goal.
Pax, Steve+
Hi there:
This is very interesting! I wholeheartedly agree with the tenor of the comments…
However, as someone who has on several occassions been to the March for Life in Washington DC, and peripherally involved in pro-life events and ministry here are a couple of thoughts…
The pro-life movement means many different things to different people. For some it is about limiting abortions, for others it is to make all abortion illegal (very unlikely to happen), for others it is a battle against abortion and contraception as well (fat chance of that suceding in our society). Its hard to hear a reasoned message among so many voices.
Its all good to talk about not using abortion as birth control among like minded people, another to counsel a pregnant woman to keep her baby! One has the potential to save lives the other not so much. For many of us the front lines of helping confused people or confronting evil this way is quite unconfortable…our silence makes room for others to speak!
In the measure that “normal people” with “a life and problems” do not take leadership in the issues which are important to them…”nuts , fruits and flakes” will! I am not sure that Christians as a whole have become involved in the pro-life movement as we could have. Maybe the rethoric and feel would be a little different if we had.
On Protests- It is rather inspiring to ,not just the see the “fire and brimstone” crowd or the few really weird people spotted among the March for Life , it is good to see young people there. Our society is not all it could be and allowing young people a chance to be a witness and a voice against injustice does not hurt them! Many social movements have been sparked by young people! There is, in my opinion, no need to keep ours sheltered in the safety of youth church, malls, theaters, texting and MYSpace…where they could never get into any trouble at all…. :>) !
Blessings
Seraph
Miguel+
I agree with the need for more mature folks to take the leadership of this. I am a pragmatist about these matters, I want to make sure that when we witness to our faith and opposition to abortion, euthenaisa and other really touchy medical/scientific issues that we do so with a lot of care and wisdom. I do think that pro-life people need to voice their beliefs and try to influence policy. My concern is that I believe that protests have have actually become less effective of a means to do this. I think that when we use civil disobedience and run the risk that now a greater risk than ever of actually having a negative effect on the movement should violence erupt at a demonstration. There are a lot of very angry Christians who in their opposition to abortion have been themsleves consumed by anger, hatred and rage, especially with the election and early actions of the President Obama regarding these issues. I am very afraid that well meaning, mature and peace individuals and groups could get caught up in a backlash against extremists who are more likely now than ever to espouse violence and commit violent acts. If some fringe group starts blowing up abortion clinics, killing doctors, harrassing women going to these clinics, or even rummaging through trash to find body parts of aborted babies to put on display, it could trigger a severe backlash that would not only target the perpetrators but also those who are decent, peaceful and loving. I think in light of this that we need to rethink strategy in order to have a more positive outcome and be successful in at least minimizing the numbers of abortions in this country.
With the ability of the government to monitor communications, e-mail, cell phones and identify protestors based on biometric data and photos there is no such thing as a anonymous protester. Anyone can be identified and prosecuted using technology currently available. As Greg mentioned there are other dangers for our young people. I do feel that you are right that they need to be socially active and informed about pro-life issues as part of their formation as Christians. At the same time as Greg so well put it, should a peaceful teenager or young adult get causght in the backlash to a violent act or a demonstration gone bad, it will not matter to the law that they were peaceful. They will be arrested. If they should resist arrest or be held in contempt of court it will affect many things later on. I don’t think that most teenagers or young adults understand the unintended consquences of such actions nor are truly capable of giving informed consent regarding their participation in protests when they are pressured to by church leaders. We see this lack of understanding every day in teenage pregnancy, alchohol and drug abuse and other acts such as gang involvement. Young people generally don’t take into account how things can affect them later in life. Such a criminal record would prevent them from doing many things, especially if was a felony conviction. If they have aspirations of careers in the military, law enforcement, the criminal justice system, most Federal Government jobs, jobs with government contracts, some medical professions, certain high tech industries which require security clearances, banking and investment careers which require being bonded and a nearly limitless number of other careers. Likewise even things like being able to vote, hold a passport and a myriad of other administrative things can be hurt by a criminal record. I would be very careful about having young people at such events. If an adult wants to do it and understands the risks that is one thing, but I don’t think that young people are really cognizant of the risks that they run.
My concern is that we walk a narrow line and if we engage in civil disobedience that such actions are a two edged sword. I believe that the whole movement has already been damaged by the open alliance with the Republican party by senior leaders of the movement. Likewise it runs a great risk of being discredited and destroyed by actors who have thier own agenda and are motivated less by the ethical concerns of the pro-life movement in supporting the sanctity of life than they are making a name for themselves or simply being revengeful.
As always my friend thank you for your comments. I know that you understand my concerns and I understand your heart regarding this very important matter.
dear Padre:
I do understand your concerns. They are very reasonable! I have the same for my own children, all with their own aspirations. Yet, coming from a culture where, often at great cost, many progressive social movements have been inspired and led by young people it is hard for me to completely trust my own misgivings.
Older people ,as myself, aware of consecuences in a very complicated society, are more likely to “count the cost” and be passive on a host of issues. I have begun to think that when it seems we have too much to lose if we act, perhaps we have to reexamine our attachments. I have found that to be the case in my family’s history and in my own life!
It is true that the prolife movement as a whole has been openly associated with the Republican Party, that is unfortunate! However it has seemed in this last decade that the Democrats have become more and more the voice of Planned Parenthood and its agenda, making it difficult for some people of faith. Christians are not bound to a party’s ideology and always free to change. Time will tell if those who desire our society to be more protective of life will be able to voice their concerns in a way which is appealing and convincing to Americans.
As far as civil disobedience, it has a long, tumultuous and honored history, some of it disturbing. However, I find it much more concerning that the government has the capacity to intrude into my personal life and instill fear into the peaceful, free excercise of my convictions! Sometimes doing what you feel is right does have a cost. That is a lesson our children and youth have to learn early on! May God help us and give us his wisdom!
Very many blessings to you!
Miguel +
Miguel+
As always my friend thank you for your kind comments while we may not agree in matters of strategy I know that we agree in purpose. Part of this of course is due to our different personal and cultural experiences. While I agree that there are times when civil disobedience has been effective I wonder if it is today, regardless of what is being protested. I actually if our society has gone to the point that protests, be they pro-life or pro-choice, pro-GLBT or anti-GLBT, pro-environment, pro-labor, anti-free trade, anti-war or name the topic can be effective. Most seem to have been captured by the respective political parties and are now regarded by most as special interest groups of those parties.
I admire your twofold concern for your own children as well as desire for them to know the truth and be active in fighting injustice, especially to regard to the unborn. I wonder though, and this is just me and we have no children, if children, even young teenagers can fully understand both the risks and benefits of being involved in any protest movement or any type. I see this kind of like informed consent in medicine. Just because someone agrees with a physician when the physician discusses a preferred course of treatment using terms that the patient does not understand, is it truly informed consent if they don’t understand the risks versus benefits of said treatment?
When I was young I was not nearly as analytical and reflective as I am now. Had I gotten involved with any of the myriad of social protests of my teenage years I might not be able to serve God’s people in the military had any of those things gotten out of hand and I was arrested. A lot of what I did in those days was driven by emotion and lack of understanding or consequences for any action that I might have gotten involved with.
Like you I am concerned how the government uses its power and how it can be misapplied to the peaceful protesters who get caught up in a situation that someone else makes bad. I am concerned that government power can, has and will be used to punish the innocent as well as the guilty, and this applies to any cause where civil disobedience is employed, not simply the pro-life, or as is better labeled among conservatives as the anti-abortion movement. I only say this as many anti-abortion people are pro-death penalty or fully support pro-bombing Afghan, Iraqi and Pakistani villages to kill suspected terrorists regardless of how many children and nursing mothers are killed in the process.
You are a physician as well as a priest and I am a priest who has spent much of his life and ministry in either institutional chaplaincy or critical care ICU hospital ministry in large teaching hospitals. There is always a risk and benefit analysis that we make in dealing with our patients. I think similar critical and analytical methods should be employed by those in the pro-life as well as other movements which make use of civil disobedience. I am concerned that as we fight for life we not just do it out of emotion and a “need” to do something, like “Jesus is coming look busy.” As such we need to weigh risk and benefit to the pro-life movement in the long term. William Wilberforce took decades to end slavery and the slave trade, but he was able to do so in parliamentary debate and in the mind of the public without violence and without civil disobedience which could have led to violence which might have crushed the anti-slavery movement. . He was opposed by the landed gentry, the mercantile interests and many in the political system. He was criticized by proponents of slavery as well as abolitionists but he changed the world.
As always I appreciate your insights as a friend and fellow priest working to serve God’s people. May she help us both my friend. Peace and blessings,
Steve+