...burn in hell.
This came across my e-mail today. It's stunning. Its clearly meant to go viral among Catholics. Hell (pun intended), they may even show it in Church on Sunday morning and in school during the week. Take a minute and watch.
It's a Youtube video. Its being circulated in a way that only allows you to forward it in e-mail or put it on Facebook, but not so easy to post it in places like this (for good reason, I suppose). I hesitated for a moment to post this thereby giving it "airtime." But I think its useful for those outside the intended audience to see. Its not like I'm letting anything out of the bag, this video was posted on Memorial Day and in three days has gotten over 1.5 million views.
UPDATE: Just to be clear I do not claim this video was produced by the Conference of Bishops or the Church per se. Clearly it was not. But the message conveyed is the message that the leadership has been conveying now for weeks. Claiming that it is the product of some fringe group not in coordination is in my view not credible.
You can see it here.
For those without video access here is a partial transcript.
In Generations past, the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties. This generation of Catholics must do the same.
This November Catholics across the nation will be put to the test.
Our vote will effect the future and will be recorded in eternity. Will you vote the values that will stand the test of fire?
What of course the transcript does not reflect is the ominous music and the many images of fire. And the message is clear in the end. Vote the wrong way and you too may burn.
Here is the very clear meaning in my view The leadership of the American Catholic Clergy has decided to go to war on the issues of birth control and gay marriage. Given that they've had some bad PR in the recent past (especially on the subject of abstinence) one might understand why they want to change the subject and get up on a new horse. Trouble is the horse they are climbing on (contraception) is an old one, almost 50 years old as a matter of fact.
There is an old cliche in politics. Part of being successful is finding a parade and getting in front of it. President Barack Obama has done that not so long ago. But the Bishops think they can create their own parade back to the past by demanding loyalty from the parishioners, 82% of whom disagree with them (Gallup) at least on the subject of birth control. Who among us wants to burn in hell?
No, this video doesn't use those exact words but it doesn't have to, the imagery makes the point nonverbaly.
We'll see how this all works out. But nonetheless. Take a gander.