Issues are not of equal weight
I read with great interest Tom Tracy’s story, “Catholics have plenty to consider before Election Day” (Catholic Virginian, Sept. 21). My interest turned to incredulity and ultimately to overwhelming disappointment.
I was aghast that leaders within our faith were responsible for the quotes attributed to them. Kernels of truth were sprinkled in, such as the belief that “no political party fully represents the Catholic tradition” and that a Catholic voter should not “wait for someone to come along who is 100% in step with the fullness of Catholic tradition.”
Both of these quotes were from Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin and are certainly true statements. The cardinal was further quoted: “I don’t think we can reduce (our decision), at least in the current panorama of issues, to how a candidate stands on a single issue.”
This would be true if the panorama of issues were all of equal weight. They are not! One million human babies are killed each year in this country. Catholic teaching on this is exceptionally clear. We believe abortion is a moral evil, and formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense.
Immigration, health care, the economy, etc. are valid issues, but the difference in party positions between Democrats and Republicans are miniscule compared to the sheer horror of the annual slaughter of the innocents.
Would you vote for a candidate who endorses the murdering of a million 5-year-old children every year? If you believe this to be an unfair analogy, then you truly do not understand what abortion really is. The Catholic voting choice is unambiguous. Vote for life. – Robert Thien, Virginia Beach
Panelists ignored key element of statement
Re: “Catholics have plenty to consider before Election Day” (Catholic Virginian, Sept. 21).
The article reported on a webinar panel discussion. Considering the composition of the panel, it is not surprising that they apparently ignored a key element of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.”
According to that document, “all issues do not carry the same moral weight … the moral obligation to oppose policies promoting intrinsically evil acts has a special claim on our consciences…”
If we vote for a candidate who supports abortion, the LGBTQ agenda, the denial of our religious liberty and freedom of conscience, we risk moral culpability for cooperating with grave evil unless we have a proportionate reason for doing so. It seems to me it is difficult to find such a proportionate reason. – Tom Strassburg, Earlysville
Advance the culture of life
With the upcoming election, I encourage everyone to do their own thorough research on where candidates stand on the issues. The most important issue is life — protecting the sanctity of life is paramount.
More than 60 million innocent, pre-born are not with us today in this country because of abortions since the 1973 Roe v. Wade court case. The right to life is our most basic and fundamental right. Advances in science and technology have proven beyond any doubt that it is a child in the womb.
Catholic politicians often use the rationale that they personally and religiously oppose abortion, however, they fall back on the lame excuse that Roe v. Wade is “settled law.”
Given the logic train they use, we would still have slavery in this country today because of the Supreme Court’s 1857 Dred Scott decision ruled that slavery was legal. Can you imagine a United States today with Dred Scott still in force? That decision, which was the “law of the land” and “settled law,” was eventually overturned because politicians (and citizens) worked to right a grave injustice.
It is incumbent upon our politicians to work to overturn such an unjust and immoral law as Roe v. Wade. What makes this position even more egregious for Catholics holding political office is that the Catholic Church is firmly opposed to abortion. I recommend that all Catholics help begin building an authentic culture of life. The voting booth is the only way to start down that road. – Ted Cors, Williamsburg
‘Villages’ no replacement for father at helm of family
Black Lives Matter declares: “We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear-family-structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another…”
The fact is that no village can replace a black father staying with his family. Black families matter, ones with a father at the helm. And jobs matter. Having jobs with decent wages help to keep the fathers in the home.
And churches matter. Pastors encourage families to pray and excel with God’s help. And black school choice matters. Black families deserve the best schools for their children, not the injustice of being relegated to an inferior district in an impoverished neighborhood.
Because black lives do matter, we need to work on real solutions and not simply donate to a political movement that is suspect.
How many black lives do you know by name? How many black lives have you personally helped to better their circumstances? How many black youths have you supported by donating to their educational expenses?
C’mon, America, we are better than this! Forget the woke posturing and help a particular child, a particular family. – Donna Kerrigan, Keswick
Editor’s note: Black Lives Matter removed that declaration from its website Sept. 24, 2020.
Church leaders must ‘really work’ to solve poverty
I fully agree, “Catholics should help right wrongs against blacks” (Catholic Virginian, Sept. 21).
First, we should support those who really want to solve the problem of poverty. We can demand that assistance programs support the two-parent family and not penalize a woman who wants to marry the father of her child but encourage it.
Assistance should continue until the family — the way God designed it to thrive — is on its feet. For decades, current policy has resulted in 70% fatherless homes. Parents should have the right of school choice to escape failing schools and the lack of a real education, which ensures continued poverty.
Fatherless, poorly educated youth are game for gangs, drugs and crime. This violence and killing taking place in our inner cities is ignored by groups who claim to care about black Americans but instead attack police, and by local government officials who let criminals back out on the streets, bond free; they should be removed from office.
Catholic Church leaders, constantly decrying racism, are a big disappointment in not taking the lead, loud and clear, to really work to solve poverty. They should be calling for policy changes that would allow the very basic rights of a child — a two-parent family and a good education.
These children are just as capable and gifted as God has gifted everyone. They deserve the chance of a future. We as Christians and moral people should demand it and support those running for office who show they are not just about words but are for real in righting wrongs against blacks. – Kathleen Hall, Roanoke