Kerry & Catholic Values

John Kerry said in tonight's debate that he "can't legislate or transfer to another American citizen my article of faith" in response to an abortion question. Please don't read between the lines and believe that Kerry is pro-life, but feels that it's not appropriate to legislate that belief.

It's one thing to not impose your beliefs on others and it's quite another thing to support legislation contrary to those supposed beliefs. John Kerry believes what he votes regarding abortion legislation. John Kerry supports partial-birth abortion. In fact, he supports all abortion - any time, any circumstance. A child is an inconvenience, a nuisance, and a problem to be dealt with in John Kerry's world view.

And if it's not appropriate to legislate biblical principles then why do we have laws at all? Do we as a society not have a right to hold people accountable for stealing property or murdering a fellow citizen? Society needs a moral fabric to hold it together or we end up with anarchy.

In November of 1998, a statement was issued by the Catholic Bishops of the United States titled "Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics". Let me point you to section 25 from this statement:

Today, Catholics risk cooperating in a false pluralism. Secular society will allow believers to have whatever moral convictions they please -- as long as they keep them on the private preserves of their consciences, in their homes and churches, and out of the public arena. Democracy is not a substitute for morality, nor a panacea for immorality. Its value stands -- or falls -- with the values which it embodies and promotes. Only tireless promotion of the truth about the human person can infuse democracy with the right values. This is what Jesus meant when He asked us to be leaven in society. American Catholics have long sought to assimilate into U.S. cultural life. But in assimilating, we have too often been digested. We have been changed by our culture too much, and we have changed it not enough. If we are leaven, we must bring to our culture the whole Gospel, which is a Gospel of life and joy. That is our vocation as believers. And there is no better place to start than promoting the beauty and sanctity of human life. Those who would claim to promote the cause of life through violence or the threat of violence contradict this Gospel at its core.

Too many Catholics have become passive in their beliefs. If you claim to be a Catholic you must let Catholic teachings inform your actions or you're merely a hypocrite. If you don't agree with Catholic teaching then you're outside the bounds of Catholic orthodoxy.

Catholic moral theology recognizes, in the writings of approved authors who faithfully represent the theological tradition of the Church, sound guides for forming a Catholic conscience. One such author is Father Henry Davis, SJ:

It is the duty of all citizens who have the right to vote, to exercise that right when the common good of the State or the good of religion and morals require their votes, and when their voting is useful. It is sinful to vote for the enemies of religion or liberty...
[Moral and Pastoral Theology, vol. 2, Chapter V, 4th Commandment, p. 90 (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1935, 1959)]

Colin B. Donovan, STL comments on Fr. Davis' quote:

Who, then, are the enemies of religion or liberty for whom it would be sinful to vote? Reasonably, it would be those who attack the most basic rights in a society, since all rights depend on those which are logically or actually prior. Among the enumerated inalienable rights recognized by the Declaration of Independence is the right to life. The right to life is both logically and actually prior to all other rights since liberty is meaningless to those who have been unjustly killed. The protection of innocent human life is thus the first obligation of society. This is why protection against foreign enemies is the first duty of the federal government and protection against domestic enemies (criminals) is the first obligation of local government.

They are also enemies of religion and liberty who attack the most basic cell of society, marriage and family. A society that doesn't foster the life-long commitment of a man and a woman to each other and their children is self-destructing. Granting that we have already reaped the fruit of easy divorce laws, the most pernicious attacks against the family today are by those who favor homosexual unions and the granting of marital status to homosexual unions. It is also undermined by an unjust tax system which penalizes marriage in favor of fornication.

Those who are anti-life and anti-family manifest this darkening of conscience, a darkening which makes their other political decisions inherently untrustworthy. No Catholic can reasonable say "this candidate is anti-life and anti-family, but his social policies are in keeping with Catholic principles."

Donovan demonstrates that the protection of innocent life (i.e. the unborn) is pre-eminent over other rights or issues. He also infers that protection against foreign enemies (i.e. terrorists) should be the first concern of the government. John Kerry cannot in good conscience consider his political platform to be acceptable from a Catholic perspective and no informed Catholic can in good conscience support John Kerry's candidacy for president.