Letters to the Editor

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No letters were printed this week; here are the letters from three weeks ago:

At the ballot box, let us remember the most vulnerable among us

The foundation of the freedoms that we enjoy in America is based on the Christian principle that each individual is made in the image of God, and that each person is deserving of life and dignity.

This differentiates us from many countries in the world where there is savagery, desperate poverty and sheer lack of regard for human life.

As Christians, we believe the soul to be eternal. Therefore, the individual is of greater importance than any state or civilization, whose lifespan is measured in centuries at most.

If our country cannot stand up against the abomination that is abortion and stop the genocide of the unborn, then we will not only continue in our turning away from God, but we will find that additional liberties will be taken away from us by the state.

When the primacy of the individual is eroded, the power of the government grows.

As we go to the ballot box, finally, after the most contentious election season in a lifetime, let us remember the most vulnerable among us who need protection and not become a nation that has forgotten God.

- Dr. Stephen O’Neil | Indianapolis
 

Learn which candidates are pro-life in all areas of human life and dignity, readers say

In a letter to the editor in the Oct. 28 issue of The Criterion (“Rise above party politics, promote the common good, and vote for life, reader says”), the writer stated, “As long as a pro-life alternative is available, a Catholic may not, in good conscience, vote for a pro-abortion candidate, regardless of his or her position on quality-of-life issues.”

Yet, in their “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” document, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops state otherwise in paragraph 34:

“A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who favors a policy promoting an intrinsically evil act, such as abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, deliberately subjecting workers or the poor to subhuman living conditions, redefining marriage in ways that violate its essential meaning, or racist behavior, if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such cases, a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil.”

The bishops continue, “At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate’s opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity” (#34).

So, whomever we Catholics vote for, if it is not our intent to support the evil of abortion, the bishops seem to tell us our vote is acceptable.

Likewise, the bishops tell us we should not support a candidate who turns a blind eye to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity (guns, war, nuclear proliferation, income inequality, immigration, capital punishment) simply because the candidate says he or she is against abortion.

We urge our fellow Catholics to study and compare which candidate/party is truly pro-life—and not just against abortion—in all areas involving human life and dignity.

- Linda and Hank Cooper | Bloomington