Denver Archbishop Says Catholics Refusing to Defend Morality "Demonstrating Cowardice" (AWESOME)

John Kerry-10/7/04 (Presidential Debate): “First of all, I cannot tell you how deeply I respect the belief about life and when it begins.

John Kerry-10/13/04 (Presidential Debate): “I will defend the right of Roe v. Wade.”

4/23/04: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass speaks in support of baby murder aka abortion at national rally in Washington, D.C. Kerry is flanked by Kate Michelman, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, left and Gloria Feldt, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, right. Feldt also lavishly praised Kerry at the Democratic National Convention.

Kerry on abortion-10/7/04: “You know, it's just not that simple.”

G.K. Chesterton: “Moral issues are always terribly complex, for someone without principles.”

Kerry on abortion-10/7/04 “But I can't take what is an article of faith for me and legislate it”

Being against killing unborn children-abortion is not “an article of faith”, it is being decent, humane, and civilized. It is a scientific fact not an “an article of faith” that human life begins at conception—not birth.

Birth is one day in the life of a person who is already nine months old.

Abortion is murder.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund Announces Historic Endorsement of Sen. John Kerry.

John Kerry, Gloria Feldt energize thousands at pro-choice rally http://www.ppaction.org/ppvotes/KerryRelease.html

PING

Please let me know if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.

GOD BLESS YOU Archbishop Chaput! Thank you for your leadership.
catholicsagainstkerry.com

See the complete text of Archbishop Chaput's article on LifeSiteNews.com at:

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/oct/041022a.html

Source URL: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/oct/041022a.html

LifeSite Daily News
Friday October 22, 2004

Faith and Patriotism By Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput
Full text of Op-ed in Oct. 22 New York Times
Permission to re-publish granted by Archbishop's office

Faith and Patriotism
By Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput

Denver — The theologian Karl Barth once said, "To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world."

That saying comes to mind as the election approaches and I hear more lectures about how Roman Catholics must not "impose their beliefs on society" or warnings about the need for "the separation of church and state." These are two of the emptiest slogans in current American politics, intended to discourage serious debate. No one in mainstream American politics wants a theocracy. Nor does anyone doubt the importance of morality in public life. Therefore, we should recognize these slogans for what they are: frequently dishonest and ultimately dangerous sound bites.

Lawmaking inevitably involves some group imposing its beliefs on the rest of us. That's the nature of the democratic process. If we say that we "ought" to do something, we are making a moral judgment. When our legislators turn that judgment into law, somebody's ought becomes a "must" for the whole of society. This is not inherently dangerous; it's how pluralism works.

Democracy depends on people of conviction expressing their views, confidently and without embarrassment. This give-and-take is an American tradition, and religious believers play a vital role in it. We don't serve our country - in fact we weaken it intellectually - if we downplay our principles or fail to speak forcefully out of some misguided sense of good manners.

People who support permissive abortion laws have no qualms about imposing their views on society. Often working against popular opinion, they have tried to block any effort to change permissive abortion laws since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. That's fair. That's their right. But why should the rules of engagement be different for citizens who oppose those laws?

Catholics have an obligation to work for the common good and the dignity of every person. We see abortion as a matter of civil rights and human dignity, not simply as a matter of religious teaching. We are doubly unfaithful - both to our religious convictions and to our democratic responsibilities - if we fail to support the right to life of the unborn child. Our duties to social justice by no means end there. But they do always begin there, because the right to life is foundational.

For Catholics to take a "pro-choice" view toward abortion contradicts our identity and makes us complicit in how the choice plays out. The "choice" in abortion always involves the choice to end the life of an unborn human being. For anyone who sees this fact clearly, neutrality, silence or private disapproval are not options. They are evils almost as grave as abortion itself. If religious believers do not advance their convictions about public morality in public debate, they are demonstrating not tolerance but cowardice.

The civil order has its own sphere of responsibility, and its own proper autonomy, apart from the church or any other religious community. But civil authorities are never exempt from moral engagement and criticism, either from the church or its members. The founders themselves realized this.

The founders sought to prevent the establishment of an official state church. Given America's history of anti-Catholic nativism, Catholics strongly support the Constitution's approach to religious freedom. But the Constitution does not, nor was it ever intended to, prohibit people or communities of faith from playing an active role in public life. Exiling religion from civic debate separates government from morality and citizens from their consciences. That road leads to politics without character, now a national epidemic.

Words are cheap. Actions matter. If we believe in the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, we need to prove that by our actions, including our political choices. Anything less leads to the corruption of our integrity. Patriotism, which is a virtue for people of all faiths, requires that we fight, ethically and nonviolently, for what we believe. Claiming that "we don't want to impose our beliefs on society" is not merely politically convenient; it is morally incoherent and irresponsible.

As James 2:17 reminds us, in a passage quoted in the final presidential debate, "Faith without works is dead." It is a valid point. People should act on what they claim to believe. Otherwise they are violating their own conscience, and lying to themselves and the rest of us.

I wonder if this gets any press in South Dakota too

You cannot be both Christian and pro-choice. The two are diametrically opposed—polar opposites. If you think you are both you are living a lie.

GOD BLESS YOU Archbishop Chaput! Thank you for your leadership.

Amen. Amen. Chaput is a genuine leader. I only wish there were many more like him among the Catholic leadership in the US.

Kerry's argument is specious. Sounds good, but it's false.

Suppose that the argument were about driving while in an extreme state of drunkeness. Would Kerry dare to say that he opposes such action, but can not legislate against it because he can't force his views on the public?

Can Kerry say that he cannot oppose the views of the terrorists because THEIR religion says it's okay to kill Americans, that therefor he cannot legislate against anyone else's religion?

G.K. Chesterton: “Moral issues are always terribly complex, for someone without principles.”

Bingo!

Ping...

BUMP

Chaput should be a cardinal.

Kerry's argument is specious. Sounds good, but it's false.

Not only that, but no matter what side you take, you impose that philosophy on the public. How else do we explain the law of Roe V Wade?

Abortion is legal because a point of view was imposed on all of us. The Supreme Court thought their philosophy was better than God's.

Super! Bump!

Can't Be Right -- Fr. Frank Pavone National Director, Priests for Life

"An honest look at what an abortion is, and at how many victims it claims, is enough to reveal that nothing outweighs its gravity among the many "life issues." Multiple Church documents have confirmed this insight, repeating over and over that the abortion tragedy demands urgent attention and priority."

"If you permit abortion, then, on what basis do you defend the other rights? Why do we care for the poor? Because they have a right to food, clothing, and shelter. But why do they have a right to those things? Because they have a right to live. Why are we concerned about unemployment? Because people have a right to make a living. Why do they have that right? Because they have a right to live. It all comes back to that foundational right. Abortion is not the only issue, but neither is the foundation of a house the only part of a house. Take it away, however, and see how well you can build the rest. "

Very true!

Mother Teresa said that the infants murdered in the womb were the poorest of the poor.

Not to defend them just because you think the democrats fund social programs is a grave injustice.

Catholics Refusing to Defend Morality "Demonstrating Cowardice"

The son of God became a son of men so sons of men could become sons of God.

St. Athanasius Died 373 A.D.

Chaput is a good man. He was out front and center with a zero tolerance policy on sexual abuse, and he's on the side of the angels in this election.