And, of course, the Catechism states that it is the right and duty of legitimate public authority to defend the innocent. It is a secular matter and an individual layperson's political opinion is just as valid as a bishop's, the argument for or against must be made through reason.
That's why the American bishops are joining the moratorium crowd, they can never say it is inherently immoral.
Had to straighten my pastor out on that one. And I told him the best argument for the anti-penalty crowd, in my opinion, is all those cases in Illinois where men were convicted on coerced confessions and other false evidence. That would have been knowingly killing an innocent, an inherently immoral act. But I still think the death penalty is appropriate and should be applied when necessary.
Same sort of thing applies to the immigration debate. The public authorities responsible for the common good have the right to make immigration subject to 'juridical considerations'. And immigrants have the responsibility to respect the laws of the host country. My political opinion on what those 'juridical considerations' should be has the same standing and validity as any Cardinal's.
You explain that very well. Unfortunately, the non-Catholic public, or even some Catholics, don't understand that and when a news flash comes on TV that Cardinal Mahony is encouraging people to break the civic laws, it's touted as some "official" position of the Church.
The USCCB is an advisory body (maybe sorta similar to the AMA for doctors or the Rotary Club for business people). They do not have the authority to invent new doctrines or force their members to comply with a 'majority' viewpoint. But if we look at their stances on capital punishment, immigration, sex-ed, "justice", etc, apparently they are making up their own little version of Catholicism.
Where the difficulty comes in, is the obedience issue. Priests must obey their bishop. We must obey the bishops....but what about when they are wrong?
For example, many bishops supported Kerry for President, yet a Catholic cannot, under pain of moral sin, vote for a candidate who knowingly and deliberately promotes abortion.
Many bishops are forcing these immoral "talking about touching" programs on little children. Parents have been outraged across the country, some simply keeping their children out of the programs, others forming an alternative, Catholic-based curriculum (as in my own parish).
When our bishops become an obstruction to our faith, what is our individual responsibility as Catholics, as citizens? And what about the poor priests caught in the middle, like Fr. Altier?
You are clearly knowledgeable about these matters, would be interested in your thoughts.