Fate, I think you have it wrong. The Catholic Church tries to legislate morality by educating it’s faithful on morals. Period.
The Catholic Church is simply asking Catholic Politicians to act like Catholic Politicians. You can’t say, “I’m Catholic, and it’s a sin to have an abortion”, and then turn around and say, “An abortion is a woman’s right”.
If the United States (or any other democracy) wants abortions to be legal, they should elect politicians that believe that way. But it’s hypocritical to see guys like John Kerry go to communion and then go to a “Planned Parenthood” rally.
I’ve been away, so I haven’t had a chance to respond. In government, society, etc… there are positive and negative actions. Saying that “government should not make a law legislating a moral issue” is
not saying that “people have a right to do this”. The job of a politician is not to represent their personal beliefs - it is to be a mediator for the people. Catholicism asserts that abortion is wrong. Not every church does so. Now, you may argue (and indeed be correct), that those churches are wrong, but that does not stop that view from being existant.
Government exists to prevent rule by the strongest. Without laws against fraud, theft, murder, abuse - society would not be able to function. Frankly, I do not agree with a lot of legislation on pornography - a moral issue. But that said, legislation that is designed to prevent exploitation of individuals (non-willing or non-informed consent) pass back into the realm of non-morality and about interaction of society.
The problem with legislating moral issues is that having an authority say “this is wrong” without any backing as to
why that is wrong, will result in people ignoring that authority. Thus, we create a situation where people willingly ignore the government in critical areas because it has attempted to make a moral decision. If a church says “this is wrong” - then they have a moral backing and framework to work from.
The cold hard truth is that as long as their are coat hangers and desperation, there will be abortions. Would you rather they happen underground unheard? If you want to prevent abortion - focus on those doing and performing them, and keep government out. All government can do here is make a horrible circumstance even worse.
Now, that said, I see a very large difference in what you are saying about Kerry. He is, according to you, performing a positive action (attending a planned parenthood rally). There is a difference between not creating a law making something illegal, and passing laws to make something views as immoral gain moral respect.
Here’s the thing - a politican isn’t
only representing the people that voted for him, he is also representing the people that voted
against him as well. A politican has a moral obligation to take into account
all views of the people he represents - Catholic or not. Would you view an elected Protestant that made using wine and bread during church services illegal a moral person?
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that government shouldn’t legislate morality, but it also shouldn’t promote things like abortion. A politician voting against an anti-abortion law, is far different than a politician passing laws
for abortion.
