G
Gerry_Hunter
Guest
What conservative Catholics may think or do is neither here nor there. And it seems we clearly have an assumption that US, or even North American, Catholics somehow set the tone.
The important thing is the teaching of the Church. And that teaching is very clear that the death penalty, although not illicit, is to be used by states only when there is no alternative to it for maintaining justice and order. Pope John Paul II made it clear that, in much of the world, the developed world in particular, there are alternatives.
So the teaching squares, yes.
The enemy of my enemy is not my friend. He may become a situational ally, but seldom are friendships formed on that basis, history has taught. The groups that made up Yugoslavia did very well together under Soviet threat. So did Czechs and Slovaks in Czechoslovakia. None remained together when the threat disappeared. The latter parted, though civilly, and the former went for each other’s throats.
This is rather confused. Not all pro-lifers are Catholic. And contraception is a mortal sin, no matter how many Catholics may commit it.
St. Thomas Aquinas gave us the criteria in situations of double effect. The first one is that the act producing the double effect must be either morally licit or morally neutral. Contraception is not morally licit, so it fails this test, and is not a legitimate way to reduce abortion.
I’m not up to speed on the details of the brouhaha in the US at the moment. However, the teaching of the Church is that, when faced with two choices in a situation such as a vote on legislation, the choice to be made is the one that limits harm the most. That would be a pertinent consideration. However, even if that consideration led to voting for a bill that included support for contraception, it would not end the issue for the Catholic. It would be but a step on the way, with clearly more work to be done.
As for helping poor women who wish to carry to term, making broad based sex education available because it works, helping those who wish to adopt, that’s a curate’s egg. I know Catholic Family Services here in Metro Vancouver is one of the leaders (if not the leader) in supporting needy pregnant mothers and promoting adoptions. They are not atypical.
And the education that is being pushed in most public school systems has, in fact, not worked that way at all. It is interesting to note that one of the biggest promoters of broad based sex education is Planned Parenthood. They are also one of the (if not the) largest of abortion facilities in the US (where it’s for profit). That education has proven very good for business.
And of course, in line with the theme of the thread, the Catholic Church is represented as anti-women for all this, which is total misrepresentation.
Blessings,
Gerry
