An open letter to our Catholic Friends on Election Eve

Edward Morrissey and Elizabeth Scalia have written an open letter to their fellow Catholics reminding us that the foundation of our faith and of social justice is the sanctity of human life, and its origin. I highly recommend that all Catholics read their Our Faith Begins At Life before heading off to vote:

by Edward Morrissey and Elizabeth "The Anchoress" Scalia

Many of our Catholic friends support Barack Obama in the upcoming election, despite being the most radically pro-abortion presidential candidate in American history.  Other Catholics have publicly declared support for Obama as Catholics, arguing that their faith leads them to choose Obama over the pro-life candidate, John McCain.  We believe that they have overlooked in their arguments of "social justice" the foundation of our faith and of social justice: the sanctity of human life, and its origin.

It is not our intent to argue legalistically from the Catechism to our brethren.  We have both covered that extensively in posts over the last few months.  We want to remind our parishioners of the central fact that social justice has to start with the protection of innocent human life, and that our faith does not allow a trade between abortion and other social-justice policies.

A few months ago Doug Kmiec, a former official with the Reagan administration and prominent Catholic, made a public endorsement of Barack Obama and stated that Obama's noble intentions on a full range of social issues made the Senator's stance on abortion negligible. As Obama addressed every injustice, righted every wrong and wiped the tear from every eye, Kmiec seemed to reason, all of the complex social ills of the ages, from poverty, to war, to the death penalty and human rights would be suitably resolved and abortion would simply fall by the wayside as an issue.

Except, Obama has said himself that his very first act as President will not be some sweeping anti-poverty legislation; it will not be an end to war. "The first thing I'd do as president" Obama told NARAL, "is sign the Freedom of Choice Act".

Kmiec's argument might sound compelling to some - Denver's Archbishop Charles Chaput admits to having reasoned similarly about Jimmy Carter in 1976 - until one considers Obama's priorities. Under the heading of "human rights" Obama has made it clear - despite suggesting that the question of when a baby gets human rights as being "above" his "paygrade" - that in his mind a "woman's right to choose" is a most basic human right; a singular priority. So passionately does Obama believe this that the Senator, who rates a perfect 100% with NARAL, unhesitatingly supports the procedure known as "partial birth abortion," - an act so nakedly inhumane that his own running mate voted to ban it in 2003. And beyond that savagery, Obama has clearly articulated his position that a baby born alive during an attempted abortion should be refused medical attention.

Logically, then, a President Obama - whose presidency, we are told, will usher in a heyday for fundamental human rights - will always support abortion, even at its most extreme, even when its very definition changes to infanticide.  We have already seen Obama protect infanticide in a disturbing attempt to protect abortion in Illinois, and nothing he has said since shows any change of heart on this question.

The "abortion reduction agenda" which Obama mush-mouths and others, like Kmiec, seem to interpret as they wish, is a kind of "trickle down social economics:" once poverty is eradicated - presumably through higher taxes, higher energy prices, higher unemployment and the redistribution of wealth - once all of the priorities of war, famine, capitalism and injustice are taken care of (this would include absolutely ensuring "a woman's right to choose" in any circumstance) and all the complex and messy matters of humanity have been sufficiently resolved, well, then the abortion issue will simply melt away.

Excuse us, but we see this as nothing more than fantasy - the mirror image, in fact, of another fantasy, one that holds that a reversal of Roe v. Wade will simply "solve the problem" of abortion. In each case, the fiction is misplaced because it refuses to look at the human heart. President Bush said in 2005, "a true culture of life cannot be sustained solely by changing laws. We need most of all, to change hearts." He was given grief for that by some pro-lifers, but he was quite correct. Abortion has always existed, and it will always exist, as long as something remains broken within the human heart.

Even beyond this, though, consider why the Church supports social-justice issues.  Our faith does not emphasize fighting poverty and oppression as mere Boy Scout merit badges, or to give Catholics something to do on the weekends.  The emphasis on social justice springs from the foundational belief that all human life is sacred, anointed by God for His purposes, and not ours.  The need for social justice is for us to recognize the spark of divinity in all of us.

Please continue reading Our Faith Begins At Life.