Dear Editor: A citizen who votes for a politician who seeks to oppress the poor for political or economic gain is violating Catholic teachings (Tom Byrnes, Politics and Abortion, Readers’ Forum, Nov. 17).
A citizen who votes for a politician who seeks to cut environmental regulations, that are in place to protect the general health and welfare of all human beings, for political gain, is in violation of Catholic teachings.
A citizen who votes for a politician who does not believe that every human being, born or unborn, is a gift from God to the world, and therefore worthy of equal love and respect is violating Catholic teaching.
STEPHEN TRANI
Via website
Is there any politician in either mainstream party who fits this mandate? What is a Catholic to do?
How does the practicing Catholic vote? Is there any politician of either party who is the ideal candidate?
Dear Siobhan,
In answer to your question: there are no politicians, right now, who fit this mandate. The sticking points seem to be abortion and poverty.
Abortion, I believe is a very complex issue. Firstly, there is no doubt in my mind that a fertilized egg deserves all the love and respect as a born human being. But women have been oppressed for years ! They are expected to dress in a certain way to prevent men with uncontrollable urges from attacking them. Men, it seems , have no control over their urges so women cannot complain if they are assaulted. If they become pregnant then they are told that their bodies are not their own but vessels to deliver God’s gift to the world.
Abortion, I believe , is a confluence of toxic masculinity being expressed and women reclaiming their own bodies. Therefore abortion will never end through legislation. It will only end when women are convinced of the truth that the child is indeed a gift from God to the world and not just a product of violence. It will end when people value human life over money.
Poverty in America is a conscious decision to value money, success, and economic progress over human life.
A theologian once wrote that “we are called to follow Jesus who was poor, and serve Christ who is in the poor.”
The only way to end poverty, and in turn, demonstrate to women that society , in general, values human life above all is to institute the Church teaching of “preferential option for the poor”.
I will continue to vote for the candidates who support the majority of my beliefs. That is the best I can do.
I am with you on that !!!
Stephen Trani,
I’m just a little troubled over your comments:
“Abortion, I believe , is a confluence of toxic masculinity being expressed and women reclaiming their own bodies.” We must not forget that when a woman is pregnant there are “two” bodies and because of an unjust law, men who are the fathers and without who the little girl/boy could not have come into existence, have no rights on whether this child, his child, lives or dies. And while I agree women were mistreated in the past that is no reason to allow her to exercise her “unjust right” to destroy another life, a female perhaps, potential woman, in the process. Remember half of the 50 million children destroyed through the violence of abortion were female. Where are their rights?
Helping the poor is a high priority for me but it doesn’t have the same urgency as protecting these innocent children from the instruments of death, abortion. The unborn child is not even allowed to live and be helped out of any poverty that she/he might need.