WOVEN OF ONE CLOTH

Woven of one cloth, the sanctity of each stage and condition of life invites us to affirm and uphold the next. In the 1980s, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago led the U.S. Bishops in advancing this consistent ethic of life. From “womb” to “tomb” life is to be protected because people are made in the image of God. It is a garment that cannot be hung and held in the wardrobe of one candidate or campaign. It will not be contained.

Bishop Hermann’s October 10th column in the St. Louis Review, focused on abortion and the election. He urged Catholics who were considering voting for a pro-choice candidate not to be angry with him, but instead to read their catechisms. His implication was that so called “good Catholics” would find this catalogue of church teaching confirmation of Bishop Hermann’s contention that opposition to abortion trumps all other life issues. Save the children was the mantra of his column.

Not angry, but puzzled and wanting to save as many children as I can, I sat before my catechism and read:

That those suffering from “material deprivation, unjust oppression, physical and psychological illness and death” are the object of the Church’s preferential love. Catholics are to “work for their relief, defense, and liberation” through charity as well as supporting a just wage.

That "concern for the health of its citizens requires that society help in the attainment of living-conditions that allow them to grow and reach maturity: food and clothing, housing, health care, basic education, employment, and social assistance."

That the evils associated with war demand all citizens and governments to work and pray for the avoidance of war and that the role of rich nations is to not only aid poor nations in development, but to also to "reform international economic and financial institutions so that they will better promote equitable relationships with less advanced countries.”

With the United Nations documenting that over 30,000 children die each day of malnutrition and treatable diseases, why would Catholics base the decision about candidates only on their positions on abortion? When children make-up over half the civilian casualties in Iraq each month, why would a Catholic’s concern for the unborn cause her to overlook children living under the daily threat of U.S. fire power? Is there not room in the voting booth for the lives of children jeopardized by poverty, disease and war?

The U.S. Bishops addressed these questions in their Faithful Citizenship statement. They stated:

"A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter's intent is to support that position... At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate's opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity “

Respecting the conscience of each Catholic voter, the Bishops say “There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil.”

Let’s take all the children into the voting booth with us. Can we allow our grave moral concerns for the sanctity of each life hanging in the balance to form our consciences and direct our ballot decisions?

Bishop Herman urges Catholics to unravel the garment of the consistent ethic of life and select only one strand on which to hang their votes. But our commitment to the sacredness of human life is too tightly woven. It will not be torn into pieces. It is one cloth swaddling each and every child, protecting life from “womb” to “tomb.”

Catholic Action Network Board of Directors