As a faithful reader of Liguorian for over thirty years, I was appalled by the extremely liberal article “The Faithful Vote.” It is a passive-aggressive assault against the current White House administration.
The opening paragraph sets the stage for this charade of an effort to displace Catholics to shirk the preeminent issue of life when making a decision regarding their votes. Catholics are not lemmings focused solely on abortion; although, as stated, it is certainly a preeminent issue which can’t be dismissed. Dramatic gains have been made by the current administration to restore this country to a government that believes and fights for the rights of Christians—even Catholic Christians.
If you think back to the eight-year reign prior, our country was in moral decay. During that time, our Lord’s name became a bad word. Prayer was prohibited in schools. The sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman was obliterated. Convents and religious institutions were sued for not offering birth control in their health plans, requiring them to appeal…to the Supreme Court. Christians were prosecuted for defending their moral religious beliefs, [for example,] refusal to bake a cake for a homosexual marriage.
I used to value your publication as a source for moral guidance, without a “filter.” If you have any semblance of a well-formed Catholic moral conscience, you will publish this letter to provide a different side of this position.
Chris G., FL
I appreciated Michael Wright’s article, “The Faithful Vote” (September 2020). Voters should consider the many aspects involved in various life issues. The availability of affordable housing, accessible health care, and insurance are factors that make it possible for a woman to choose life. Issues such as poverty, crime, immigration, jobs with paid maternity leave, and funding of public education—especially special-needs education—also need to be addressed. Many voters who consider themselves pro-life are pro-choice when it comes to schooling. But how many of these “unexpected” mothers have the option to send their disabled or behaviorally challenged child to a Catholic school? In my diocese it isn’t an option, and children are forced to attend public school.
These kinds of services could actually bring down the abortion rate, rather than simply removing rights by opposing Roe vs. Wade. Consider what happened in Ireland, where abortion was outlawed for many decades, and now that edict has been overturned. The same could happen in the US if we are satisfied with merely changing laws and don’t do enough to address the real issues behind abortion.
Maribeth M., TX
