Catholic values in a hostile political climate

This is the first post to my blog in quite awhile; I have been busy with my hobby of genealogy, daily mass, daily rosary group, Knights of Columbus and SVDP activities, reading, and Pro Life rallies.

I attended a “Walk for Life” to an abortion clinic in Fort Myers yesterday with our Bishop, The Most Rev. Frank J. Dewane, Bishop of Venice in Florida.

As I become more involved with the Pro Life Movement; on one hand I am continually amazed and disheartened by the numbers of people opposed to the Pro Life Movement and approving of abortion; on the other hand I am encouraged by the fact that more and more people (especially younger people) are joining the Pro Life side of this issue. Current polls on this issue indicate a larger and larger percentage of people in the United States favor at least some restrictions on abortion and an even larger percentage do not believe that their tax dollars should be used to fund abortion.

Sadly, this issue has become a “political issue”. The issue is not at all a political issue however, people on both sides have made it more of a political issue rather than the “moral issue” that it is. Since my last post on this blog, I have started two discussion threads on the “Catholic Answers Forum” and both went to over 1000 posts debating between the Pro Life and “Pro Choice” (as they call themselves) positions. During all of these opposing posts it became obvious that the Pro Life and “Pro Choice” individuals were split by not only Pro Life and “Pro Choice” but also by their overall politics (Democrat and Republican); this is obviously because one of these parties has adopted a Pro Life Platform and the other has adopted a “Pro Choice” (approve of abortion) platform. If both sides could agree that this is NOT a political issue but a moral one maybe they could look at it more objectively.

 
The Bishop spoke of the terrible names and fowl language he has been subjected to during his many “Walks for Life”. Those that engage in this name calling in support of abortion are terribly misinformed and mislead by those who support abortion for political and monetary reasons. This is truly what Christ meant when he said “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great”
And remember Christ was once an embryo in Mary’s womb and he also said this; “Whatever you do unto these, the least of my brethren, you also do unto me.”

Pro Life people are often accused by “Pro Choice” people of being one issue voters and claim that they themselves are not pro abortion, but favor other social issues of the “Pro Choice” party. This position displays a lack of understanding of the serious nature of abortion (the killing of an innocent child). I heard of a good teaching method recently to demonstrate the Pro Life position about single issue voting, it goes like this;
If you are sitting in your favorite restaurant contemplating all of the various political issues and their priorities and a gunman enters the restaurant and sticks a gun in your ear and threatens to blow your brains out, which of all the issues your were just contemplating is now your top priority? This is exactly the position of the baby in the womb; however, he/she is unable to speak for him/her self. Did you just become a single issue voter?

On a human level it appears to me to be a no brainer; as I have stated in previous post on this blog, it has become obvious to me that those who are “Pro Choice” must voluntarily remain in a kind of state of denial. They refuse to expose themselves to any kind of video, pictures, or sounds that might cause them to realize what a horror abortion really is. One of the reasons more and more people are beginning to avoid abortion is because of the development of ultra-sound technology where by the mother, father, and medical personal can see the baby moving around and during actual abortions they can see the baby attempting to avoid the suction machine.

Bishop Dewane spoke of the possibility of aborting individuals that God had created to fix various ills in our society. He told about having people ask why God had not provided a cure for cancer as one example. Back years ago when I was a child, polio was the most dreaded disease around; and then someone discovered a vaccine and polio was beaten; why, was the question has no one discovered a vaccine or a cure for cancer. Bishop Dewane’s hypothesis was that maybe God did send an individual with the knowledge to find a cure; however, he or she never was born because of abortion. This certainly sounds to me to be the way God works.