Sen. Biden’s inbox

He has another piece of correspondence from more bishops of the Church to help clarify the teachings of the faith that he and some of his colleagues are misrepresenting in the media.

This one is from Chaput.

When Catholics serve on the national stage, their actions and words impact the faith of Catholics around the country. As a result, they open themselves to legitimate scrutiny by local Catholics and local bishops on matters of Catholic belief. In 2008, although NBC probably didn’t intend it, Meet the Press has become a national window on the flawed moral reasoning of some Catholic public servants.

Flawed moral reasoning presented as matters of arbitrary judment is scandalous to the public, and misleading on true matters of social justice.

Since there seems to be, in the public mind, a division of two camps of Catholics into the ‘peace and social justice crowd’ and the ‘pro-life crowd’, clarity is definitely needed here, too. Chaput is good on that…

In his interview, the senator observed that other people with strong religious views disagree with the Catholic approach to abortion. It’s certainly true that we need to acknowledge the views of other people and compromise whenever possible – but not at the expense
of a developing child’s right to life. Abortion is a foundational issue; it is not an issue like housing policy or the price of foreign oil. It always involves the intentional killing of an innocent life, and it isalways, grievously wrong. If, as Sen. Biden said, “I’m prepared as a matter of faith [emphasis added] to accept that life begins at the moment of conception,” then he is not merely wrong about the science of new life; he also fails to defend the innocent life he already knows is there.

So his argument about everything else is incoherent. And intellectually dishonest.

In his Meet the Press interview, Sen. Biden used a morally exhausted argument that American
Catholics have been hearing for 40 years: i.e., that Catholics can’t “impose” their religiously based views on the rest of the country. But resistance to abortion is a matter of human rights, not religious opinion. And the senator knows very well as a lawmaker that all law involves the imposition of some people’s convictions on everyone else. That is the nature of the law.

Good reminder that we’re all values voter. Someone’s values will prevail in an election.

American Catholics have allowed themselves to be bullied into accepting the destruction of more than a million developing unborn children a year. Other people have imposed their “pro-choice” beliefs on American society without any remorse for decades.

That’s another thing that’s destined to change.