Matt C. Abbott
'Obama Catholic' defends Douglas Kmiec - - a little bit
By Matt C. Abbott
A reader, "James," recently sent me the following e-mail (unedited, save for his real name, as are his subsequent e-mails printed below):
Pray for "James," Douglas Kmiec, and the numerous other misguided Catholics (and non-Catholics, of course) in our society.
And please don't forget to pray for me and my family members.
Related Web site:
Priests for Life: Political Responsibility Center
© Matt C. Abbott
A reader, "James," recently sent me the following e-mail (unedited, save for his real name, as are his subsequent e-mails printed below):
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Dear Mr. Abott:
If you vote for John McCain, you vote for the indefinate continuance of an "illegal and unjust war" (Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict); for torture (McCain voted to permit the CIA to use waterboarding); for decreased regulation of the greedy CEOs and corporations (it is true that McCain has now flip-flopped on this; I believe the past history of his own statements and the Republican Party's past actions). His running mate, Sarah Palin, shows no need to protect the creation (the environment) that sustains all biological life, including our own, which is threatened by GREED , the GREED that is the strongest root of abortion. All these are serious issues which our church has stated its opposition to; these issues affect millions of lives, cost hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars.
The greatest threat to the unborn is the MATERIALISM and GREED of this society, the sins which most Americans commit, that places material gain and profit first in their lives. Greed is causing the threatened extinction of many species on which our life depends; greed has resulted in the dwindling of fish populations on which many depend for their life and livelihood; greed has resulted in rising prices for food the world over. Greed and the desire to protect material wealth has led billions to be spent on weapons, including those of mass destruction.
There is no law that requires a woman to have an abortion in this country. Barak Obama does not support making abortion illegal at this time, but he does support measures that would reduce the number of abortions and believes that abortion should be rare. Passing a law against abortion will not stop the rampant materialism and greed that is at its root.
I believe that you as a single issue pro-life Catholic are being used by the powerful and wealthy of this country to support their true agenda- destroying our constitutional democracy and our freedoms. As evidence of this, President Bush's FIRST priority upon his relection was not the murder of innocent babies, but social security 'reform'- a reform that would have bankrupted social security and given more money for the greedy financiers to blow through risky speculation in the pursuit of the idol of profit.
The Pharisees of old were convinced of their righteousness, the righteousness of the true worship of God. Pray about this. Many German Catholics and Christians were avidly anti-communist. Blinded to every other issue, blinded by the virtues of patriotism and love of country, they voted for Hitler. They supported Hitler's war on Communism. No evil compares to Hitler- but the underlying principle is the same. Your single mindedness in pursuing only a legal solution to ending abortion is blinding you to the greater sum of evil that lurks beneath and supports it. I believe that supporting John McCain is to support threats to life far greater than the single issue of abortion. In supporting Obama, I am fully in the guidelines set by the Conference of Catholic Bishops for being a Catholic and voting my conscience, as is Mr. Kmiec.
Let us pray for one another and all the candidates.
Sincerely,
[name redacted]
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Thank you for the note, [name redacted]. I strongly disagree with you, but I appreciate your sincerity.
Cordially,
Matt C. Abbott
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Mr. Abbott,
Thank you for your polite response to my letter. You say you 'strongly disagree' with me, but give no rebuttal. The question is not whether you agree with me or not, but to what degree what I say is of God; which is up to you and the Spirit to discern. Communism is idolatrous, but its CONCERN for the poor and oppressed was valid and is recognized as so by our Church. Again, German Catholics were right to be opposed to communism, but wrong to avoid looking at their own sin, and wrong to support Hitler in a war for 'lebensraum' and for worldly power and wealth. That is my message to you; you are right to oppose abortion, but I strongly believe that you are wrong to focus on it and ignore the greater rot underneath- materialism, greed, and lust for power that threatens ALL of life here on earth, including the unborn.
We are responsible to God for our thoughts and actions. The Bible clearly shows that most human beings (all have sinned-ALL fall short- that includes me, but perhaps you don't fit) can often be hard headed, think that they are clearly right, and get it wrong. That is why I believe we must LISTEN to one another and not pre-judge.
I leave you to pray and consider these words, and may we both grow ever deeply ONE in Christ's life and peace.
Your brother in Christ,
[name redacted]
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I've found that giving a "rebuttal" to someone who clearly disagrees with me on a particular subject usually turns into a fruitless debate. I've heard all the arguments. There is nothing I can say that will change your mind on this matter (or any other); you have decided to support Barack Obama.
My position is quite simple: I will never vote for a candidate who supports legalized abortion. All the sophistry, pious platitudes and insinuations aren't going to change my mind. We could go back and forth on this until Kingdom Come, but our minds will not be changed.
Perhaps one or more of the priests I've quoted in my column would be open to corresponding with you. You might want to try contacting one or more of them if you wish to engage in an e-mail debate.
That's going to be the extent of my "rebuttal."
Cordially,
Matt
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Matt,
If you do not wish to 'debate' with me, fine. I don't either. It is up to the Spirit to enform and enlighten us. I have spoken what I believe Truth bids me to. It is up to the Spirit and history to judge which is correct, trusting God working in and through all. Obama and McCain are both politicians, and neither is fully in accordance with Christ. The only thing I ask of you, is to please stop questioning my Catholicism (and that of Mr. Kmiec) on the basis of how I vote on a single issue. The guidance of the Catholic bishops conference and our church is that one cannot vote for a politician BECAUSE he is 'for' abortion; it does give me the latitude of my own conscience to vote for a candidate who is pro-choice on the basis of other moral concerns and issues. As I have presented to you, I believe the whole of the issues do not support John McCain and a consistent ethic of life. You have the right to disagree with me. That does not make me less a 'Catholic.'
Let us together pray that we realize more that we are temples of God with God dwelling in us, and live on the basis of that reality.
[name redacted]
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Fellow brother in Christ, Matt,
My last e-mail, I said I did not wish to debate either. What I added was only that you understand (not agree with) my position, and respect my conscience. I believe that it is well within what official Catholic church teaching permits. The individual who you requested or allowed to respond to my letter, which I did not ask for, apparently has no official standing in our Church with respect to faith and morals. I assume that if he had, he would have said so. If you wish to present what I have said to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for an official ruling, fine. (Although certainly I would wish to better present my thought than just those e-mails to you.) But I do not wish to debate with you or others who have no official standing nor final authority as to faith and morals in our church.
With respect and prayers,
[name redacted]
Pray for "James," Douglas Kmiec, and the numerous other misguided Catholics (and non-Catholics, of course) in our society.
And please don't forget to pray for me and my family members.
Related Web site:
Priests for Life: Political Responsibility Center
© Matt C. Abbott
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