In the Feb. 17 edition of the Catholic News Herald, a letter to the editor decried President Donald Trump’s “anti-people actions” concerning immigration and criticized other Catholics thusly: “Catholics strongly supported President Donald Trump on the single issue of abortion, but apparently didn’t listen to the other threats being made over a lengthy presidential campaign.”
We voters almost always have to consider a slate of candidates who do not all consistently adhere to the principles of our Catholic faith. So we must either abstain from the political process or make imperfect choices in voting. Choosing a candidate requires us to establish priorities among the issues. This is difficult, but the Church gives us help: “There are some things we must never do, as individuals or as a society... These are called ‘intrinsically evil’ actions. They must always be rejected and opposed and must never be supported or condoned. A prime example is the intentional taking of innocent human life, as in abortion and euthanasia” (“Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops).
Therefore, I considered the American slaughter of approximately one million unborn children to be the preeminent issue in my decision to vote against Secretary Hilary Clinton, an avid supporter of abortion. In my opinion, every disagreeable action Mr. Trump has taken pales in comparison to the fundamentally “anti-people” act of abortion which his opponent absolutely would have championed.
Charles R. Splawn is a member of Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro.
Regarding the Feb. 3 commentary “Why Goodness Depends on God,” Bishop Barron seems to have overlooked some recent research comparing the religious and non-believers. For example: “Religion does not make one moral,” published in the Sept. 11, 2014, edition of “Science”; “Secular family life is at least as moral and ethical as religious family life,” published in the Jan. 14, 2015, edition of the Los Angeles Times; and by that same author, Phil Zuckerman: “Democratic countries with the lowest levels of religious faith and participation today – such as Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Belgium and New Zealand – have among the lowest violent crime rates in the world and enjoy remarkably high levels of societal well-being, and when it comes to nearly all standard measures of societal health, including homicide rates, the least theistic states within the USA generally fare much better than the most theistic” (Los Angeles Times, Oct. 30, 2015).
Tom Rafferty lives in Charlotte.