Senator Santorum

In “Santorum Defends Specter Campaign” (June 20-26), Catholic Sen. Rick Santorum proposes a reason for his sad and tragic support for the re-election of abortion advocate Arlen Specter to the U.S. Senate.

Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis recently re-emphasized the Holy Father's concern over how “the moral gravity of abortion ‘has become progressively obscured’ in our time.” In order to combat this tendency, we must “have the courage to look the truth in the eye and to call things by their proper name” (Evangelium Vitae, No. 58): Sen. Arlen Specter is a committed advocate for the legality of directly slaughtering pre-born children. Such a position is dramatically antithetical to the moral law and the most basic duty of civil government to protect the innocent from bloodshed. This means that Specter is at least as unworthy of Catholic support as a proponent of terrorism, slavery or genocide.

How grave is Santorum's advocacy for such a candidate? According to Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs, when a Catholic supports such a culture-of-death candidate for office, they “may not receive holy Communion.” In addition, Santorum recently affirmed that he would “require” legal abortion in cases involving “life of the mother, rape and incest.” This is from his most recent candidate survey filed with the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference.

Should he “obstinately persist” in such a position, according to Canon 915, he must be just as surely excluded from the reception of holy Communion as John Kerry.

Jesus Christ is in no way partisan. Should a politician on either side of the aisle violate “non-negotiable ethical principles” and thus affirm the deadly secularist moral relativism in the culture, they may not be admitted to holy Communion. Every member of Christ's mystical body has the duty to witness to the horror of abortion according to his or her state in life. Sen. Santorum's obvious and scandalous failure to do so significantly undermines the efforts of the Church as a whole — which he presumes to criticize.

PATRICK DELANEY, Madison, Wisconsin

The writer is a member of Pro-Life Wisconsin's speakers' bureau.

Sen. Santorum Replies:

The writer questions my support for pro-choice Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., as a pro-life Catholic member of Congress. My remarks in the Register and in CRISIS magazine answer this question. Republicans hold a narrow Senate majority, only 51 seats. If Republicans lose the majority, we lose our ability to schedule debates and votes on pro-life initiatives in the next Congress. A primary defeat for Sen. Specter would have hurt our pro-life Republican majority and pro-life President, George W. Bush and, thus, the pro-life cause.

Regarding the likelihood of Sen. Specter becoming the next Judiciary Committee chairman: It's important for Catholics to keep in mind that, without Arlen Specter's support, Clarence Thomas would not have been confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. Furthermore, the senator has backed all President Bush's judicial nominees, including filibustered nominees. And one correction regarding my pro-life positions — I would not require exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.

RICK SANTORUM, Washington, D.C.

The writer is a Republican senator from Pennsylvania.

Celibacy: Now More Than Ever

The letter by Ronna Devincenzi, “Stamp Out Celibacy?” (Aug. 8-14), is a good example of “not thinking with the Church.” First, she dismisses the opinion of 269 U.S. seminarians just because they are free to leave and some may not go on to be priests. That is like saying medical students in school don't know what it takes to be a doctor because some may drop out.

Then she cringes at the thought of a priest being an icon of Christ. In fact, it has always been understood that a priest is called to be “another Christ.” He acts in persona Christi. When he consecrates the bread and wine at Mass, he says, “This is my body” and “This is the cup of my blood.” He does not say, “This is Christ's body” and “This is Christ's blood.” When he forgives sins in the confessional, he says, “I absolve you,” not “Christ absolves you.”

Perhaps it is the symbol of marriage that best shows the priest's connection to the Church. He is wedded to the Church. He is the bridegroom and the mystical body of Christ — the Church — is his bride. The priest is called to love, serve and even give his life for the Church, just as Christ did. That is why a priest is called Father. He brings forth spiritual children by administering the sacraments and serving the needs of his congregation.

Next, she says “to say that Jesus had the gift of celibacy is to deny his divinity.” Jesus is a divine person, but he has two natures, a human and a divine. His divine nature was always in line with the Father's will. But his human nature was subject to temptation, just as we are. (See the narrative on the agony in the garden in Luke 22:42-43.)

To be a Catholic priest is to be engaged in a spiritual enterprise. We are also engaged in a spiritual battle. The secular de-Christianizing forces are striving to suppress any public display of the Kingdom of Christ. Thanks to our sex-saturated society, the witness of clerical celibacy is needed now more than ever.

JOSEPH GESING, Silver Creek, Georgia

Carl, Converts and a Growing Congregation

Just a few words to inform you just how much we enjoy Carl E. Olson's “Spirit and Life” columns. Mr. Olson is a very gifted and excellent writer who can say much in a few words.

Converts to our Catholic Church from evangelical and fundamentalist churches bring much richness and blessings to our Church. With countless problems in our Catholic Church, the Lord's grace is moving many souls to join the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church that Jesus established. God is indeed good!

Those of us who are cradle Catholics must pray and be well informed about our Catholic faith. We need to always make anyone interested in the Catholic Church feel right at home.

Our family is blessed to be part of a Byzantine Catholic Church in San Luis Obispo. At this friendly parish, no newcomer is a stranger, since any new face is greeted and invited to join us for refreshments (free) after Mass. Yes, the Lord is good indeed! In eight years, the congregation has doubled — thanks to a beautiful, reverent liturgy, orthodox and inspiring sermons, and a warm and friendly congregation.

Back to Carl E. Olson — we thank God for you and the many gifts that you have brought into the Catholic Church. Keep up the good work. We look forward to continuing to read your columns in the Register.

MR. AND MRS. CONSTANTINO N. SANTOS

Atascadero, California

No Clear Choice in This Campaign

The Register has recently printed numerous articles and letters suggesting that all Catholics express a pro-life position at the ballot box in the coming presidential election. The clear implication is that we (must) vote for President Bush. This attitude is myopic and ignores Catholic social teaching and the teaching of our Lord in the Gospels.

The Bush administration, consistent with the Republican Party's mission to enrich the wealthy and impoverish the poor, has shifted enormous wealth from the lower and middle classes to the wealthy, has siphoned billions from our treasury for a war of dubious necessity, has continued a decades-old refusal by Republicans to raise the minimum wage to a level above servitude, has cut many social programs while billions are lost to corruption and has overseen the transfer of thousands of jobs to the Third World.

These policies and many others have caused great suffering among the poor and needy all over the world. By making abortion the only issue in the election, the Catholic press gives credence to the left's charge that we are more interested in the unborn than the living.

The Register ought to present a balanced picture of our political and social landscape instead of campaigning for one candidate over the other. If Catholic social teachings are to be our guide in the voting booth, clearly neither of the candidates is worthy of the Catholic vote.

FERDE ROMBOLA

Beverly, Massachusetts

Real Marriage

Regarding your editorial “How to Defend Marriage” (July 25-Aug. 7):

Women and men feel, think and express themselves differently, but in ways that can complete them both. This I call complementarity. (See the Catechism, Nos. 372, 2333 and 2357.)

In traditional “marriages,” children begin dealing with and learning from these differences early on and begin building fulfilling relationships. Good relationships require work and sacrifice.

In same-sex marriages, the children would not be able to deal with and learn from complementarity. This would leave them seriously handicapped in forming realistic expectations of others and achieving lasting and fulfilling relationships.

If same-sex marriages become acceptable in communities, the whole idea of complementarity will become unimportant. Achieving good relationships will become much harder. This will cause more disorder and suffering in families and larger communities.

These readily observable facts are why those who defend marriage feel so strongly about it and are so opposed to allowing same-sex “marriages.” Catholics owe it to those who think and feel otherwise to try to explain that the Catholic Church teaches that homosexual desires are not sinful unless the person intends to carry out homosexual acts. This is explained in the Catechism 2357-2359.

In “Swedish Pastor Gets Jail Term for Anti-Homosexuality Sermon” (July 18-24), the word “homosexuality” was used to mean the same thing as homosexual acts. It gives the false impression that the Church teaches that “homosexuality” is always condemned by the Bible and the Church. This misunderstanding makes an already difficult teaching much more difficult to understand.

FATHER WILLIAM HOCHHEIM

Jacksonville, Florida