Reaping the Whirlwind

Regarding “Pornography and Iraq” (Editorial, May 16-22):

Many Americans of all political persuasions have expressed outrage, dismay and calls for justice over the recent news of abuse of Iraqi detainees at the hands of some American military personnel. Since 1973, American society has promoted the violence of legal abortion as a Supreme Court-mandated right of individual privacy and choice — to the tune of an estimated 43 million abortions. It is ironic that those politicians who cannot even bring themselves to outlaw the procedure known as partial-birth abortion now shout the loudest over the acts against the imprisoned Iraqis.

The issues of abortion and the mistreatment of the prisoners are questions of basic human dignity. Is it really any surprise that these abuses occur at the hands of some members of our modern American culture, which has grown so callous to even the most innocent stage of life? One action we justify as “a woman's choice” while the other is called a crime against humanity. We are simply reaping what we have sown.

STEPHEN ROSCHER, Owings Mills, Maryland

Don't Judge Politicians

I feel your editorial on politicians, abortion and the Eucharist was put in a way that made it into a “black-and-white” issue (“On Receiving Communion,” May 9-15). Even the interview with Cardinal Theodore McCarrick (“Invigorated by the Holy Father,” Inperson, May 9-15) was more nuanced than your editorial.

When I read statements by some today such as the archbishop of St. Louis regarding politicians and Sen. John Kerry in particular, I cannot help but reflect on the incident in the Gospel when Mary Magdalen came to wash the feet of Jesus and dried them with her tears. The Pharisees at table said within themselves: “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman this is who touches him.” But Jesus vindicated her by saying to his host: “Many sins have been forgiven her because she has loved much.” The Pharisees also judged Jesus because he “eats and drinks with publicans and sinners.”

Is the judgment of politicians not running the risk of a similar judgment — and by that fact running the risk of going counter to the role of Jesus Christ as savior?

I think that, as Catholics, we need to be very slow to urge the bishops to use the Eucharist as a sanction or to state publicly that Kerry or any other Catholic politician is not a good Catholic. Particularly this year, it is important not to do anything that could be construed as an encouragement to vote for President Bush in November. His position against abortion is very weak in that he will do as little as possible in order to cater to a Catholic vote. But if we are saddled with four more years of Bush, we may have many other issues besides abortion to contend with — such as war, economy, environment and many other things. For this reason I feel that Catholics need to be very circumspect in judging whether Kerry or any other politician can be voted for.

FATHER JAMES CONNER, OCSO, Abbey of Gethsemani, Trappist, Kentucky

Qualifying for Communion

Regarding “On Receiving Communion” (Editorial, May 9-15):

It has been reported, of late, that Cardinal Francis Arinze, a Vatican official, has called on priests to stop granting Communion to politicians who vote for or advocate abortion. It has also been reported that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has a task force studying whether to sanction Catholic politicians who take stances contrary to Church doctrine.

And what political views shall the Church consider worthy of the sanction of barring from Communion? After more than 100 years of official Church documents on social issues, and as documented by the U.S. bishops' “Pastoral on Civic Responsibility,” it is clear that there are more areas of responsibility than just abortion. The pastoral states that “in accordance with God's plan for human society, we are called to commit ourselves to protect and promote the life and dignity of the human person and the common good of society as a whole. We must always remember God's special concern for the poor and vulnerable and make their needs our first priority in public life. We are concerned about a whole range of social issues: economic issues, labor, rights and responsibilities of every person, option for the poor and vulnerable, dignity of work and the rights of workers, solidarity (global) [and] care for God's creation.” These are the seven themes of Catholic social teaching and the heart of Catholic social tradition.

Abortion, although an important issue, is just one issue within just one of these tenets. Where are the outrage and the calls for sanctions against those politicians and candidates who publicly support the gutting of health-care programs for the most vulnerable groups of people? Where are the Church's efforts to discipline those who enact official governmental policies that destroy the earth and its resources? Will the Church refuse Communion to those who publicly support the expansion of the death penalty? Where is the outrage for those government officials who knowingly lie to justify the abandonment of international peace efforts in a rush to war?

If the Church is going to use access to Communion as a means of endorsing and condemning political candidates or those who publicly oppose any aspect of Catholic teachings, how many could pass [its] test?

MARTHA J. CAMELE, Cincinnati

Communion Rights

Regarding your editorial “On Receiving Communion” (May 9-15):

You write, “The Holy Father's words should inspire us with amazement at the great, unde-served gift of the Eucharist — and with horror that we would ever treat it as anyone's right.”

While I think I understand the point you are trying to make, I believe you have wandered (perhaps unintentionally) into troubled waters. Of course the Eucharist is a great, undeserved gift — perhaps the greatest gift God has given us. But to say that it is a gift does not negate the fact that baptized Christians in good standing with the Church absolutely have the right to receive it. This teaching is woven into the fabric of our worship. Near the end of the Rite of Baptism is a provision for the celebrant to state that the person who had just been baptized now enjoys the right to hear the Gospel and to receive the sacraments. So please don't try to remove that right in an overzealous attempt to protect the purity of the Eucharist.

Did we earn this right? Not at all. Can we forfeit this right through sin and willful disobedience? Absolutely. But neither of these truths negates the fact that I have the right to receive — and my pastor has an obligation to give me — Communion.

I for my part would love to be able to dance my way up the aisle on Sunday, amazed at my Father's love and overjoyed that he has invited me to receive his beloved Son in such an intimate way. If some want to shuffle up there, hat in hand like a beggar hoping for just a small morsel from a strict and stingy God, I suppose that this, too, is their right. Just don't tell me that I should be equally glum.

MARK JAMESON, Fruit Cove, Florida

The Voting Faithful

Regarding “Faith in the Spotlight” (April 25-May 1):

It's incredible, but true, that states with the largest Catholic populations also send the highest number of pro-abortion, anti-family politicians to Washington, D.C. Hard to believe? Check the rosters of senators and representatives from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California. Do Catholic voters knowingly aid and abet politicians who support policies and programs condemned by our Church? I think not.

It's time to end the deafening silence coming from our parish pulpits. Our clergy need to dust off the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Gospel of Life, those marvelous teaching instruments. Laypersons don't need anyone to tell us how to vote. But if we're ever going to build a culture of life in this country, our people need desperately to know exactly what the Church has to say about the great moral issues of our time. That teaching can only come from the clergy.

JOSEPH COSTA, Murrieta, California