Correspondence
RUSKO, NINA C. & GILLAN, GARTH JACKSON & CURNIN, MIRIAM & O'CONNOR, GWENDOLYN & RUECHEL, FRANK & DOWNS, JEROME F. & COMMINS, MARY G. & CARROLL, EAMON R. & SHEA, NANCY M. & VERRETTE, PAUL F. & SPENGLER, (MSGR.) JAMES & Cunningham, Lawrence S. & Tilley, Terrence W.
CORRESPONDENCE To the Editors Wise words I can't thank you enough for publishing Margaret O'Brien Steinfels's article on the presidential election ("Time to Choose," October 22). I am a committed...
...GWENDOLYN O'CONNOR Indianapolis, Ind...
...I wrote a letter to him expressing my horror that he used the pulpit to tell us how to vote...
...They are the most persuasive pieces I have read during this endless election season...
...As Rougeau notes, there are notable differences between the case of the segregationists and the case of John Kerry...
...LAWRENCE S. CUNNINGHAM Bully pulpit I am a distressed seventy-one-year-old cradle Catholic who doesn't know whom to write to so I chose you...
...Neither author, however, addresses the fact that society's views on abortion have largely been shaped by changing atti-tudinal norms about sex...
...John Kerry does not promote abortion, but choice (and if he follows Bill Clinton's policies, he will reduce the number of abortions performed...
...On point Your editorial on George W. Bush's fiscal agenda ("The Rich Get Gicher," October 8) and Margaret O'Brien Steinfels's October 22 essay on the election are models of clarity and reason...
...GARTH JACKSON GILLAN State College, Pa...
...Name calling In his recent article on the election ("Campaign 2004," October 8), Wilson Carey McWilliams writes that John Kerry "always sounds to me like a slightly demented Episcopal bishop...
...Stalin," then our proper response would not be "not to vote," but to foment a revolution...
...The polite word for this is "goldbricking," though soldiers tend to use a more vulgar term...
...frank ruechel Kennesaw, Ga...
...I stated that the "church" has been wrong in the past and has admitted it, most notably concerning its mistreatment of the Jews...
...He listed these as abortion, cloning, gay marriage, euthanasia, and stem-cell research...
...How can one explain the Republicans' silence...
...1716...
...Laws that criminalize immoral acts do not address the roots of those actions...
...Well-informed Catholics know that the only effective way to solve moral problems is to address the tears in the social fabric...
...But to simply dismiss the teachings of this important saint as "rococo piety" is unfortunate...
...Too bad the bishops' credibility has been undermined by their failure to evaluate the implications of certain kinds of sexual activity...
...The example of Archbishop Joseph Rum-mel's handling of segregationists in New Orleans could certainly have provided food for thought for the American bishops as they considered how to deal with a Catholic presidential nominee whose political position on some issues is contrary to Catholic teaching...
...the number has increased under George W. Bush...
...I feel more optimistic and confident about John Kerry than Steinfels does and will vote for him with more hope than she, perhaps, but she made the case for him succinctly and lucidly...
...nancy m. shea Savannah, Ga...
...Until this changes, it is unlikely that we will solve the moral problems before us...
...This is very bad stereotyping and my Episcopalian friends should be offended...
...Carroll (a distinguished Mar-iologist) defends Montfort's Marian effusions whereas I find them cloyingly unappetizing, the Legion of Mary and the piety of the pope notwithstanding...
...The great lay movement of modern times, the Legion of Mary (founded in 1921), was inspired by Montfort's teaching...
...I'm also disgusted with the U.S...
...The pope carried around a dogeared copy of Montfort's True Devotion as a worker in occupied Poland...
...In our society, wealth and status take precedence over the pursuit of justice...
...This is a far broader threat to our values than "partial-birth abortion...
...the pleasure principle seems to trump all...
...Lawrence S. Cunningham's otherwise perceptive "Religion Booknotes" column (September 24) was marred by a negative reference to the Marian devotion associated with St...
...I fear that some who plan to vote for Kerry only want to "punish" Bush rather than consider the potential long-term consequences of a Kerry victory...
...Reporting for duty In his piece endorsing George W. Bush (October 8), Robert Royal notes, "Like his father, Bush is a thoroughly decent person...
...Followers of Montfort are certainly aware of the twistings and even perversions of his spirituality...
...Having thus voluntarily disqualified himself for duty, Bush apparently did nothing for months...
...A "thoroughly decent person" does not shirk his duty while serving in the National Guard...
...The reviewer replies: One of the wonderful things about being a Catholic is the wide range of devotional paths available to nurture faith...
...I have not heard from him, nor do I expect to...
...He didn't explicitly tell us to vote for George W. Bush, but it was obvious that this is what he meant...
...Surely the Legion's outlook on the holy Virgin is not guilty of "rococo piety...
...On the contrary, he intends to send even more American troops to Iraq, in contrast to Bush's plan, already in progress, to train Iraqi troops to take responsibility for their own country and let American troops come home as soon as possible, my son included...
...I feel strongly that one has a right to form his or her conscience and that one should vote based on that conscience...
...How much evil must Bush do to offset the evil Kerry defends...
...He did not mention preemptive war, the death penalty, poverty, homelessness, or a myriad of other important "life" issues...
...In a society where sex is divorced not only from procreation but from love and affection (and the natural result of the act is often dismissed as a nuisance), it is difficult for even those who oppose abortion to view their peers as worthy of jail time...
...Rococo piety...
...He asks our citizenry for no sacrifice and refuses to work with our allies around the world...
...Meanwhile, Bush's warmongering, pro-death penalty, pro-wealthy, pro-deficits, anti-Social Security presidency contradicts the broader values of a culture of life...
...In short, a Kerry presidency would do little to end the conflict in Iraq while doing significant damage to efforts to protect the unborn...
...It isn't...
...bishops for focusing on one issue and one issue only, abortion, which they see as the crux of this election...
...I can't understand why Republicans tolerate Bush's fiscal policies...
...Rummell's decision, in contrast, was much more straightforward...
...miriam curnin Larchmont, N.Y...
...The task facing the bishops-and the American voter-is to weigh whether Kerry's view on abortion outweighs his views on other important life issues...
...How do Catholics choose the lesser of the two evils...
...I was appalled...
...How does Bush get away with his glaring deficiencies...
...Meanwhile, his campaign attacks distort the truth...
...Recently, I've been dismayed by the number of articles in Commonweal devoted to abortion and the scarcity of articles on the necessary issues that Steinfels outlines...
...I have talked with many conscientious Catholics about the election and they have expressed the opinion that, despite John Kerry's unwavering support for abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research, they just can't vote for George W. Bush "because of the war...
...He said that "Holy Mother Church" forms our consciences and that we should listen to her...
...I object to his warmongering, his end runs around environmental protection, and his total disregard for and contribution to the ballooning deficit...
...paul f. verrette Lee, N.H...
...To me, the most significant is that the segregationists publicly argued for a single position that was contrary to church teaching...
...Pleasure principle Despite Kenneth Woodward's atypical sarcasm, I found his debate with Mario Cuomo ("Catholics, Politics & Abortion," September 24) an elevated and provocative exchange...
...This year, deciding whom to vote for is an exercise in moral relativism with immoral consequences either way...
...they contradict every GOP mantra about fiscal responsibility...
...Two Sundays ago, a visiting priest came to my church and gave a homily stating that the five wounds of Christ are the reasons Catholics should vote in this election...
...As a veteran of World War II, I can testify that when a person on flight status fails to take his required physical examination, as Bush the younger failed to do, he is grounded and assigned other duties...
...A Kerry presidency would not turn back the clock and "undo" the war...
...Steinfels beautifully delineated the characteristics, achievements, and failures of each of the main candidates...
...Kerry's stance on abortion contradicts the fundamental values of a culture of life...
...Moreover, if our political choice were really like "Hitler vs...
...Kerry & the war I have read with interest your articles on the presidential race...
...Thank you for both essays...
...Repairing the fabric Margaret O'Brien Steinfels's "Time to Choose" raised crucial issues about this year's presidential election...
...Bishops & segregationists Vincent Rougeau's article ("Politics & Communion," October 8) recalled a chapter in American Catholic history that many of us remember well...
...on others, he is not...
...Bush promoted an immoral war that has directly killed many thousands, both combatants and non-combatants...
...JEROME F. DOWNS San Francisco, Calif...
...mary G. commins Bethesda, MA...
...Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (d...
...JAMES SPENGLER Brooklyn, N.Y...
...terrence w. tilley Dayton, Ohio Two evils Like Paul Griffiths, I have thought about not voting in this year's presidential race...
...One need only watch prime-time TV or read the newspaper to realize that the bishops have long since lost the fundamental moral argument...
...EAMON R. CARROLL, O CARM Nokomis, Fla...
...I have always found Commonweal to be very nonprejudicial...
...Continued on page 58) CORRESPONDENCE (Continued from page 6) Not a dealbreaker While I agree with my friend Paul Griffiths's distaste for both presidential candidates ("Right, Left & None of the Above/' October 8), their "deal-breaking offenses" are not on a par...
...Kerry, on the other hand, has taken positions on several "life" issues, including health care, war, and, of course, abortion...
...Pope John Paul II has repeatedly referred to Montfort's teaching about Mary and its importance in his own life...
...There are many reasons I will not vote for George W. Bush...
...I am a committed believer, a lifelong Catholic, a Commonweal Associate, and an ardent reader of your magazine...
...On some issues, he is in line with church teaching...
...Thus, recriminalization is not an acceptable option...
...I hope that, in the future, remarks like this will be deleted rather than printed...
...MSGR...
...What I don't understand is what they expect Kerry to do differently in Iraq...
...NINA C. RUSKO Sandy Hook, Conn...
...Really...
Vol. 131 • November 2004 • No. 19
