Dr. Deal Hudson: 'A Gloss on an Unreliable Guide to Catholic Voters'

The entire document is typical of the spin put on Catholic social teaching by groups that support pro-abortion Catholic politicians.

To anyone who knows Catholic social teaching, or the bishops' own document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, can easily see through its shifty and disingenuous use of Catholic principles and moral concepts. I actually expected something much more clever than this from Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good -- they must have assigned this job to a summer intern. The entire document is typical of the spin put on Catholic social teaching by groups that support pro-abortion Catholic politicians.

P>WASHINGTON,DC (Catholic Online) - The following is a section from the Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good voter guide published on its web site. I have offered some interlinear commentary in BOLD -- the entire document is typical of the spin put on Catholic social teaching by groups that support pro-abortion Catholic politicians.

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To begin with, this pro-life section follows, rather than precedes, a section on "The Economy"!

PRO-LIFE ISSUES
"To our fellow Catholics, we ask you to do even more for life. Reach out to women who are pregnant and in need of help, to families struggling with financial or emotional difficulties. Stand by those who wish to choose life with the witness of solidarity, hope, and service. Catholic families should be living symbols of our conviction that life is always, always a gift from God."
-USCCB Statement "Light and Shadows" on the 25th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade
 
The inviolable dignity of each and every human person, especially those who are vulnerable, is a foundational concern for Catholics. That dignity becomes meaningless unless human life is protected, both in our laws and in our culture. Indeed, as Americans, we believe, as our Declaration of Independence states, that the very purpose of government is to secure "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." We at Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good stand four-square in defense of any and all threats to human life.
 
Today, human life is threatened by abortion, war, euthanasia, and poverty. We believe that these threats are related. Note the immediate shift away from abortion to a list of "threats" to life. A culture that considers abortion an acceptable response to a difficult and unwanted pregnancy is a culture that is unprepared to defend the rights of the elderly and the infirm to medical care. Again, the argument moves away from abortion to other issues, in the manner of the 'seamless garment' logic perpetuated by such organizations.

A government that ignores the cries of the poor is a government that will fail to consider the horrific human cost of war. A society that does not take steps to support women facing crisis pregnancies is a society that will fail to support children who are born into poverty. Their voter guide contains other sections for these issues yet uses the space under "pro-life" to enumerate them!

We at Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good understand that many of our fellow Americans do not recognize the dignity of unborn life. Consequently, they believe that legal efforts to protect the unborn represent an illegitimate form of coercion, limiting the rights of women who find themselves in very difficult circumstances. We believe that our political culture must address the needs of both mother and child, and we support programs that provide economic and other forms of assistance to women facing an unwanted pregnancy as well as the right of each and every child to be born. Note the use of a subordinate clause to mention "the right of each and every child to be born." Creating a "culture of life" as Blessed Pope John Paul II called us to do, will require Christian witness and we embrace that call. A culture of life cannot be built without the courage to say 'no' to the political correctness enforced by abortion advocates.
 
We believe that only by defending all threats to human life will Catholics be able to credibly make the case for a "culture of life." Fine!  But doesn't "all threats" include the life of the unborn child? Then don't back away from that threat!

A person whom we persuade to respect the rights of immigrants is a person more likely to understand our concern for the unborn. This is such a preposterous stretch, it's laughable -- in other words, those who don't agree with them on immigration can't really be pro-life....what a howler!

Those who share our commitment to the unborn must be challenged to embrace programs that provide affordable health care to the elderly. If you actually had a "commitment to the unborn," I would say, 'Amen.' Those who rightly mourn the loss of life in war must come to extend their concern to those who live in poverty. I expected the end of this sentence to refer to the unborn, but I should have known better. 

(Excerpted from the Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good voter guide. Comments in bold are my own.)

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I can't think of anymore that needs to be said about such a document. Anyone who knows Catholic social teaching, or the bishops' own document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, can easily see through its shifty and disingenuous use of Catholic social principles and moral concepts. 

I actually expected something much more clever than this from Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good -- they must have assigned this job to a summer intern.

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Deal W. Hudson is president of the Pennsylvania Catholics Network; founder and former president of Catholic Advocate; former publisher and editor Crisis Magazine; and author of Onward Christian Soldiers: The Growing Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States (Simon & Schuster 2008). 

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