I suffered from
yet another bout of insomnia last night.
This is just one of the side effects of my lung disease and the
medication I take for it. The result of
this episode of insomnia was that at about 3 am this morning, South African
Standard Time, I was still wide-awake and bushy tailed.
I decided to
turn on the television. There is only so
much one can do when one has already been awake the whole night. Eventually one of the options to help pass
the time, even just for a short while, must be watching television. I was already tuned into CNN and so, as the
television turned on, I saw the vice presidential debate between Paul Ryan and
Joe Biden in the USA kicking off.
I was impressed
with Paul Ryan’s calm and polite manner.
I was less impressed with Joe Biden’s rude and condescending
manner. Biden constantly interrupted Ryan
and had me thinking that Biden thought winning the debate was about who shouted
loudest. Anyway, this is not what I
wanted to write about.
As the debate
drew to a close the inevitable question about abortion was asked. The moderator announced that both these men profess
to be practicing Catholics, which they each in turn confirmed in their response
to the question. I immediately sat up
and began to pay closer attention. I
was, sadly, very disappointed with the responses from both of these practicing
Catholic men.
Although each
man presented a different approach to abortion and explained their reasons for
that approach, the bottom line is that these men both actually agreed. It does not matter the degrees of agreement
or the reasoning behind it. What matters
is that ultimately what these two practicing Catholic men actually said, is
that they would allow the murdering of innocent human life to continue after
the election. It does not matter who
wins, both will permit this murder of unborn babies to continue in some or
other circumstances.
What I found sad
is the reality that these two men were clearly in the unenviable position of
being forced to literally sell their souls in order to get elected. They have chosen politics as a career so that
they can work for the common good of all US citizens. Yet in order to have a career, they need to
compromise their faith and agree to the murder of the most innocent of all
humans - unborn babies.
What is
unconscionable is that it is Catholics who have put these men in this
situation. You see, these men should be
able to stand firm regarding their faith and be true to the teaching of the
Church. They should be able to focus on
the other important issues in the election campaign, knowing that they can
count on the Catholic vote exactly because they oppose abortion. Yet the opposite is in fact true. These men both feel that they need to
compromise their belief because they know that by opposing abortion, they will
in fact lose some Catholic votes.
It should be a
no brainer. If a Catholic, during an
election, must choose between politicians who will either end abortion or who will
permit it to continue, the choice should be easy. The politician who must obviously get the Catholic vote, first and foremost, must be the politician who will end abortion. Thereafter other issues come into play to
differentiate between who will or will not get their vote. The same applies to other Church teaching.
We have to ask
ourselves what Catholics have become when, in order to secure a majority Catholic vote, not just
in the USA but many countries in the world, a politician is forced to make choices that go against his or her Catholic Faith. Choices that include, in this instance, an agreement that will perpetuate the
killing of millions of unborn babies. I am glad that I don't have to make these tough choices in order to keep my chosen career.
St.
Michael the Archangel,
defend
us in battle.
Be
our defence against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May
God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and
do thou,
O
Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by
the power of God,
thrust
into hell Satan,
and
all the evil spirits,
who
prowl about the world
seeking
the ruin of souls. Amen
