Bishops' Schedules: Bishop William H. Bullock Tuesday, October 19, 2004 11:00 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Madison Catholic Woman's Club Day of Renewal, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison Thursday, October 21, 2004 Attend Wisconsin Catholic Conference Board Meeting, Archbishop Cousins Center, Milwaukee Bishop George O. Wirz Saturday, October 16, 2004 5:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Andrew Parish, Verona Sunday, October 17, 2004 11:00 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. John the Baptist Parish, Waunakee Thursday, October 21, 2004 Attend Wisconsin Catholic Conference Board Meeting, Archbishop Cousins Center, Milwaukee

Respect Life Month: Elizabeth House; making election decisions

		Under the Gospel Book + Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Dear Friends,

Last week we reflected on the month of October as the beginning of the Eucharistic Year proclaimed by our Holy Father and as the month of the Most Holy Rosary.

October is for us Catholics also Respect Life Month. The summit of all life which enables us to be in communion with the life of God Himself is the Eucharist. Mary Our Mother, Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, is the new Eve, that is the Mother of all the living. Thus our respect life theme is very much at home in the October context of which we spoke last week.

Support for Elizabeth House

This week I wish to make two points with regard to respect life. The first concerns our support for Elizabeth House which will offer to women who are tempted to have an abortion the complete care that they need from preparation for birth to learning the proper parenting skills.

As we teach the truth about life, it is so important for us to offer to women a real option for life, and the fact that we can do this in an ecumenical way, joining with brothers and sisters of other faith communities who share our beliefs about life, brings an additional blessing.

So again I would ask for your generous support for Elizabeth House when the offering is taken in our parish churches this month to make concrete our conviction on behalf of life and our commitment to help women who would opt to accept that help.

"No responsible Catholic can vote for a pro-choice candidate precisely in order to promote the pro-choice agenda . . . it seems clear during this our Respect Life Month that the pro-life issue must be taken very seriously as we prepare to enter the voting booth, and we must take seriously the authentic Catholic teaching about the sacredness of life and about the use of judgments of proportionality in this particular sphere."

Decisions during election time

We are also on the eve of our national and local elections, and the October theme of respect life must play a most prominent role in the decision of every responsible Catholic as he or she prepares to enter the voting booth. On this issue I also wish to make two points.

The first point is that all of the life issues together do not in fact form a "seamless garment." No one ever taught that this was the case authentically in the name of the Church. The garment of life issues is in fact divided by a very visible seam. There are life issues where immorality can never be justified, that is abortion, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide. There are other life issues where justification of certain behaviors is possible even if very rare. Even if only very rarely, capital punishment can in fact be justified. Even if very rarely, war can be justified. So the seam in the garment of the life issues separates those areas where no justification is ever possible, from those areas where justification would be possible even if only very rarely.

Take pro-life issue seriously

The second point I wish to make is familiar: no one may claim responsibly both to be Catholic and to be pro-choice. No responsible Catholic can vote for a pro-choice candidate precisely in order to promote the pro-choice agenda.

Cardinal Ratzinger has instructed us that a Catholic could conceivably vote for a pro-choice candidate for a proportionate reason. This would mean one of two things. In the first place all of the candidates on the slate were pro-choice so that in voting the Catholic would necessarily vote for a pro-choice candidate, choosing the candidate whom the voter judges would do least harm to the defense of innocent life. Secondly a Catholic voter might conceivably vote for a pro-choice candidate if the alternative were a candidate who would promote evils worse than the evil of abortion. When one considers that the babies aborted are the most weak and defenseless among all human beings and when one considers the countless number of abortions that have taken place legally since Roe v. Wade, it is hard for me to imagine what a greater evil would be.

While considerable arguments can be advanced even to justify the evils of war, even if such arguments are rejected, no considerable argument can be advanced to justify even a single abortion. And so it would be hard for me to imagine the proportionate evil greater than the evil wrought by abortion which would allow the Catholic voter to vote for a pro-choice candidate. That decision remains with the individual Catholic, and I do not intend to endorse candidates or political parties. But it seems clear during this our Respect Life Month that the pro-life issue must be taken very seriously as we prepare to enter the voting booth, and we must take seriously the authentic Catholic teaching about the sacredness of life and about the use of judgments of proportionality in this particular sphere.

Needless to say the correct formation of my conscience or your conscience isn't possible without the aid of the Holy Spirit. So let us beg the Spirit of Truth to guide that truth-seeking radar which we call conscience to its proper home, the moral truth, as we prepare for the exercise of our responsible citizenship in the November elections.

Thank you for good wishes, prayers

Lastly let me thank you once again for all of your good wishes and prayers. Your prayers mean everything, and you are very close to me in prayer and love each day as I continue to beg the Lord to strengthen me that I might return fully to serve you in His name.

Thank you for reading this, and God bless each one of you. Praised be Jesus Christ!