A letter to the editor of the Catholic San Francisco written by Rob Graffio
‘Seamless garment’ view of pro-life issues is flawed
With the mention of the issues of capital punishment, war and the “sins of the federal budget” in the March 18, 2011, Catholic San Francisco (Making a Difference, Tony Magliano), it’s impor- tant to note that the flawed “seamless garment” approach to pro-life issues has caused much confusion among the faithful. Read what Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote to the U.S. bishops in 2004, one year before he became pope: “Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. For example, if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage war, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion. While the church exhorts civil authorities to seek peace, not war, and to exercise discretion and mercy in imposing punishment on criminals, it may still be permissible to take up arms to repel an aggressor or to have recourse to capital punishment. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia.” The point is: Let’s not make gray matters into black and white ones, and black and white matters into gray ones. Thus, we can answer the question, “What evil has the federal government done?” by saying: They continue to fund abortion with taxpayer dollars. That’s certainly the gravest sin of the federal budget.
