The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Without a Prayer

10.21.04 @ 12:01AM

IN KERRY'S CORNER
Re: George Neumayr's Kerry's Auxiliary Bishops:

George Neumayr shows how the Seamless Garment allows Catholics, with John Kerry, to take a more contemplative view of the life issues. Our Bishops point out that the nuanced complexity of the life issues go well beyond reproductive health care. They ask us to consider capital punishment, living wage, environmental concerns and social justice.

Politicians like President Bush want to box in the Catholic vote with a simplistic position on choice. Our Bishops think outside this box.

Which is why I am no longer pro-life, but simply an anti-abortion Catholic.
-- Dan Martin
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Just read George Neumayr's article "Kerry's Auxiliary Bishops." Great piece. Thought it very interesting that I attended a Theology meeting last week titled "Catholicism in Politics." The intent was to clear up any election questions for people in our parish. We were given the whole deal, as Mr. Neumayr says, about looking at all the issues and treating them equally. The Deacon said the same things mentioned in the article. He even passed out an "election scorecard"! I was outraged that they would consider several key issues on the same level as others which are minor at best. We have long felt that our church leadership was quietly liberal. Now this!
Any more info on this "scorecard"? Its origins?

Keep up the great work.
-- Thomas VanHaaren

Neumayr's article highlights why I left the Catholic Church when I decided to "get serious" about Jesus. The unpleasant fact is that the Catholic Church thinks its own traditions and teachings trump the literal word of scripture. Starting from that position any heresy is possible, and it's no wonder that the Catholic leadership now finds it so easy to support a heretic like Kerry.
-- Robert Kinz

During the presidential debates, Kerry stated how important his faith in to him and how it had stood him well during trying times throughout his life. How is it that no one remembers just two or three months back, when Kerry first played the religion card? He said that public displays of faith are difficult for him and that religion is very personal.

However, when he was asked what his favorite book in the New Testament is, he answered, "The Book of Job". The "altar boy" and devout Catholic did not know that Job is an Old Testament book. Kerry is either a moron or a phony. Personally, I do not think that he is a moron.
-- Michael Perine
Nevada

On Oct. 18, Catholic World News reported news that suggests John Kerry may have self-excommunicated himself.

A consultant to the Vatican, Fr. Basil Cole, wrote to Los Angeles canon lawyer Marc Balestrieri, who has formally sued John Kerry in ecclesiastical court for heresy, that "if a Catholic publicly and obstinately supports the civil right to abortion, knowing that the Church teaches officially against that legislation, he or she commits that heresy envisioned by Can. 751 of the Code [of Canon Law]. Provided that the presumptions of knowledge of the law and penalty and imputability are not rebutted in the external forum, one is automatically excommunicated…" While this is an unofficial response, it seems clearly to say that any pro-abortion Catholic politician is a heretic and self-excommunicates himself or herself based because of that position. The positions of Kerry and others on abortion, homosexual unions and embryonic stem-cell research are separating faithful Catholics from secular Catholics, regardless of whether they or not they wear a clerical collar or call themselves bishops.
-- C. Kenna Amos Jr.
Princeton, West Virginia

MEATHEADNESS
Re: P. David Hornik's Animal Rights: A Question of Humanity and the "Humane Society" letters in Reader Mail's Dreamland:

Bravo to P. David Hornik's compassionate stance for conservatism, humanity and animal rights ("Animals Rights: A Question of Humanity," October 19th). His essay brilliantly questions those who would undermine the ultimate goal of animal rights activists: to make people question cruelty to animals, as well as the necessity to "use" animals at all. Anyone who questions the meat and dairy industry's cruel practices should view the free online video at Meatyourmeat.com. Of course everyone should be free to live out his or her destiny as they see fit, but why should we not afford these same freedoms to animals when we all agree that animals feel pain, fear and loneliness as we do? You can only attack the messenger for so long before the message becomes painfully clear and truthful. In this case, our "modern" treatment of animals is anything but forward-thinking and compassionate.
-- Stephen Cramer
Norfolk, Virginia

Mr. Hornik has quite obviously never set foot inside of a swine confinement facility nor have any of the respondents to this travesty of an article.

How did this undocumented joke of an article ever get on The American Spectator? Maybe I need to change my Internet news links.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Taxes, Health Care, Business, Religion, Catholicism, Islam, Abortion, Environment, Global Warming, Constitution, Law, Supreme Court, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Conservatism, Oil, Unions