[Regarding "Risky Business," by Brian McLaren, September 2004], I cringe every time I think a priest is going to speak about politics. As a Catholic, I have been distressed to see how some of our bishops have misused even our most sacred sacrament to punish politicians whom they do not think are toeing the line. They have made the abortion issue the one and only issue.
Certainly abortion is wrong. But so is war, the death penalty, and not caring about the poor and needy while the rich are getting more and more. In fact, if one searches the scriptures, one finds much about our obligations to the needy and poor. The pope, too, has spoken out strongly against war.
The bishops are intelligent and well-educated men, so I wonder why they don’t see that abortion is not an isolated issue—that being against abortion does not make one pro-life. If life is sacred that must mean all life, not just the life of the unborn.
Thus, I do not want any sermons on political issues. I would rather have a sermon in which the priest helps us to understand the scriptures and allows us to draw our own conclusions about who we vote for. And I want the table of the Lord to be open to all who seek him.
Read the Full Article
