Church & state.In your editorial "Kerry, the Catholic" (June 18), you maintain that, in its opposition to abortion, the church is not "trying to impose its religious views on others." This overlooks the fact that the church's argument against abortion is ultimately a religious one. In The Gospel of Life, John Paul II John Paul II, 1920–2005, pope (1978–2005), a Pole (b. Wadowice) named Karol Józef Wojtyła; successor of John Paul I. He was the first non-Italian pope elected since the Dutch Adrian VI (1522–23) and the first Polish and Slavic pope. wrote that "over and above all scientific debates and those philosophical affirmations to which the magisterium mag·is·te·ri·um n. Roman Catholic Church The authority to teach religious doctrine. [Latin, the office of a teacher or other person in authority, from magister, master; see has not expressly committed itself, the church has always taught and continues to teach that the result of human procreation PROCREATION. The generation of children; it is an act authorized by the law of nature: one of the principal ends of marriage is the procreation of children. Inst. tit. 2, in pr. , from the first moment of its existence, must be guaranteed that unconditional respect which is normally due a human being in his or her totality and unity as body and spirit (italics mine)." Even as philosophically savvy a bishop as John Paul The name John Paul might refer to: Full name
In your editorial, you maintain that the church has already "embraced religious pluralism The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. This article is about religious pluralism. , freedom of conscience, and democratic rights" in the manner called for in The Declaration on Religious Freedom. If this were true, however, the bishops would be calling for Catholic politicians to seek common ground with other persons of good will in making civil law on abortion, and those who followed Catholic teaching would no longer be vulnerable to charges that they were simply trying to legislate their own religious beliefs. JOSEPH F. BRINLEY St. Louis, Mo. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion