Early in the statement, they warn against two opposing “temptations” in public life that “can distort the Church’s defense of human life and dignity.”
The first temptation is “moral equivalence” that treats issues as diverse as abortion and minimum wage policy, for example, as equally weighty.
The bishops repeatedly emphasize that “the direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not just one issue among many. It must always be opposed” (No. 28).
The second temptation is to think that the Church cares about only one issue, dismissing or ignoring all other serious threats to human life and dignity.
The bishops explain that the Church cares about the dignity of the human person in a wide variety of ways, while noting that not every individual can be actively involved in each of these concerns.
The statement helpfully distinguishes between actions that are intrinsically evil, that is, those that are “so deeply flawed that they are always opposed to the authentic good of persons” and can never be condoned (No. 22), and positive policy initiatives that foster human dignity and the common good.
In the category of intrinsically evil actions, the statement names abortion, euthanasia, destructive research on human embryos, human cloning, genocide, torture, racism and the targeting of noncombatants in acts of terror or war.
It is impossible to separate the Church from government and politics. The article is good evidence of that statement.
For anyone interested in the whole document, it’s a 43-page .pdf available [url=http://www.usccb.org/bishops/FCStatement.pdf]here[/url].
And while we’re talking of politics and Catholic Social Teaching, let me put in a plug for the good folks at the [url=http://www.acton.org/ ]Acton Institute[/url], which promotes political liberty as the best (and perhaps only) social environment for the practice of Catholic morality. Worth a visit.
The remaining question is if bishops will hold accountable those people who want to call themselves Catholic while protecting that most heinous act, the murder of unborn babies.
Of course you can’t separate the Church from government and politics. Christianity isn’t a private feel-good religious experience: it’s God invading this world in order to save us.
I am not Roman Catholic – I don’t see myself becoming Roman Catholic. The Roman Church has many problems. However, the Roman Church does a fine job of using carefully considered theology to integrate one’s secular life and his/her spiritual life. I envy that – though that, of course, places me in sin and needs repentance…. 🙂