Catholic politicians and the culture of death

Please read the following exchange between a layman and State Representative Maurice Pilotte which may be found at: www.faithfulvoice.com:

Please read the response of State Representative Maurice Pilotte at the bottom of page


Date Fri, 17 Oct 2003 17:14:07 -0700 (PDT)
From Roger V
To maurice.pilotte@leg.state.nh.us


Subject Your support of Senator Joseph Liebeman

Dear Mr. Pilotte,


Shame on you for supporting Senator Joseph Lieberman, a senator with a troubling record of promoting abortion on demand. As one who professes to be Catholic, I don't see how you can reconcile your support of the senator with your Catholic Faith.

It may interest you to know that your support of the senator hasn't gone unnoticed by Roman Catholics in New Hampshire. In fact, you are featured at a very popular Catholic web site: www.faithfulvoice.com


It is my hope and prayer that you will at least have the integrity to remove yourself from the office you hold at St. Therese's Parish in Manchester.

Respectfully,
Roger V , NH


Date Wed, 8 Oct 2003 10:52:35 -0700 (PDT)
From John
Subject The Pilotte Family of Manchester
Dear Sirs,
Mr. Melanson is right on target as usual when he say that Gloria Pilotte (a supporter of Senator Joseph Lieberman) is on the wrong track since the Senator is extremist in his pro-abortion positions.

What is even more disturbing is that her husband, Maurice Pilotte, is a State Representative from the Queen City who is lending his support to the Lieberman Campaign while serving as Finance Chair for St. Therese's Parish in the city. This is simply scandalous.

Moreover, Mr. Pilotte has voted against a pro-life amendment here in the Granite State.

Where is Bishop McCormack in all of this?

John , Manchetsrer , NH

Date Wed, 22 Oct 2003 04:55:36 -0700 (PDT)
From Roger V

Once again, a politician who says "Personally I'm opposed to abortion but..."

It is obvious from his response that Mr. Pilotte is not serious about protecting the unborn. The abortion issue is the most serious issue in any campaign. But this State Representative refuses to acknowledge this fact.

His attitude is no different than that of Senator Kennedy in Massachusetts. For politicians like Senator Kennedy and State Representative Maurice Pilotte, economics takes precedent over human life. But what does it profit a man to gain the whole world....you know the rest.

Roger


Dear Mr. Vaste,

Thank your for your message regarding my support for Sen. Lieberman.

Yes I am a catholic. Yes I am pro-life as you may ascertain from checking
my voting record in this first year of my first term in the Legislature.
Yes I am a supporter of Sen. Lieberman. Yes I do acknowledge that his
position on the sanctity of life is different from mine.

I have chosen to support Sen Lieberman on the basis of his overall
commitment to issues that are also important to all of us: education,
social services for the old and the weak, a willingness to recognize that
the tax cuts that have been initiated under the current administration have
become a burden to all because of the tremendous needs for credit that will
have to be taken to support the increasing national debt and which will make
it all but impossible to consider making changes necessary to the medicare
system if it is to be responsive not only to the current beneficiaries but
to all upcoming generations.

I do not consider the Senator's position on abortion to be the correct one.
I cannot however allow it to become the breaking issue in deciding to
support a man who I believe to be electable and who is more adequately
attuned to other social issues that I consider equally important to the
quality of life for elderly, families and people in the adult population.

M. Pilotte


Rogerπs response :

Dear , Mr. Pilotte,

Your attitude is not unlike that of the citizenry of Germany under Adolph Hitler. Hitler did much to improve the German economy and the "quality of life" for Germans when he first came to power. Unfortunately, while "quality of life" improved for some, Jews were being rounded up and packed into concentration camps to suffer as slaves of the Third Reich until they were no longer "useful" and would be tortured and exterminated.

As one who professes to be Catholic, you must have heard the phrase "consistent life ethic." I would suggest a thorough read of Evangelium Vitae, the encyclical letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II.

Your attitude of "personally I'm opposed to abortion but..." just doesn't wash. Is this what you will tell Jesus? I wonder if He will understand your philosophy?

In Christ,

Roger Vaste

Date Thu, 23 Oct 2003 05:01:02 EDT
From Ann L I NY
To Roger@FaithfulVoice.com
Subject PILOTTE'S SUPPORT OF LIEBERMAN

Roger, your clear and concise analogy of Mr. Pilotte's support of Senator Lieberman
to that of the citizen's of Germany endorsement of Adolf Hitler is excellent!

God Bless you....Ann, LI,NY

Date Wed, 22 Oct 2003 10:45:08 EDT
From Paul
To maid@faithfulvoice.com
Subject Ethical Relativism


There are Catholics who, while maintaining that they are personally opposed to the practice of abortion, believe that it would be morally wrong for them to attempt to prohibit its practice. These Catholics insist that it would be wrong if they allowed their personal religious convictions to influence their political decisions.

However, this ethical relativism has been clearly rejected by Pope John Paul II: "..it is held that, in the exercise of public and professional duties, respect for other people's freedom of choice requires that each should set aside his or her own convictions in order to satisfy every demand of the citizens which is recognized and guaranteed by law; in carrying out one's duties, the only moral criterion should be what is laid down by the law itself. Individual responsibility is thus turned over to the civil law, with a renouncing of personal conscience, at least in the public sphere...At the basis of all these tendencies lies the ethical relativism which characterizes much of present-day culture. There are those who consider such relativism an essential condition of democracy, inasmuch as it alone is held to guarantee tolerance, mutual respect between people and acceptance of the decisions of the majority, whereas moral norms are held to lead to authoritarianism and intolerance." (Evangelium Vitae, Nos 69, 70).

Relying on this flawed ethical relativism, some politicians attempt to wash their hands of the blood of the unborn and to justify their compromise with the culture of death. To such hardened hearts, the words of Pope John Paul II cry out: "The passing of unjust laws often raises difficult problems of conscience for morally upright people with regard to the issue of cooperation, since they have a right to demand not to be forced to take part in morally evil actions. Sometimes the choices which have to be made are difficult; they may require the sacrifice of prestigious professional positions or the relinquishing of reasonable hopes of career advancement...Christians, like all people of good will, are called upon under grave obligation of conscience not to cooperate formally in practices which, even if permitted by civil legislation, are contrary to God's law. Indeed, from the moral standpoint, it is never licit to cooperate formally in evil....Each individual in fact has moral responsibility for the acts which he personally performs; no one can be exempted from this responsibility, and on the basis of it everyone will be judged by God himself (cf. Rom 2:6; 14:12)." (Evangelium Vitae, No. 74).

Paul Anthony Melanson
FaithfulVoice NH

Comments to Roger@FaithfulVoice.com

Paul