An editorial in today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by Ricardo Pimentel (Editorial Page Editor for the MJS) covers a variety of topics popular with bleeding heart liberals — the newly elected Republican majorities in the Wisconsin State Capitol, the importance of fixing the state’s budget woes, and so on.
Pimentel’s main point in his editorial is that defunding Planned Parenthood and defunding taxpayer-provided birth control will only lead to more abortions. Pimentel fails to back up his case with statistics or anything more than a “social justice for all” rant.
I direct this appeal mostly to those who object to abortion – on whatever grounds – but who might realize this is not a zero-sum game. They know that restricting comprehensive sex ed and access to birth control is counterproductive to the goal of making abortion rare. These good people have much in common in this regard with those Rush Limbaugh vilifies as Feminazis.
Yes, I’m talking about you so-called cafeteria Catholics, others who value their faith but don’t necessarily walk in lock step and then those troubled by abortion quite aside from faith. Your gift is that you realize that common sense, faith and objections to abortion need not be canceling propositions. Legislators set to launch assaults on reproductive rights will make a pretense of representing you.
Actually, I think “cafeteria Catholics” know exactly what they’re getting. Hence the attempt to distort the truth. Hence the overwhelming number of Nancy Pelosis in the world — those who claim to be Catholic but are able to separate the infallible truths taught by the Catholic Church with their voting decisions. Pimentel’s interpretation of “common sense” applies to pro-choice Catholics able to ignore the teachings of the Church regarding abortion and contraception. So…. into what category do Catholics who FOLLOW the teachings of the Church fall? Certainly not the relativism category.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel‘s support of Planned Parenthood is no surprise, as we saw this past summer when the MJS wished Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin a very public “Happy 75th Birthday”. And sadly, the MJS’s public call for cafeteria Catholics to go all Nancy Pelosi with the Church’s teachings is not much of a surprise either.
Update, 02/09/2011, 11am: As one commenter noted, the Baltimore Catechism of the Catholic Church states, in Part 111:
Q. 554. Could a person who denies only one article of our faith be a Catholic?
A. A person who denies even one article of our faith could not be a Catholic; for truth is one and we must accept it whole and entire or not at all.
