2004 Elections

Bishop Donald Wuerl of Pittsburgh, from Bishop Wuerl on Faithful Citizenship in 2004 Election (Part 2): Tells What Top Political Issues Catholics Should Consider:

Today, the primary issue that our nation faces is the question of who has authority over human life. For millennia we have always understood that human life is a gift from God. We are stewards of that gift, not sovereigns over it.

Now there is an entirely different viewpoint that enjoys enormous media support. This view maintains that we, human beings, are the true sovereigns of human life and that we can simply take a human life whenever we believe a person is burdensome or inconvenient to us.

Abortion in the United States is the single most egregious affront to the basic dignity of life. With the death toll well over 40 million, it stands alongside slavery and genocide as shameful examples of legal but immoral activities.

One hundred years from now I believe people will look back on this generation and wonder how it was possible that we deluded ourselves into thinking -- and then enshrining in the law of the land -- the principle that the right to life is arbitrary and is protected only for those whose lives are deemed worthy. History will not look kindly upon a society that embraced the concept that if a person's life is inconvenient to you, you can simply kill him or her.

Just as we wonder how it had been possible for people to keep human beings as slaves, as chattel, so future generations will look back and wonder how we could so cavalierly kill our unborn children.

In choosing a candidate the primary issue should be whether the candidate recognizes and supports human life as the sovereign gift of God and responds accordingly.