Follow up and more questions to the Catholic debate

"All right everyone, settle down now before we get too heated..."

It looks like I've struck a note with the Catholic VP post.  Not to my surprise there are disagreements (along with agreements) as there always is when whenever we talk about politics.

I feel no need to have to defend what I wrote, except maybe to make clear that my entire point is that neither candidate or political party from the past, present, and probably future can ever entirely represent holistically our Catholic values.  There is Catholic merit on both sides, so I believe we're called to not shun anyone for  for not being "Catholic enough" if they decide to go one way or the other.

For my "pro-life" friends, let's think about what we ultimately care about---protecting the unborn.  There are many ways to go about this, changing the Roe v Wade law would be an excellent start which I, too, hope one day will happen.  Until that happens, let's challenge ourselves to think about why abortions happen and who are having them in the first place.  From my research and observation unfortunately, the majority of abortions happen from poor, socioeconomic demographics.

Having painfully met several people in these demographics who have had an abortion in their families, it has become clear to me the reasons why abortion becomes an option---primarily, a lack of education, and secondly, a lack of quality of life.  A single-mother trying to find work and struggling to pay the rent and feed her children gets pregnant or a teenage daughter of four sees her parents struggling and doesn't want to burden them even more with her out of wed-lock child.  One panics, they want to get rid of the problem fast, and ultimately decides to have an abortion  Lack of education (about their options) and lack of quality of life.  I call it "band-aid" thinking---wanting a quick fix because we don't have time or the resources or the education to treat something holistically.

If we want to protect unborn children, I ask how can we best help those who are making these decisions in the first place?  How do we fill the voids of lack of education and lack of quality of life of people who need it dearly?  Is it through serving, through advocating?  Through the Church, through the government?  And how specifically through you?

There are no right or wrong answers here except the one that hits squarely deep in our conscience, which is intimately specific to each and everyone one of us.  I challenge everyone, as I challenge myself constantly, to discover, learn, and reflect on what strikes us to the core that no one else can touch or reach.

Amén.