St. Louis' new Catholic Archbishop is taking a strong stand at the forefront of the pro-life movement.
The disconnect between Catholic politicians who want the benefits of the Catholic label without the pain of having to defend their faith have long been a painful issue among Catholics. Arcbishop Burke has decided that a bit of public discourse will improve more of the faithful than might be damaged by exposing what have been previously private exhortations to the public. This the same sort of difficulty that Cardinal Martino tripped over in his badly worded comments on Saddam's capture. You feel for the guy, sure, but the benefit in relieving suffering by publicizing the situation sometimes exceeds the suffering caused by taking public action. Forgetting that balance is not compassion but moral callousness. Nobody likes his personal struggle with his faith to hit the newspapers. But past a certain point, the public exposure creates more general benefit than the pain may cost to one person's pride.
HT to The Corner
Posted by TMLutas at January 18, 2004 04:05 PM