Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich) described advocacy organization Catholics United as the "devil", and committing "sin" in a recent article in the National Review Online. The article was in response to a series of radio ads Catholics United ran in McCotter's district criticizing his vote against the State Children's Health Insurance Plan, or S-CHIP. Invoking Pope Benedict XVI, both as Pope and Cardinal, McCotter uses quasi-ecclesial language to distort what Catholics United had to say.
In a seeming fit of pique, he resorts to invective rather than engage in a serious debate:
Usurping the mantle of the Roman Catholic Church to facilitate attacks on those who oppose collectivism’s disproved policies and dangerous powers of compulsion, Catholics United has willfully transgressed the bounds and demands of truth; moreover, it has foresworn the Christian duty to help all Americans find a common path on the S-CHIP and, indeed, every issue.
He goes on to quote Pope Benedict:
The fact is that under the pretext of goodness, people neglect conscience. They place acceptance, the avoidance of problems, the comfortable pursuit of their existence, the good opinion of others and good-naturedness above truth in the scale of values.
This is the equivalent of saying "you're with us or your with the terrorists" or "debating the issue hurts the troops". It also ignores two centuries of Catholic Social Teaching. From Rerum Novarum and Humane Vitae to Deus Caritas Est, Popes have established their positions on a wide array of Life issues. Since the coining of the phrase "seamless garment of life", and evolution of "consistent life ethic" championed by Joseph Cardinal Bernadin, it has been abundantly clear that to be pro-life in the Roman Catholic sense, one also needs to consider poverty, capital punishment, the just war theory, as well as social justice. McCotter quickly falls into the rut of boiling down all Catholic issues to abortion.
Catholic United responded in a press release of their own:
"Catholics believe that a culture of life must include support for women and children," said Joe Wright, Ph.D, the board chairman for Catholics United and author of a Catholics United study linking availability of jobs and health care with lower abortion rates. "The legislation before Congress was one clear and practical step our nation can take to reduce abortions. A vote against health care for children is not a pro-life vote."
McCotter's line of arguments reinforces the notion that all Catholics are concerned about is abortion. This is a serious mis-reading of the teachings on the Gospel of Life and Catholic Social teaching, and ultimately cheapens the political discourse, and degrades the position of those of us who look the world through the lens of Catholic teaching and culture.