Kerry lacks a moral compass

Kerry lacks a moral compass

A smug elitism permeates Ms. Bertholdo’s article "Catholics reexamine church doctrine," from the very start when she says, "Conventional wisdom says religion and politics don’t mix . . . from the marrying of the religious right to the Republican Party, to powerful religious lobbies that manipulate Congress . . . "

It’s clear she thinks only highly educated atheists should be involved in the difficult complexities of government.

Since 1964, the left wing of the Democratic Party has spent trillions of dollars on new "entitlements" such as welfare, abortion and other schemes for social engineering––and only recently have we noticed what a massive failure this has been. The evidence of social disintegration can no longer be ignored.

No wonder we have turned back to religion as a last hope. Conventional wisdom should say, "Atheism and politics don’t mix."

America has always been a predominantly religious country, as polls show even today. Jefferson said all men are ". . . endowed by their Creator . . ." with a right to life, liberty, etc. Does she think this can be construed to mean a mother has a right to have her baby dismembered alive, at taxpayer expense, on the last day of its ninth month in the womb? Am I "manipulating Congress" if I elect a person who will try to disallow so-called "late-term abortion"? Lincoln said, ". . . this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom . . ." and, "Important principles may and must be inflexible." (Last public address, April 1865.)

When John Kerry says he thinks "life begins at conception" and that he disagrees with abortion (New York Times, July 6) but doesn’t plan to act on his belief in any way and will nominate pro-abortion Supreme Court judges, even though he says he’s Catholic, is it too judgmental for his fellow Catholics to say he lacks any moral compass? If a person claims to be moral, but backs down in the face of criticism, that’s not moral.

There are moral "gray areas," but if we use the compassionate standard, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," they tend to shrink wonderfully.

G. Stuart

Westlake Village