Kennedy: Barred from Communion | John Mulligan | projo.com | The Providence Journal

Kennedy: Barred from Communion | John Mulligan |
projo.com | The Providence Journal

Bumper stickers are a great way to present a personal opinion to the world and, in our modern pop culture, can almost be philosophical. Well, at least as philosophical as our Main Stream Media which I realize doesn't say much for philosophy. But every once in a while you see one that makes you wonder...usually about what world that driver really came from. I remember the first time I saw the stylized "Coexist" sticker I wondered why that person viewed the world in such a pollyanna manner. Then there was the car with California license plates that had "I'm changing lanes. Cover me." I have one, too: "I'm the NRA and I VOTE." I think it kind of let's the other drivers know that I'm not worried about changing lanes.

I saw one, however, that resonated: "You can't believe in Abortion and call yourself a Catholic." I would hope that someone would send that bumper sticker to Mr. Kennedy. Maybe he would learn something and make a decision: Is he Catholic or a liberal-progressive-socialist Democrat? And if he professes to be Catholic how can he remain in a party where one of it's most sacred planks is the right of a woman to have an abortion just because she wants to?

At one time, I will confess, I was ambivalent about abortion. Kind of a soft-pro-choice kind of guy. My position changed not because of faith or religion but because of science. When I was 57 my wife called me in the office and told me to bring home a pregnancy test kit. I did and the next morning she called me and said she thought the result was "pregnant" but she wasn't sure. I bought a second kit and took that home and the next morning she said that the test said "PREGNANT." I bought a third kit on the way home...it said "PREGNANT," too.

We went to the OB/GYN and because I was in my late 50's and my wife was 41 they moved her to the front of the line for tests. A week later--my wife would have been just 6 weeks pregnant at the time--we were in the OB/GYN's office and my wife was lying on her back on the examining table. The doctor spread a clear gel on my wife's stomach and I listened and watched as the doctor found our baby's heart beat. That is something that couldn't be done with my other children and amazing science had made it possible. Sitting there in that office, looking at an ultrasound picture on a monitor and seeing and hearing our baby's heart beat I was convinced of two things: 1) There is a God; and 2) That baby is alive. I was no longer ambivalent about abortion and knew that it was nothing more than the taking of life.

Since then I've often wondered about how liberal-progressive-socialists could be so for abortion yet so against the death penalty. It seems that a pure, unprotected life full of promise is expendable at the mere whim of a woman, while the wasted, evil life of a criminal is something precious to be spared. How can that be? Then it hit me: A baby in the womb can't vote.

Mr. Kennedy, get a life and quit trying to be the martyr. Bishop Tobin is correct: you can be Catholic or be a liberal-progressive-socialist Democrat and support abortion. You can't be both.

I am not Catholic but my beautiful wife and blessing of a daughter are, and I respect the beliefs of the Church. I oppose abortion except in exceptional medical circumstances.