Text of Bush-Cheney '04 ad run in select mid-size papers in FL, IA, NH, WI and PA on Wednesday, October 20, 2004.



An Open Letter From Fellow Catholics To John Kerry On Faith & Reason

Dear Senator John Kerry:

 

America is a place of hope and opportunity for many reasons. Chief among them we are a people of great faith and that is what keeps us strong.

 

But while Americans have always been a religious people, our faith is tied to reason. We choose goodness and truth not only because faith tells us to, but also because doing otherwise would be inherently wrong.

 

Disagreements will always exist in the civic arena. How high the minimum wage? How to best provide educational opportunity for all?  The appropriate level of taxation?  These are decisions that we work out in the political process and upon which the Church has no specialized knowledge.  As Catholics and as Americans we are called to discern the truth in public policy and to determine which candidate best addresses our concerns.

 

There are core truths, however, around which we as Catholics must rally. Not just because it is the word of the Church, but also because of reason. This is where we stand on opposition to abortion.

 

Innocent human life must always be protected. Senator John Kerry, you have said that “life begins at conception,” but you have persistently supported abortion and oppose all sensible restrictions on the practice. 

 

You have voted six times against banning the barbaric practice of partial birth abortion.  You voted to spend taxpayers’ dollars to fund abortion at least 25 times.

 

You opposed Laci and Conner’s Law, which protects pregnant women and their unborn babies from violent crimes. 

 

In the most recent debate Senator Kerry, you said, "everything you do in public life has to be guided by your faith” and that “everything is a gift from the Almighty.” But apparently, when it comes to the issue of the right to life, you follow neither your own faith nor your own reason. 

 

Senator Kerry, your stand contradicts both your faith and reason.

 

As Americans and Catholics, both faith and reason lead us to President George W. Bush as the choice for life, compassion and justice for all.  For that reason, we are urging fellow Catholics to join us in voting for the President on November 2.

 

Respectfully,

 

Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania U.S. Senator	Sam Brownback, Kansas U.S. Senator	John Roth, Florida Major General, US Army (Ret.)
Kenny Hulsof, Missouri U.S. Congressman	Maria Sophia Aguirre, Washington, DC Professor, Catholic University	Donna Sytek, New Hampshire Former Speaker of the State House
Hadley Arkes, Massachusetts Professor, Amherst College	Lou Barletta, Pennsylvania Mayor, Hazelton	Douglas A. Sylva, New Jersey Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute
Bob Atwell, Wisconsin	Bray Barnes, New Jersey	Frank Stella, Michigan FD Stella Products
Linda D. Barrasse, Pennsylvania Cardiologist	MaryBeth Bonacci, Colorado Real Love Inc.	Mark Ryland, Virginia President, AMDG Foundation
James Barry, Wisconsin	Bill Brown, Iowa	Austin Ruse, Washington, DC President, Culture of Life Foundation
Mary Ellen Bork, Virginia Women Affirming Life	Joe Cella, Michigan President, National Catholic Prayer Breakfast	M. Edward Whelan, Washington, DC Ethics & Public Policy Center
Joe Canizaro, Louisiana	Umberto Fedeli, Ohio	Jack Kelly, Florida
Bruce Chapman, Washington Former Ambassador to the U.N.	Teresa Stanton Collett, Minnesota Professor, University of St Thomas Law School	Connie Marshner, Virginia President, American Catholic Council
Bob Destro, Washington, DC Professor, Columbus Law / Catholic University	Bernard Dobranski, Michigan Dean, Ave Maria Law School	Leonard Leo, Virginia Co-Founder, National Catholic Prayer Breakfast
Laura Dolehide, Iowa Homemaker	Nicholas Eberstadt, Washington, DC Economist	Bowie Kuhn, Florida Former Commissioner of Major League Baseball
Michelle Fischbach, Minnesota State Representative	Robert George, New Jersey Professor, Princeton University	Thomas & Margaret Melady, Washington, DC Former US Ambassador to the Holy See
Brian Golden, Massachusetts State Representative	Scott Hahn, Ohio Professor of Theology and Scripture, Franciscan University	Christopher Wolfe Professor, Marquette University

 

* Group affiliation listed for identification purposes only and does not imply any endorsement.