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Wednesday, May 7, 2008 12:00 AM

The right's selective political manipulation of Catholicism

Kathryn Jean Lopez's tawdry politicization of religion knows no bounds.

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  • Wednesday, May 7, 2008 05:44 AM

    Tell the Archbishop of Denver

    Well, here's the thing: right-wing US Catholics have already found a work around on this one. Several years ago, the Archbishop of Denver (at the time) made several fine distinctions about the Iraq war. The first was that it was, arguably, theologically defensible as a 'just war'. Second, that although the Pope was against it, he had not made this opposition into a formal doctrine, but rather had expressed an opinion. Thus, while Church dogma on abortion was binding, Church opinion about US policy was not.

    I don't think I err here, though to be honest I don't have time this morning to fact check. I had a rather heated exchange with his Holiness (the Archbishop) by e-mail at the time. The upshot of it was, however, the war was deplored by the Pope, but we are theologically allowed to be fine with it; abortion, however, is another matter.

    The sort of reasoning that gave the scholastic tradition a bad name, I'm afraid.

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