The political campaign season is well underway across the nation and with intensity here in Rhode Island.
With both national elections for the presidency and federal offices as well as elections for the Rhode Island General Assembly, Ocean State voters are bombarded with advertisements, speeches, mailings, knocks on the front door and phone calls. As Catholics, we are faced with a myriad of issues that are of concern and should be addressed, such as the protection of human life, the sanctity of marriage, immigration reform, healthcare, the economy, and concern for the poor. We are called to be concerned about these issues and must continue to work to see that just solutions are brought about nationally and locally. The time has come to put aside hackneyed political sloganeering and stale stump speeches to seriously and prayerfully begin our reflection as faithful citizens and conscientious Catholics.
While the overriding issue of abortion is not the only issue, it continues to be the defining moral issue of the last 35 years. More than one million lives are lost each year through legalized abortion. This must always be a cause of deep concern for Catholics if not all members of a civilized society. This election affords us the opportunity to promote not only the common good but also to promote the culture of life in the United States and here in Rhode Island. In the Ocean State, another issue of great concern for Catholics must be the protection of the sanctity of marriage. R.I. Speaker of the House Gordon Fox has declared that he will attempt to push through a bill that will redefine marriage and allow for homosexual marriage in Rhode Island.
Such attempts have always been thwarted in the past due to the loud outcry from concerned Rhode Islanders against such a radical social experiment. This time the Speaker has promised an early vote in the January session of the General Assembly and seems self-assured that he has the support to pass such drastic legislation. It is now abundantly clear that he has been allied by the radical forces of the same-sex marriage movement and many pro-abortion groups that have targeted for defeat many incumbent General Assembly members who bravely support the protection of the sanctity of life and traditional marriage. These radical special interest groups hope to lead the Ocean State deeper into the culture of death as they seek to eliminate those elected officials who courageously stand by their moral convictions and replace them with radical secular humanist candidates.
It is imperative that during the 2012 campaign season Catholic Rhode Islanders must be ever vigilant in their defense of marriage and human life. As the candidates for the General Assembly appear on doorsteps seeking the vote of Catholics, voters must query where these candidates stand on profound moral issues for our state. Catholics should be on the cautious lookout for those wolves in sheep’s clothing who seemingly speak only about economic issues and need for change but in reality are radical extremists who want only to redefine marriage for all Rhode Islanders and who will only promote more abortion on demand rather than seek to stem this grave evil. We urge all citizens of Rhode Island- but most especially those of the Catholic community- to ask these candidates if they stand for the promotion and protection of marriage between one man and one woman and the respect for all human life. Only with such vigilance can the wolves who seek to redefine marriage and expand abortion rights be stopped from entering the hallowed halls of the Rhode Island Statehouse.
