Another thought brought to you by Nick Caraway –

The Carraways are a proud Irish family. In the grand Irish tradition we have been Catholic going back generations. In fact, Patrick was my patron saint for confirmation. My wife’s was Brigid. Those are the two patron saints of Ireland. Maybe some things are meant to be. Imagine my surprise when I saw the right to lifers ooze into our church’s mass mailers this past week. I always thought that tax exempt status required you to stay out of politics. I guess I was wrong on that front.

What’s more disturbing is that these pro-life groups are going against what the pope has said when it comes to abortion as it relates to other issues. Abortion isn’t the only issue that Catholics should be voting on. Heck, it isn’t even the only life issue that Catholics should be voting on. Somehow, Joe Biden (a good Irish Catholic himself) understands this. So, let me lay it out there for all of the non-Catholics and non-believers our there.

Life is continuum. It begins at conception and ends at natural death. At every stop in between, that life is due its dignity. Yes, that remains respecting the dignity of the unborn. It also means respecting the dignity of every human being as soon as it is here. That means feeding the poor, clothing the naked, healing the sick, and even sparing the life of those that have done the very worst things in society. It means we don’t send our kids off to fight wars of choice. It means we don’t put kids in cages. It means we welcome refugees as our Lord and savior was once a refugee himself.

If anyone knows anything about Joe Biden, they know if he is not pro-abortion. I don’t know a single person that could be called pro-abortion. Abortion is a grueling choice I’m thankful I don’t have to make. All the pro-choice crowd wants is for government to play no part in making that choice. It should be up to women. It should involve their doctor, their family, and maybe even a person of faith. It shouldn’t involve some old, white guy in Washington or Austin.

Meanwhile, I can’t help but think my Catholic brothers and sisters were duped somewhere along the way. I’m not for abortion. I think it is the wrong choice nine times out of ten. It also isn’t my body. It isn’t the opposition to abortion that’s the problem. It’s the willingness to throw aside other issues that should be more important to us. This isn’t a zero sum game. One candidate in this race checks off the vast majority of issues Catholics hold dear. One candidate has virtually no checks except for one. My choice is clear.