In comparing the second President Bush’s position on life to President Obama’s, Jeannette Mollenkopf (CR, May 14) says she doesn’t “get it.” Perhaps I can help. Mollenkopf makes the point that Catholics criticize Obama for supporting abortion, but give Bush a pass for his support of capital punishment.
First, the church does weigh life issues, and abortion – the direct, intentional killing of the most innocent of human life – surely trumps the putting to death of tried, re-tried and convicted killers of innocents. The church’s opposition to abortion is absolute: this is not the case for capital punishment.
Second, let’s do the math: in the U.S., abortion kills 1.5 million babies each year; capital punishment executions number under 100 per year. Multiply those numbers over just a few years and it really becomes quite simple to understand why George Bush is admired by pro-life Catholics and greeted and praised by popes and high-level church leaders.