Proposition 1 and Weak Responses

I was out the other night with a group of men from the Catholic men's group to which I belong. I struck up a conversation with one man sitting next to me. The issue of Proposition 1 on the NY ballot came up.

For those unfamiliar with the Proposition, if approved it will codify abortion without limits in the NY Constitution, and undermine parent right when it comes to their children and abortion or "gender transition."

As part of our discussion, the man noted that the Catholic Courier had reported on a statement from the NY Bishops opposing the Proposition, but complained that the Courier has stuck the article on an inside page (13) and posted it in a single narrow column that would not draw a lot of attention. He said that the issue is so important that priests should be talking about it in their homilies, and it should be addressed in parish bulletins again and again, otherwise people will not be aware of the evil of this proposition.

I agreed that a single article like this in the middle of the summer will not be enough. As a retired teacher, I know you have to repeat new ideas again and again before a majority of students understand them. I also think the article could have used some statements or a second article interviewing diocesan officials, local pro-life activists, and perhaps some spokesperson from the opposition organization linked in the article.

Perhaps there will be more from the Bishops. Perhaps the diocese will do something to focus on the issue. Maybe it will distribute bulletin articles and homily hints related to the Proposition. How about a press conference with diocesan pro-life officials and Bishop Matano? One can only hope,

As for the Courier, perhaps there will be something more in October when it puts out a Life issue, but that's just a month before voting and hardly enough. Maybe there will be something in the September issue, but I'm not holding my breath given recent trends. Just this year:

- There was no coverage of the Good Friday Stations of the Cross for Life.

- There was no coverage of the national 40 Days for Life Catholic speaker coming to Rochester.

- There was no coverage of the national Men's March coming to Rochester and drawing more than 200 mostly Catholic marchers processing through downtown Rochester.

- Unless there is a future article, there was no coverage of Catholic pro-life activist Mark Houck, whose home was raided at gunpoint by the FBI - terrorizing his wife and seven children - but who was acquitted of all charges.

Anyway, the man and I agreed that with the state government and the media backing it, and without more being done on sustained basis by the Church, it is likely the Proposition will pass, and abortion will be enshrined in the State Constitution and parental rights will be undermined.

And maybe after the approval state Catholic officials will lament the passage and note that, gee, they did issue a statement against it.

Pax et bonum