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VOL. 36, NO. 36 •
Friday, September 11, 1992
F ALL RIVER, MASS.
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly •
511 Per Year
Voting in 1992:
Confusion confounded WASHINGTON (CNS) - A ballot may present a confusing array of alternatives for voters trying to make moral choices. This year, for example, American voters have seen a presidential campaign in which Republicans and Democrats try to out-moralize each other over "family values." Arguments are made ad infinitum over whether President Bush's policies are more or less supportive of particular values than are Gov. Bill Clinton's. The Catholic Church as an institution in the United States refrains from direct involvement with individual political campaigns. The U.S. Catholic bishops each election season issue a statement on political responsibility, outlining their thoughts about what should be important in the campaign. But they don't approve or disapprove of candidates, nor do they support the policies of one party over another. And they also don't address how to choose between candidates who seem to have sound policies in some areas and questionable morals in others. Armed with the bishops' guidelines and a personal understanding of morality !ind candidate profiles, a voter might still be uncertain who is in the right. - Is it more important that a candidate nominally supports antiabortion efforts or that the candidate favors programs which might persuade a young woman not to have an abortion? - Is an education program that emphasizes improving inner-city public schools more important than ~ne that would help Catholic schools? - Are refugees better served by allowing them easy immigration to the United States or by economic policies aimed at forcing the governments of their homelands to improve conditions? A voter in search of a basis for a decision might work out a framework for weighing the importance of different issues, suggested Father J. Bryan Hehir, counselor for social policy for the U.S. Catholic Conference. "Try to build a framework first, then put in the specifics of how the candidates stand later," said Father Hehir. For instance, a voter first might consider how he or she feels about the deatn penalty, racial discrimination, the' growing rolls of poor and what government policy about abortion should be. Against those issues, evaluate how the contending candidates stack up, then look at the overall picture, the priest said. "While an individual may decide their whole voting pattern on one issue, logically the framework is going to tilt against a single issue deciding (the choice of candidate)," said Father Hehir. Similarly, that
kind offramework might also lead someone to decide in favor of a candidate with whom he or she disagrees dramatically on one major issue. A big part ofthe problem voters have in answering such questions may be that modern political campaigns give little opportunity for understanding the nuances of a candidate's philosophy, according to Patrick Byrne, associate professor of philosophy at Jesuit-run Boston College. The late Jesuit philosopher Father Bernard Lonergan was a believer in attempting to understand not just answers to questions, but "where the spirit of the questioning is leading" as well as the "wisps and strains of ideas we feel in our hearts," said Byrne. But when political campaigns revolve around quick answers ~ sound bites - the information voters have on which to base decisions often is not very helpful, noted Byrne. Voters need to demand more of candidates than quick answers that superficially address an issue but leave hidden the rationale for a decision or belief, said Byrne. With some issues, there is no question about how a moralitybased vote should go, believes Father Peter M.J. Stravinskas, a moral theologian ahd administrator of Holy Trinity Church in Newark, N.J. "The pre-eminent condition is the candidate's stand on the right to life," said Father Stravinaksas. "If you're interested in killing "abies, then you're uncivilized." When faced with two candidates who are "equally good or equally bad on the right to life, then 'you start lining up your ducks on a whole host of issues," he advises. BISHOP O'MALLEY greets a young attendant at celebration of Our Lady of Angels feast As certain as he is that a stand at St. Mary's parish, Fairhaven, as Father James R. Nickel, SS.Cc., pastor, looks on; below, against abortion is enough to choose one candidate over another, the bishop and Msgr. John Oliveira walk in the feast procession (Studio D photos) F~h~Strn~nskassaysthere~nol.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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For instance, on questions like whose approach to welfare will help more people, "as long as you are in agreement on the principle (of having a societal obligation to help the poor), the means can differ." "People of good will can have a lot of differences on social concerns," agreed Jesuit Father Kenneth Baker, editor of The Homiletic and Pastoral Review. In a case where the choice of candidates is between two people who support "something explicitly evil like abortion," responsible voters either could refuse to vote or could come up with a basis for determining "the lesser of two evils." His monthly publication incltldes material for homilies intended to educate churchgoers about elecTurn to Page 13
Sudan expels priests, religious
ROME (CNS) - The Sudanese government has expelled all foreign priests and religious from the southern city of Juba, say the Comboni missionaries. A statement issued by the Comboni order in Rome said it was likely "that the Khartoum regime does not want uncomfortable witnesses, as the army and security forces continue their harassment of the 300,000 inhabitants of the' city." Juba is besieged by Southern rebel forces fighting the Arab Muslim government, headquartered in the north. The guerrillas are composed mostly of black Christians and animists who want independence for the South. On Sept. 5, five Comboni nuns and six Comboni priests and broth-
ers were taken by security forces to the Juba airport and flown to the capital of Khartoum, said the Comboni missionaries. They were the last foreign priests and religious to leave Juba, said the Comboni statement. All arrived safely in Khartoum and have been allowed to stay there, said Father Joseph Bragotti, Comboni spokesman, Sept. 8. Sudanese priests and religious, including three Comboni members,
A PARISH MARKS ITS 90th YEAR See pages 8-9
have been allowed to stay in Juba, he said. But they could be in danger as the presence of foreign missionaries was a protection, drawing international attention to the situation, s,aid Father Bragotti. An August report by the Comboni missionaries said fighting has been heavy in the Juba area and the government has been taking reprisals against civilians for attacks by the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Army. "After each SPLA attack, the army has been taking out its frustrations on the civilian population: By now men, women, children [and] students in the hundreds have died during these military raids," the Comboni report said.