Giuliani could take a lesson in courage from Archbishop Burke

Colleen Carroll Campbell writes:

It's déjà vu all over again, as Yogi Berra would say:...When [Archbishop Raymond] Burke said John Kerry should not present himself for Communion, critics accused Burke of partisan motivations.

...[Recently he] said he would apply the same principle to Republican Rudy Giuliani...Writing recently in a prestigious Catholic journal, Burke — one of the world's foremost experts in church law — reiterated his support for the longstanding practice of denying Communion to Catholics who publicly and persistently flout church teaching on serious matters...

...The argument that respect for the sanctity of innocent life constitutes a purely religious conviction with no place in public policy would surprise the authors of our Declaration of Independence, which describes the right to life as "unalienable" and "self-evident." Similarly puzzling is the reluctance of pro-choice Catholic politicians to impose their "personal beliefs" with regard to abortion, since most show no such reticence on other issues...

The personally-opposed-but-publicly-supportive argument logically leads to one of two conclusions: Either such politicians agree with the church and consider abortion to be intrinsically evil but they lack the courage to act on their convictions; or they disagree with the church but lack the integrity to honestly proclaim their beliefs and accept the consequences that follow...

Giuliani may not have the courage of his convictions, but Burke does. Catholics concerned about the integrity of the faith and all voters concerned about truth in political advertising should be grateful for that.

Complete article here.