The following letters to the editor appear in the edition of May 13, 2004. Letters appearing in this space do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arlington Catholic Herald or the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. The editor reserves the right to edit letters as necessary. There is no guarantee of publication. Send letters to: letters@catholicherald.com.

Issues that Matter

I agree with Father John Rausch (ACH 04/29/04) that "people of faith might vote for the [presidential] candidate most open to life issues." In my judgment, the reality and raw numbers of more than one million abortions every year, combined with the stark recognition of the holocaust of a lost generation of innocents, jolts me to conclude that I have no logical, rational voting alternative but George Bust. John Kerry’s aggressive support for abortion rights is beyond debate. His appearance at the NARAL dinner last winter confirmed his commitment; his derisive remarks directed at pro-life advocates were both instructive and disturbing. Kerry’s recent vote against a ban on partial-birth abortions moved him firmly into a small Senate group who support a radical camp of pro-abortion extremists.

Father Rausch also comments that "many Catholics feel no one candidate reflects fully the social teachings of the Church." He’s right and that fact needs to be recognized as a clear opportunity for some courageous Church leadership. If the social teachings and social justice criteria are carefully framed and measured in a context of life and death, we might as questions like: How many lives have been lost as a result of our minimum wage? How many children have starved to death because of/or absent a federal program? How many executions occur in U.S. prisons each year versus total abortions performed? What was the annual "kill rate" of innocent Iraqi’s under Saddam versus the total fatalities since the war? How many terrorists have been pursued/captured/tried by the United Nations? Is a poor paying job in an undeveloped country of any value to the man who has never had a job?

In the final analysis, I believe Catholics have a real chance in this election to truly vote on behalf of the most vulnerable in society. Several Supreme Court Justices are likely to retire soon. Their successors will have a profound effect on a range of life issues from stem cell research, patient assisted suicide, abortion and cloning. For some of us, the opportunity to show "genuine compassion" as Father Rausch urges does not appear as complex when you weigh the hard evidence.

Bill Cassidy
Mooresville, N.C.

Students of Faith

Having completed my first year at the University of Virginia last Friday, I was happy to return to my family and home in Fairfax and to enjoy the latest HERALD, particularly Elizabeth Foss’ column on two UVa. newspapers (ACH 5/6/04). As disturbing as these examples of "journalism" from her alma mater are, there is solace in knowing that the pieces she mentioned were, to my knowledge, the two most offensive of the academic year. Students recognize the weekly Declaration as a radically liberal paper. Many choose never to look beyond the front page. Gretchen Zimmerman’s sex column has been controversial from its creation a few months ago and The Cavalier Daily this year included columns on the sanctity of marriage and the illegitimacy of Roe v. Wade.

UVa. also offers more substantial reasons for hope, such as the strength and vitality of the Catholic Student Ministry at the university parish of St. Thomas Aquinas. Hundreds of students make up a community with a deep reverence for the Eucharist and a commitment to the Church’s teachings. CSM recently sponsored a presentation on human sexuality and next semester will host a series of talks by Father Tom Blau, O.P., on Pope John Paul II’s "Theology of the Body." We are also planning a visit from Professor Janet Smith (of "Contraception: Why Not?" fame) to expose the student body to Natural Family Planning.

Students teach religious education, attend daily Mass and sponsor fellow students in the RCIA process. This Easter, five more students became Catholic, including the 2004-2005 president of First Right, UVa’s pro-life student group.

First Right is thrilled by events of the last year, from a Pregnancy Resources Forum investigating the support available to pregnant students to the March for Life to a pro-life week featuring speakers from Democrats for Life of America and Black Americans for Life.

We continue supporting the local crisis pregnancy center while opposing Planned Parenthood’s designs to open a second facility in the area. We are also raising funds to bring Norma McCorvey (aka "Jane Roe") to UVa. for our 2005 pro-life week, as well as starting a structured pro-life/pro-choice dialogue.

Foss would likely be glad to know that the Cavalier Daily generally gives First Right fair and equal treatment in its pages, referring to our organization as "pro-life" rather than as "anti-abortion" like most national newspapers.

We were solicited to write a column on the passage of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, and one columnist presented the messages of our pro-life week speakers to a circulation of 10,000 readers. (Information about all of these groups is available through a search of the university’s Web site: www.virginia.edu.)

I thank Foss for the opportunity to express gratitude for God’s presence at U.Va. and would ask, as she does, that we join together in prayer for the continued evangelization of our nation and our culture.

Christy Elliott
Fairfax

Free to Disagree

I am a graduate student at the University of Virginia and read with interest Elizabeth Foss’ column titled "Reclaim the Culture for Christ" (ACH 5/06). I am in agreement with many of her lamentations about the current state of popular culture. However, I would like to correct an error in her article. She asks the question, "Why are our tax dollars funding ‘how-to’ articles on oral sex at public universities?" The Commonwealth of Virginia provides 8.1 percent of the budget of the University of Virginia. So, more often than not, the activities undertaken at U.Va. are not funded by the public.

Indeed, none of the student newspapers at the University of Virginia receive tax dollars in support of their operations. The Cavalier Daily, the "official" daily student newspaper, is an independent corporation with no legal or fiduciary ties to the University. Its operations are supported through advertising revenues.

The Declaration, a left-leaning weekly publication, is funded in part through student activities fees, which are part of the tuition and fees paid by students. Such fees also fund a number of alternative publications, including those from a Christian perspective. Any student may request a refund of their student activities fee ($8 if my memory serves me correct) should they disagree with the speech it funds.

Again, as a Catholic, I agree with many of Foss’ concerns about popular culture. However, I sincerely hope she is not suggesting that we violate the first amendment rights of students merely to silence opinions with which she or I disagree — no matter how objectionable.

When speaking of the University he founded, Thomas Jefferson once stated, "For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it." The Cavalier Daily, the Declaration, and the numerous other right, left and center publications at UVa. are engaged in that journey and we should not attempt to silence such speech simply because of the content. Rather, we should use reason, to educate students on an alternative value system.

Dave Wolcott
Charlottesville

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