Vatican Bars Dissent on Official Church Teachings

Ronald Brownstein’s Column One “Catholicism, a Political Issue Again” (June 22) illustrates the intention of the Catholic Church hierarchy to impose its narrowly held religious views on the entire U.S. citizenry through any means possible--beginning with open religious extortion of political candidates and officials who are Catholic. If state Senate candidate Lucy Killea (D-San Diego) is deprived of sacraments, New Jersey Gov. James Florio silenced and New York Gov. Mario Cuomo threatened with hell all in public, everyone of us must contemplate in horror what goes on behind closed doors.

The story also illustrates, without saying so, that there is only one kind of Catholic politician who can be trusted not to impose his or her religious beliefs on all of us: the politician in public rebellion with at least one significant church position. Neither the (Rep.) Robert Dornans (R-Garden Grove), who flagrantly merge Catholicism with public policy considerations, nor the quiet and obedient legions of Catholic policy-makers should be trusted by the voting populace to do anything other than use their public trust to implement their private religious views.

A vote for a Catholic politician, who is not publicly opposed to his/her own religious leaders, is really a vote for the pertinent Catholic authority. This is true not because I say it or because others imply it, but it is true because these same religious leaders demand, coerce and extort it. The Catholic Church could be honest by putting up its bishops, archbishops and Pope as candidates for the offices they control or wish to control.

To bring us all closer to that day of truth, we can take responsibility for eliminating the unconstitutional and dangerous deceit of the religious puppeteers by voting down their political puppets.

ED UEHLING

Los Angeles