In today’s Human Life International e-mail newsletter, Father Thomas Euteneuer writes a scathing indictment of Senator Brownback for approving Governor Sebelius’s nomination as secretary of Health and Human Services. “I am not a politician,” he writes, “I am a priest. “So I would like to give my priestly perspective about the recent endorsement of Senator Sam Brownback for the candidacy of Kathleen Sebelius for Secretary of Health and Human Services: Senator Brownback’s cowardly betrayal of his Catholic faith is even more damaging than his political permission for this renegade to take office.” The full article is well worth a read. Bravo Father!
Nevertheless, Father’s righteous indignation has raised some controversy in Catholic ranks. Deal Hudson, writing for Inside Catholic, has taken exception to Euteneuer’s denunciation of the senator and Catholic convert. What troubles Hudson most is the priest’s calling the Kansas senator a “turncoat.” So, bloggers are lining up over at Inside Catholic to take a stand, pro or con, one way or the the other. The Philosopher knows where he stands. He stands with the blogger named Michael, who writes:
He Did Endorse Her Didn’t He?
Good for Father Euteneuer. And RK is right, the good priest’s comment about Brownback’s weakness being a result of having residual, shall we say, fomes heretici, is beside the point. The senator did endorse this woman’s nomination when he could have opposed it. Until he publicly repudiates his endorsement, he will have less respect among ardent pro-lifers. Mr. Hudson, your defense of Brownback is like sanctioning the “I’m personally opposed” argument, at least to some extent. Abortion does not exist as an abstraction. It is an act of the will of a rational person. No matter how many abortion funding bills you vote against, to endorse a “person” who promotes the murder of the pre-born by her political actions and words is a contradiction of principle. It is an evil act. When the issue with Sebelius is so blatantly public and in the forefront, to endorse her in this crucial position of Health secretary is to consent to the already admitted evil that she is promising to do as Health secretary.
