A number of Catholic commentators in recent weeks have expressed unease and more about the anti-FOCA campaign of pro-life activists. Their view — expressed here in a slightly hyperbolic way by journalist/blogger David Gibson — is that 1) FOCA has no chance of passing 2) Therefore, protesting about it is purely confrontational 3) and prevents any hope of Catholic influence in the new administration of Barack Obama.
It is true there has been a lot of misplaced hysteria about FOCA in some Catholic circles. One anti-FOCA novena that was recently widely circulated on the Internet made, among other errors, the false claim that Obama would sign FOCA on Jan 21 or 22 — a clear impossibility, considering the bill first has to be introduced in Congress and make it through both House and Senate.
But in our Jan. 25 editorial, we argue that even if the FOCA threat seems remote, Catholics have a right —- even a duty — to speak out against bad laws. Read it here.
