Dec 13, 2014 2 min read

In Bob Willison’s Nov. 30 letter, he demonstrates that he doesn’t understand the Catholic faith.

The bottom line for the Catholic faith is that it follows God’s law. God’s law maintains the sanctity of life from conception until natural death. There is no hypocrisy in that; on the contrary, it is a loving, Christian, view. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops opposes proposed legislation for assisted suicide because it negates the value of human life until natural death.

Willison’s letter presents the idea that the Catholic Church is responsible for “terrible suffering and death of millions of men and women from AIDS.” This is a ludicrous statement. If the world’s population followed Catholic teaching, the AIDS pandemic would never have occurred. Catholic teaching promotes the sanctity of marriage. Furthermore, the Catholic Church, as well as Protestant churches, promotes monogamy and sex within marital bonds. Had many of the AIDS victims lived in a manner consistent with the Catholic Church, they would not have perished.

While there are a number of innocent AIDS victims, many deaths from AIDS stemmed from irresponsible actions. The teachings of the Catholic Church in no way contributed to these deaths and cannot be held responsible.

Willison apparently does not know that, until 1930, many Protestants agreed with the Catholic Church’s teaching condemning contraception as sinful. Unfortunately, many churches caved to the pressure of society and turned away from God’s law. This is the opposite of the way it should be. Individuals in society should live their lives according to their faith. They should not demand that their faith change to accommodate the whims of society.

Before criticizing the Catholic Church, Willison should have learned the truth about it. The Catholic Church is my church, and it is not hypocritical.

Tracy Sushel

Claysville