We hear constantly about the evils of contraception and gays and an alleged "war on religion" from the two Catholic presidential candidates. And yet both of them support torture of terror suspects; and both were ardent supporters of the Iraq war and want to deepen the one in Afghanistan as well as launch a pre-emptive strike on Iran. Both support the death penalty. How far we've come from the Catholic balance in Merton's Cold War Letters:
It seems a little strange that we [Catholics] are so wildly exercised about the 'murder' (and the word is of course correct) of an unborn infant by abortion, or even the prevention of conception which is hardly murder, and yet accept without a qualm the extermination of millions of helpless and innocent adults, some of whom may be Christians and even our friends rather than our enemies. I submit that we ought to fulfill the one without omitting the other.
The Dish 