"Not Remotely The Issue"

"Not Remotely The Issue" by MSW


We had the Virginia Catholic conference letter today at Mass. Interestingly, the bishops asked for two things: prayer and fasting and going to web pages and signing up for e-mail updates.

First off, fasting does not work as a bribe to God - but as a way to get to either self-mastery or a sense of powerlessness - doing it for a cause unless you are hunger-striking has no value.

Second, I am suspicious of calls to go to a web page to register one's opinion - especially if it is to a sponsor site rather than to your member of Congress or the White House. Too often these "petitions" become mailing lists to be used for fundraising and "voter education."

The pro-life movement is known for their ability to make and sell these lists. I expect the FOCA lists were sold to Republican operatives and this project will be no exception. Expect to get some kind of correspondence in October about this issue if you support the bishop's position - and expect it to contain slanted information opposing the President. Think I'm wrong? If you register on any of these pages, use your confirmation name and see what mail you get and from whom this fall.