This afternoon, mere moments after we published an op-ed I wrote arguing that the oft-touted divide between “pro-life” and “social justice” Catholics sets up a false dichotomy and actually damages the pro-life cause, look what turned up in my Google News feed:
“There are a number of critical divisions among Catholics, including an important divide between ‘social justice’ and “right to life’ Catholics,” says Robert P. Jones, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute and co-author of the 2012 American Values Survey.
According to Reuters, the survey found that “60 percent of Catholics believe in a greater focus on social justice issues rather than abortion, while 31 percent say the opposite.” Even among weekly churchgoers, apparently 51 percent “thought that the church should focus more on social justice issues.”
As I pointed out, there certainly is a divide in the Church, but it’s definitely not “pro-life” vs. “social justice” or even pro-lifers vs. anti-poverty advocates. As I wrote:
We might as well be juxtaposing male and human, dog and animal, or chair and furniture. If the pro-life battle is not a part of “social justice,” then I don’t know what is. … If we cut off the pro-life cause from the work of justice, then we cut it off from the work of the Gospel.
Check out the rest here.