A reader commented...

I have no way to resond to the following commentor via email, so I will do so below. First, her comments:

I apologize in advance if this question is inappropriate, however, we're looking for advice. My husand is a christian going through RCIA to become a catholic
(I'm a cradle catholic-- but non-practicing for many years) and has encountered
an uncomfortable situation. In his RCIA classes, one of the "instructors" is
injecting pro-kerry/ democrat rhetoric. For example, the instructor stated that
the POPE has stated that there is a moral equivalence between the death penalty
and abortion. That's insane. Then she continued on the "pope's stance that the
iraq war was 'unjust'". Were those exact words used? I've read the "unjust war
doctrine", but it's pretty vague. My husband's sponsor (just assigned) is a
former mennonite, so we're not thrilled with the prospect and considering
leaving this church, because we shall not attend another pro-kerry rally
(frankly, we're ready to cause a bit of a scandal at the upcoming "peace &
justice committee" meeting a the church). Shall we give the church/ the pastoral
assistants a heads up/ ask for assistance, or is this indicative of a
church-wide problem? Any advice would be appreciated.

This is unacceptable. I suggest you speak with the pastor. The moral equivalence statement is just false. I suggest you look to the Catechism to see the differences, how ever slight, between opposing abortion and capital punishment. The Church teaches abortion is always wrong and that capital punishment can be allowed in certain, rare cases. I have a post on Cardinal Dulles' explanation of this here. Before the war, the Holy Father sent an envoy to speak withn President Bush. This envoy said if the U.S fought without UN approval the war would be unjust and illegal. It is debatable whether the UN had already given its defacto approval since Iraq had violated some many UN resolutions over the last decade. I recommend reading George Wiegal (here, here, here, and here) on "just war" theory. We should pay attention to what the Holy Father says, but we must remember there is a difference between moral doctrine and Vatican diplomacy. IMO you should be your husband's sponsor or he should be able to chose whomever he wishes (within the guidelines of comfirmation, of course.) Hope this helps.