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¿Debe Estar Un Católico En El Tribunal Supremo?

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¿Debe Estar Un Católico En El Tribunal Supremo? Progreso Semanal Nuestro mundo desde perspectivas progresistas http://progresosemanal.us ¿Debe estar un Católico en el Tribunal Supremo? Author : Archivo Progreso Date : 4 de agosto, 2005 Por Bill Press ¡Santa Madre de Dios! Los republicanos están jugando otra vez la carta del catolicismo. Apenas había nominado el Presidente Bush a John Roberts para el Tribunal Supremo cuando los seguidores ya habían advertido que cualquiera que se atreviera a cuestionar a Roberts por asuntos de fe sería acusado de prejuicio anti-católico. Bill Donahue, presidente de la Liga Católica, dijo: “Cualquier arañazo a esta área sugeriría de que existe una velada prueba religiosa al hacer preguntas acerca de sus profundas creencias. Nuestras antenas estarán listas.” Qué lástima. Adelante, acúsenme de prejuicio anti-católico. Pero como católico que soy de toda la vida, ex monaguillo y ex seminarista, digo: el catolicismo de Roberts puede ser cuestionado. Es absolutamente esencial que las creencias religiosas de Roberts sean parte del proceso de confirmación. Especialmente porque si es confirmado pudiera pertenecer al tribunal durante los próximos 35 años. Por favor, no estoy sugiriendo que un católico no puede estar en el Tribunal Supremo, de la misma manera que no sugeriría que un protestante, un judío o un musulmán no puedan pertenecer. De hecho Roberts se convertiría en el cuarto católico del tribunal, después de Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas y Anthony Kennedy. Pero es justo plantear la cuestión religiosa con Roberts sólo en el siguiente sentido: si se le pide a usted que decida acerca de un tema en el que su fe le dice una cosa y la ley le dice otra, ¿a cuál responde su lealtad? ¿A la Biblia o a la Constitución? Y para los católicos, esa pregunta no es hipotética. Hay varios casos en los que la enseñanza oficial de la Iglesia Católica se opone directamente a la ley. Roe vs. Wade es el caso más comentado, y también el más evidente. La constitución da a todo norteamericano el derecho de privacidad, que incluye el derecho de las mujeres norteamericanas a controlar lo que sucede en sus propios cuerpos. La Iglesia enseña que la decisión por el aborto, incluso en el caso de violación o incesto, está mal y debiera ser ilegal. ¿Cuál autoridad seguirá Roberts? ¿Su fe o la ley? Los conservadores también debieran estar alerta. Tomemos la pena de muerte. El Tribunal Supremo ha mantenido la constitucionalidad de la pena capital. La Iglesia Católica, bajo el Papa Juan Pablo II, dijo que la pena 1 / 3 Progreso Semanal Nuestro mundo desde perspectivas progresistas http://progresosemanal.us de muerte es inmoral y debiera ser abolida. ¿Qué orientación seguirá Roberts, la del presidente o la del papa? ¿Y quieren los conservadores un juez que, debido a su fe, nunca podría votar a favor de la pena de muerte? El aborto y la pena de muerte son sólo dos de los varios temas en que se enfrentan el estado y la iglesia. El tribunal de Rehnquist ya ha aceptado un caso que pone a prueba la constitucionalidad de los derechos de los homosexuales. ¿Y qué me dicen de la distribución de condones para ayudar a contener la expansión de VIH/SIDA, o la práctica de la anticoncepción? Monseñor Peter Vaghi, el pastor de Roberts en Bethesda, Maryland, predica que la anticoncepción, incluso la practicada por un matrimonio, es inmoral. El Senador Rick Santorum, católico también, dijo a CNN que el Tribunal Supremo se equivocó cuando en 1965 legalizó la asesoría en medidas anticonceptivas. Nuevamente la Iglesia Católica está de un lado y la ley norteamericana de otro. ¿De qué lado está Roberts? ¿Es justo interrogar a Roberts acerca de su fe? Por supuesto que sí. Y los que sugieren lo contrario no debieran ser tomados seriamente. Dejen que vague su imaginación. Supongamos que Roberts fuera musulmán. ¿Creen ustedes que no se hablaría de su fe? La misma gente que se queja hoy del prejuicio anticatólico estaría liderando los ataques antimusulmanes. Y además, no es sólo a los republicanos a los que se les pide que expliquen de qué manera influye su fe en su política. En 2000 Joe Lieberman fue vapuleado con preguntas acerca de su judaísmo. ¿Colocaría él una menorah en el césped de la Casa Blanca? ¿Podría apretar el botón nuclear un sábado? ¿Era un títere de Israel? Lieberman nunca acusó a sus críticos de ser antisemitas. Sencillamente dijo: Mi país está primero. Y, por supuesto, la misma pregunta que ahora enfrenta el católico John Roberts se le hizo al católico John F. Kennedy, candidato demócrata a la presidencia en 1960. Los protestantes exigieron que respondiera: ¿A quién debe lealtad, a la Constitución o al Vaticano? Kennedy no lloriqueó acerca del prejuicio anticatólico. Habló claramente. Dijo que en primer lugar era norteamericano, y católico en segundo lugar. “No hablo por la iglesia en asuntos de estado”, dijo a un grupo de ministros en Houston, “y la iglesia no habla por mí”. Kennedy dio la respuesta adecuada. ¿Qué respuesta daría John Roberts? Hasta que preguntemos no se sabrá. Bill Press es el anfitrión de su nuevo programa diario de radio sindicado nacionalmente, y que también puede ser escuchado en Radio Satélite Sirius. Su correo electrónico es [email protected]. Su sitio web es www.billpress.com. 2 / 3 Progreso Semanal Nuestro mundo desde perspectivas progresistas http://progresosemanal.us (c) 2005 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC. 3 / 3 Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org).
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