| There are times when it probably is better not to reply to articles that unfairly or even irresponsibly distort one's own teaching on issues, lest one gives more importance to the misinformation than it deserves.
Sometimes, however, it truly is important to set the record straight in the face of half-truths or innuendos, lest the old axiom that silence presumes consent gives the impression that one has no reply, and the field is left to those who manipulate words into fanciful concepts with little relevance to the facts.
The July 21 column by George Weigel ("Truth at the fifty-yard-line") is a case in point. The column incorrectly equates my repeated calls for civility in public life and in the Church with a lack of uncompromising commitment to the doctrine of our faith. Nothing could be further from the truth, as anyone who has taken the time to read my many talks and columns would know.
Not only that, the column goes on to describe the positions of three Catholics from other nations --- people I don't know --- as if their erroneous views were my own. That is, at the minimum, deceptive journalism, if not worse. It is an old trick of debaters to create a straw man and then demolish it, giving the false impression that one is thereby proving a point.
T herefore,
let me be clear once again. I will continue to call for moderation
and civility, and to reach out and talk with everyone, regardless
of what side of the aisle they are on. That doesn't mean compromising
our faith and our teachings, but it does mean that we treat
each other with respect as befits the dignity of our brothers
and sisters, avoid name calling and personal attacks and be
careful that what we say is always true both in its expression
and its implication.
I have no desire to enter into a long controversy on this question, but I do believe this newspaper's readers at least deserve the facts.
Let us pray for each other that soon it may be said again of us what was said in days of old: "See these Christians, how they love one another!" Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick is the former Archbishop of Washington, D.C.
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