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The fundamental logic behind all of these things is THE EXACT SAME, and I'm increasingly perplexed that I haven't seen more Catholics highlighting the connections:
Anti-slavery
Anti-racism
Anti-fascism
Anti-abortion
Anti-slavery
Anti-racism
Anti-fascism
Anti-abortion
It's one thing to say "I believe slavery should be eradicated from society".
It's something very different (and deeply inadequate) to say "I don't believe in owning slaves, personally".
It's something very different (and deeply inadequate) to say "I don't believe in owning slaves, personally".
It's one thing to say "I believe abortion should be eradicated from society".
It's something very different (and deeply inadequate) to say "I don't believe in abortion, personally".
It's something very different (and deeply inadequate) to say "I don't believe in abortion, personally".
It's one thing to say "I believe all forms of racism should be eradicated from society".
It's something very different (and deeply inadequate) to say "I'm not racist, personally".
It's something very different (and deeply inadequate) to say "I'm not racist, personally".
It's one thing to argue that these evils should not exist, and to actively work toward achieving a reality in which they are eradicated.
It's quite another thing to be "personally opposed, but" fundamentally comfortable with giving your neighbor the choice to pursue them.
It's quite another thing to be "personally opposed, but" fundamentally comfortable with giving your neighbor the choice to pursue them.
If you're not actively supporting the eradication of racism or abortion (or slavery or fascism), then you are merely absolving yourself of personal responsibility while saying: Hey *I* don't support it... but I *am* comfortable with enabling my neighbors' choice to support it.
If you're not actively fighting to eliminate an evil from your community, then you are implicitly affirming that you consider it to be at least a *tolerable* evil (if not a "necessary" evil) in your society, and that you believe your neighbor should have the freedom to choose it.
Now indeed, some evils *are* to be prudently tolerated in society, "lest certain goods be lost, or certain greater evils be incurred: thus Augustine says (De Ordine ii.4): “If you do away with harlots, the world will be convulsed with lust.” (Aquinas, ST II-II, q. 10, a. 11)
But if you are NOT willing to declare yourself anti-racist, or anti-fascist, or anti-abortion – at least, according to the principle of what it means to be "anti-(X)" – then you HAVE to own up to the fact that you believe these things to be tolerable, and defend your reasons why.
