The moral value of compromise

In response to the April 17 letter “Why the Catholic Church has it right.” the relevant issue is not the moral authority of the Catholic Church. The moral teachings of any religion should remain inviolate and not be subject to the dictates of cultural and social norms. What’s at question is how do such moral teachings successfully coexist with civil law?

The Catholic Church is a vitally important force for good in the cultural and social fabric of American life. Even so, while Catholics make up about 20 percent of the U.S. population, 80 percent of Americans still don’t identify with the Catholic Church. So, in addition to serving the interests of Catholics, civil law should also address the broader needs of our pluralistic and multicultural society.

In the current controversy over contraception and its relation to freedom of religion and personal conscience, three questions arise. First, can the moral teachings of any religion that opposes artificial means of contraception be upheld when the U.S. government mandates that employer-supported health insurance providers make all means of contraceptives freely available to women? Second, can the right of personal conscience for women be upheld when their employers have the right to prevent them from having access to freely available contraceptives? Third, and conversely, what about the personal conscience rights of those who don’t want to help pay for the contraceptives used by others?

The answers to these questions are by no means clear. But the chances for answers to be arrived at are greatly increased if people on all sides approach them questions in a spirit of mutual respect and good will. The late Sen. Everett Dirksen once said that his most important principle was the principle of compromise. Perhaps, when people of good will get together to settle their differences, compromise becomes the most important moral value of all.

Dave Schulz

Hawthorn Woods