Rhetoric on Catholic hospitals misleading

I learned at a very young age in Hong Kong with my eyes and ears and heart that we have to nurture the young, care for the old, and help the sick, the poor and the unfortunate. Life is such a blessing, so precious and challenging, that we should not terminate it at any stage because of inconveniences.

Always ringing in my ear is an ancient Chinese teaching: “The greatest purpose (virtue) of heaven and earth is to give life (to let live).” Chastity is important if we treasure our lives. We treasure our lives, hence our procreation ability, and hence the lives of all who are related to us — in the past, in the future (our ancestors and descendants) as well as those in the present moment (our own kin and kin “at large” — another Chinese saying: “All peoples are my kin”).

“What responsibility or blame does a little innocent child need to bear?” says another Chinese proverb. It is thus understandable that Catholics should rush to the side of a pregnant woman to give her aid: to comfort her, to ease her sufferings, and to reduce her worries; and we don’t have to condemn the young child who is growing rapidly inside her body according to nature’s grand design.

In a recent letter, Terry Cosgrove of Personal PAC attempted to discredit the Catholic Conference of Illinois. Catholic hospitals follow a treatment protocol for rape victims that complies with Illinois health care laws while maintaining the integrity of Catholic moral teaching on contraception. Mr. Cosgrove, please don’t confuse the facts with your rhetoric.

Laurence Wong

Des Plaines