But according to Sedler's line of thinking, if a Catholic candidate or public officeholder did support such a public policy it would be entirely inappropriate for Adam Cardinal Maida, the head of the Detroit Roman Catholic Archdiocese, to withhold Holy Communion from said candidate/officeholder as "punishment" for violating the Church's teaching on the sanctity of human life.  

I think most reasonable people can see that publicly supporting the legal killing of one's parents at one of the most vulnerable stages of life would be anathema no matter what the U.S. Supreme Court said.  And if one really did adhere to the Fifth Commandment in private, then it would be incumbent on that public officeholder to speak out and not support euthanizing (otherwise known as murdering) one's parents simply because they have Alzheimer's.  

But when it comes to abortion, Sedler and his ilk put on their blinders and gleefully rationalize how it is possible - indeed "American" - to separate one's public policy position from one's private religious beliefs.  This is nothing more than the result of 35 years of legalized abortion on demand - 35 years as a society of accepting the lie that abortion is a legitimate "choice" because of the invented right to privacy.

I believe that if the U.S. Supreme Court ever ruled that it is a legitimate choice for adult children to choose to euthanize their Alzheimer-ridden parents, society would come to accept the lie that the right to privacy means that Alzheimer patients can be legitimately "terminated" - that is, with 35 years' worth of propaganda.

The point is that Sedler's argument is fundamentally flawed.  One cannot separate one's personal beliefs, religious or not, from one's public policy positions, especially if one is a political candidate or public officeholder.  

To do so, would be to ask that candidate or officeholder to be two different people at the same time - the very essence of a hypocrite.  Thus, praying for an end to abortion at Mass, as a private citizen, and then leading a pro-abortion rights rally sponsored by EMILY's List afterwards as, say, the Governor of Michigan, is entirely contradictory.  

When a publically pro-abortion Catholic or Christian officeholder passes away and is before the Pearly Gates begging to be let in, the claim that he or she is attempting to enter solely as a private citizen, and not as a public officeholder, will simply not fly.  If you are Catholic or Christian, it is simply impossible to leave your religious beliefs at the door when entering public office.  

Catholic public officeholders who in anyway promote, celebrate, or advance the cause of abortion on demand vis-à-vis their public office should not only be denied communion, but should also be told to leave the Church until such time that they are willing to conform their actions to the tenets of the Catholic faith.  

This is not the "dictating" of public policy by a religious institution, but rather, at its core, the demonstration of true pastoral care for the entire flock of the faithful.  

Catholics, who happen to be public officeholders or political candidates, do not get a "free pass" to act as hypocrites simply because of their public status.  There can be - nor should there be - a double standard when it comes to lay members of the faithful in terms of fulfilling their duties as Catholic Christians.  

So, in the final analysis, Governor Granholm, as a public officeholder, is free to veto Michigan's fourth attempt to outlaw partial-birth abortion at the state level, but if she fulfills her veto threat, then it is time for the Church to ex-communicate her.  

"No person can serve two masters; for either she will hate the one, and love the other; or else she will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:24.

Period.

About the author: Andrew Shirvell, Esq., is a pro-life citizen activist who writes a weekly column that is published every Thursday for RightMichigan.com in which he focuses upon Michigan pro-life issues. He is the co-author of "Michigan Law and the Scales of Justice, Life in the Balance," a white paper published by Americans United for Life (2007).  Shirvell attended Ave Maria School of Law - Ann Arbor, where he served as president of the school's Bioethics Society, from 2004-2005.  He also served as president of Students for Life at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, from 2000-2002.