Support for Jim Keady
As a practicing Catholic, and a singlemother with two daughters in Catholic schools, and a SocialWorker forMercer County Board of Social Services, I almost automatically think about the moral implications ofmajor political questions through the lens of the teachings of Jesus, about Social Justice.
That’s one reason I have been so appalled at those members of Congress who tout their Catholic faithwhile completely rejecting those teachings. House Speaker Paul Ryan is one of those. But others, such as our own Chris Smith, are at best, inconsistent or weak on some of the most important issues that should unite us.
My faith teaches me to protect the weak and the helpless. To clothe the naked and feed the hungry. To heal the sick. To give shelter to those fleeing oppression. To protect God’s Creation from those whowould despoil it. To be fair, Chris Smith has done good work for Alzheimer’s patients and their families. He’s done the same for families struggling with autism. And he’s a pretty good fighter against human trafficking.
But all of his good works have been on behalf of those people and causes he deems worthy of his concern. Not poor women in need of full-spectrum health care. NotMuslim refugees. Not those, including pregnant women and their babies, who are harmed by already inadequate regulation of toxic chemicals and industrial pollution.
In short, Chris Smith has spent 37 years telling us that being against any and all reproductive choices for any women on the planet is all that’s necessary to qualify him as “pro-life”. Anything other than abortion that impacts pre-natal health, infant health, children’s health, teenage health, health at ANY stage of life in fact, is not such a big deal
These things ARE big deals to me, and I wish they were more important to the Catholics I know. I want a fighter forMY “big deals” representingme in Congress. I’m supporting JimKeady in the upcoming Democratic Primary because I know his 20-year record of fighting for Catholic Social Justice principles. I trust him to do the same in the House.
— JeanMarie Curran