Subject: IWG Inquirer letter Date: Sun, 28 Jan 1996 01:06:50 -0500 (EST) From: Chris Purdom The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 2 congregations, 4 religious organizations and 20 clergy from 9 denominations. If you are in the general Philadelphia area and represent a congregation or religious organization or are clergy, let us know if you want to be added - all faiths are welcome. We will also be happy to help start similar organizations in other areas. Visit the web page at http://www.libertynet.org/~iwg/ January 27, 1996 The Philadelphia Inquirer PO Box 8263 Phila., PA 19101 Dear Editors: While we respect his opinion on the sanctity of human life, we were extremely disturbed by two elements of Rev. Steven J. Kelly's letter attacking Mary Jo Kane's fine commentary on reproductive freedom and the Religious Right. Rev. Kelly's claim that American morality has significantly declined since Roe. v. Wade is no different than similar and equally illogical arguments applied by various commentators to Stonewall, Brown v. Board of Education, the repeal of Prohibition, or the widespread acceptance of evolution. By trying to argue cause and effect without any reference to facts or logic, he drags us back into the thinking of the dark ages, when people were burned at the stake for causing the Plague. The Plague, at least, was a physically demonstrable occurence, unlike this so- called decline in American morals, which implies that America was once a more moral nation, presumably back in the days when discrimination based on race, gender and sexual orientation were not only legal but widely accepted (and considered moral). In fact the gains of minorities in the last 30 years refute Rev. Kelly's claim that legalized abortion makes mass extermination of undesirable subcultures politically acceptable. At the end of his letter, Rev. Kelly calls on all Christians to fight to end abortion. This is a disturbing comment for two reasons: first, it implies that all Christians have the same view on this issue, and are simply sitting around too paralyzed to act, while in fact most polls indicate that a majority of Christians of all types are pro-choice. Second, it implies that Christians are more qualified to deal with social issues than other groups. He did not call on all Americans, or even on all people of faith, but specifically on Christians. It is exactly this kind of authoritarian hierarchical mindset that Mary Jo Kane was warning us about. Sincerely, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators