Academic institutions place such a premium on honesty that every year, many are forced to reprimand cheaters.

The United States places such a premium on civility that every year, it is forced to reprimand criminals.

And the Catholic Church places such a premium on human life that in La Crosse, Wis., Bishop Raymond Burke has been forced to reprimand politicians who advocate slaughter.

Consistent with the teachings of the church, namely that abortion is a form of murder, the bishop has directed priests to deny communion to Congressman Dave Obey (D-Wis.) and other Catholic elected representatives who have chosen to violate the moral precepts of Catholicism by taking pro-abortion stances.

Yet, for reasons that fail this writer, there has been a public outcry over the bishop’s decision.

Opponents charge that at the core of the United States is a separation of church and state. And they are correct in making this assertion. In fact, Burke’s decision is the very embodiment of this principle.

When this country was founded, an understanding existed that the philosophies of religions and those of the government would not always be consistent. So a fundamental separation was created; the government cannot hold citizens accountable for religious sins.

But never did the Catholic Church, or any other non-secular institution, forfeit its right to hold congregants accountable within its walls.

In short, regardless of whether individuals place God before country or vice-versa, they are accountable to both of these separately and individually.

Moreover, being in good standing with one’s country is not an automatic entitlement of being in good standing with one’s church. Every day, the religious confess sins of bearing false witness, coveting neighbors’ wives and dishonoring parents, admitting that they have wronged before the eyes of whatever higher power they conceive to exist, but also knowing that they have done no ills before the eyes of Uncle Sam.

Some teachings of the Bible have gone by the wayside with time; smiting people for wearing multi-cloth robes is no longer fashionable.

But some teachings are still considered sacred in the eyes of Catholicism, and Psalm 139:13’s declaration, “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb,” is among them.

And the book of Psalms is not anachronistic in this instance, either. Modern medicine has proven the possibility of fetal life prior to birth but has been unable to isolate any single moment as the creation of such viability other than that of conception.

(Moreover, arguments that abortion is merely a woman exercising control over her own body are tantamount to claiming that a serial killer simply elects to exercise his or her finger on the trigger of a pistol.)

Until and unless science can definitively prove life to commence at a moment other than successful intercourse, the Catholic Church is wise to adhere to the teachings of the Bible and advocate in the strongest possible terms against the systematic and daily termination of unborn children.

The misguided politicians’ errant beliefs notwithstanding, the beautiful thing about religion (Catholicism, in this case) is its capacity for forgiveness. Should the United States Supreme Court ever see fit to overturn Roe vs. Wade, those who seek to slaughter feti, the most innocent beings of all, may well spend their final days in prison.

And should they die behind bars with a clean soul and religious leader by their side, they ought to be thankful for the separation of church and state.

Mac VerStandig ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in rhetoric.