Thomas Williams reports here about the Catholic Bishop of Little Rock. Anthony B Taylor– boycotted the March for Life because the state Attorney General was on the platform, and the Attorney General is in favor of the death penalty.

Williams points out that the two issues are not exactly of the same magnitude:

In the United States, every 15 minutes more unborn babies are killed by abortion than convicts are executed during the entire year through capital punishment. Last year there were a total of 23 executions in America, compared with nearly a million abortions.

I think Catholics should be against the death penalty, but we should always remember that the death penalty and abortion are not only issues of vastly different magnitude, but they also are not morally equivalent.

The death penalty takes the life of a criminal who is guilty of a heinous crime. He had a choice to commit that crime, and in the United States he had due process of law, plenty of chances to appeal his conviction and prove his innocence.

An unborn child is not only completely innocent, but completely defenseless against the cruelty of the abortionists pills, poison and dismembering knife.

This post is not a defense of the death penalty, but making the point that the two issues are not of the same magnitude or moral equivalence.

In the past Bishop Taylor has spoken at pro-life events, and CRUX reports more about his decision here.

But I have another problem with Bishop Taylor’s boycott.

The pro-life cause is not just Catholic. I couldn’t discover whether Attorney General Rutledge is Catholic or not, but even if she is, those who march for life have learned long ago that we share the march with many with whom we would have disagreements about other life issues. We don’t pick fights with Feminists for Life or Jews, Muslims, Mormons or Atheists for Life.

We agree to disagree about various issues, and what I find remarkable is that the Catholic bishop could not be tolerant enough to stand on the platform with a politician with whom he disagrees.

His presence there needn’t have been a sign of approval. Indeed, the bishop could have used the platform to make the case against the death penalty if he wished. His views were already well known as he led Catholic resistance to the AG’s aggressive death penalty agenda.

He’s allowed to disagree with her, but she’s also entitled to her opinion.

What a missed opportunity to show tolerance, respect for other people’s sincerely held views and to speak out for the unborn.