Viewpoint: Limits of Choice: Personal Freedom and the Common Good

Deacon William T Ditewig PhD

Deacon William T Ditewig, PhD, from the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, writes in his blog: Deacons Today: Servants in a Servant Church:

I was speaking recently with a fellow Catholic who is against mandates concerning vaccinations or masks during this time of COVID-19. The language was interesting.

"It's all about my personal freedom. As Catholics, we have free will and as Americans we have individual rights. I should be able to make my own decisions without anyone else (especially the government) taking that freedom away. It's my body; it's my choice."

It may be hard to believe, but I was speechless. The person I was speaking with is staunchly anti-abortion and anti-choice. He is part of a group that wants to deny Holy Communion to Catholic politicians who are pro-choice regarding abortion. But the very pro-choice position he abhors when discussing abortion is now the exact same argument he is using to justify his anti-vax, anti-mask mandate stance. So, he is anti-choice in one case, pro-choice in another.

How is this in any way coherent? It isn't.

To read on see: https://billditewig.blog/2021/08/21/the-limits-of-choice-personal-freedom-and-the-common-good/