A chance on Tuesday to change the world

Is it possible to have a world in which doctors see abortion not as a service to women but rather as the killing of their children? Is it possible to make a world in which abortionists are not the target of snipers?

Can we shape a world in which a child out searching for firewood is not gunned down by a rifleman, as happened recently near Kosovo? Is it in us to form a world in which "lasting peace" is a reality, not a slogan that is proven all too often to be only wishful thinking in such places as Northern Ireland and the Middle East?

Have we the will to make a world in which no one is so physically poor that they die from hunger or so spiritually poor that they wither from the lack of faith?

In short, is it within our power to work for justice for all -- the unborn, minorities, the poor, those seeking not only firewood but also God?

It's a daunting task just to answer those questions, much less to begin dealing with them, but we can take a giant step forward next week in the voting booth when we decide which men and women will represent us at the city, state and national level. Into their hands we will concentrate much power to do good: to end abortions, to feed the starving, to resolve long-standing enmity on our own streets and in nations far away.

We voters have other powers to exercise: the power of prayer and volunteering, the power of making our voices heard and of using our talents to benefit those in need.

Pulling a lever next Tuesday with justice guiding our hand is a first and important step to making a better world. But the process does not end there. It continues when we leave the polling place and enter our neighborhoods and communities. There, we can persuade, work with those who do good and raise children who choose to work for peace because they see our example.

The search for justice is a never-ending one. To cynics, that means we shouldn't bother looking. To Catholics, it should mean a commitment to begin next Tuesday and persevere into the future.

(10-29-98)

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