NOTES BETWEEN PRINTED EDITIONS
WORCESTER BISHOP URGES NO VOTE ON QUESTION FOUR
The Bishop of Worcester, the Most Reverend Robert J. McManus, is urging Catholics and other persons of good will to vote No on Massachusetts Ballot Question Four.
Question 4 is a proposed law by initiative petition, entitled Limited Legalization and Regulation of Certain Natural Psychedelic Substances.
If passed, Massachusetts would become the third state in the Union—after Colorado and Oregon—to decriminalize the growth, production, possession and use of various controlled substances, including such dangerous drugs as mescaline and so-called magic mushrooms.
Opponents point out that the measure would endanger public health, substantially increase the incidences of impaired driving, and through its provision allowing home production for personal use, create an expansive black market in illicit drugs.
The Bishop warned that “The use of such…drugs can alter one’s perception of reality, cause extreme feelings of euphoria or despair and can worsen mental health issues.”
The brief but forthright statement by Bishop McManus, issued on October 10th, can be found here. There is also an informative October 16th article in the Worcester diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Free Press.
The Catholic Action League called the Bishop’s intervention “another compelling example of his heartfelt pastoral solicitude for his flock.”
League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: “Once again, as in the Rainbow flag controversy at Nativity School, and in his Catholic identity policy for parochial schools, the courageous Bishop McManus has acted alone, without the support of his fellow members of the Massachusetts hierarchy.
The Massachusetts Catholic Conference—representing the four Catholic dioceses in the Bay State—has posted the Bishop’s statement on its website, but has taken no official position on the ballot question.
Nor has there been any comment from Cardinal Sean O’Malley or the Archdiocese of Boston, a fact that most Boston Catholics, by now, probably find unsurprising. The Archdiocese is, apparently, too preoccupied preparing for its October 26th webinar on climate change.
The Catholic Action League is pleased to echo the sentiments of so many faithful Catholics in this state when we say ‘Thank God for Bishop Robert McManus!'”
Election Day in the Commonwealth is Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
