Respect Life Sunday in Boston, and hello, nuts!

Maybe it started with Cardinal Sean O'Malley's homily at today's Respect Life Mass.

"I watched the Republican Convention on TV and as far as I'm concerned Trig Palin stole the show...when I saw his sister use her spit to smooth down his hair, I stood up and applauded!"

The Cardinal went on to describe how 90% of unborn children diagnosed in utero with Down Syndrome were killed.

Later on, at the rally preceding the walk, the Cardinal gave an edited version of his sermon. This time, many in the crowd cheered, and some of us cheered the names "Palin" and "Trig."

During the walk, the usual nuts turned out...on both sides of the issue, in my humble opinion.

Of course there were the "keep your Rosaries off my ovaries" crowd. But this was expected, and quite frankly, the group seemed far more subdued than in other years. Maybe my imagination.

Then there were the pro-life nuts. (And yes, Virginia...sad to say but the pro-life movement, hard as it may be to swallow, has its own share of nuts.)

As the walk ended, some folks collared me, demanding to hear what the Cardinal had "said 'politically' about Sarah Palin." I explained that the Cardinal spoke mostly about her son, but added that I was happy that Governor Palin's pro-life stance had been acknowledged.

All hell broke loose.

I was informed that Sarah Palin was NOT PRO LIFE!!!!! And to vote for her (and McCain, one presumes) IS A SIN!!! Because she is NOT PRO LIFE!!!

Once the foam of spittle evaporated from their mouths, I was informed that the Governor believed in contraception and would allow abortion where the mother's life was in danger. (Uh...I knew that.)

The only moral choice, I was told, was to reject McCain/Palin and vote for an independent. Or sit out the vote altogether.

You know, I respect that notion. I really do. I don't buy it, but I respect it.

I don't buy it because it doesn't make sense to me. Vote for an independent means not voting for McCain/Palin. And not voting for McCain/Palin—to me, anyway—means ultimately electing Obama. Who would murder any kid for any reason whatsover. Unborn or born alive. That's my opinion. You may disagree. You may, and I applaud you for this, truly believe that Jesus wants you to vote for an independent who unambigiously supports every single solitary dogma of the Catholic Church. Good. Good for you. I don't know who this person might be, but if you know him or her and wish to exercise your right to vote for him or her, God bless you! Or you might believe that your only moral prerogative is to opt out of voting. Do it! Vote—or don't vote—your conscience! I might not think you're doing the right thing, but I respect your convinction.

But dammit, don't label me a sinner because I don't buy into your strategy. Thank you.