NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      PITTSBURGH (CWNews.com) - Bishop Donald Wuerl of Pittsburgh told children in his diocese this week that, despite the best efforts of President Bill Clinton's defenders to say otherwise, there really is a right and wrong in moral matters.

      In a letter entitled "Right and Wrong" addressed to the youth and published in the September 18 issue of the official diocesan newspaper, Pittsburgh Catholic, Bishop Wuerl said that right and wrong is "determined by God's law, not public opinion polls ... and we have to be courageous enough to admit our sins and accept correction." He added, "The message is a clear one. There is right and wrong. God's law is our norm. Morality and integrity are very important in our personal lives and the life of this nation."

      The bishop wrote that "aside from the political and legal issues there are serious moral matters" involved in the investigation of Clinton. "The fact that the moral dimension of the President's conduct has been so obscured in the frantic effort to defend him calls for some clarification, especially for our young people who look to public figures for an example of how one is to live." Bishop Wuerl also called on all the faithful to reaffirm the truths of sexual morality and true love.

      "Do not be deceived by the recent polls that show a general complacency of a large segment of the population with so-called 'inappropriate' sexual activity," Bishop Wuerl added. "... When you read or hear that some people view infidelity, adultery, and fornication as personal choices that are no one else's business, remember, those actions are wrong no matter who does them. 'Recreational' sex is immoral and destructive. It is not a private, personal activity that affects only two people; it is one that impacts all of us."