I would like to respond to a letter regarding Christians and the political arena (All we need is a Christian candidate, March 30, The Observer). While the article was well-written and contained some valid points, I disagreed strongly with certain aspects.

For one, the author seems to not have much experience with the political system. He states that it is "sickening" when "a Catholic sacrifices his or her beliefs for the sake of an ideology." For any political election, it is impossible for a candidate not to sacrifice his or her personal beliefs for that of their party loyalty. Whether these beliefs be of a religious or political nature, alignment with either the GOP or the Democratic Party will require the adjustment of personal agendas, even if only to create an attractive election platform. Candidates must represent the interests of their constituents if they choose to be elected. Candidates do not represent "the Catholics of District 28" or "the Lutherans of the state of Texas." A platform based on religious beliefs would be an offense to the voters of conflicting faiths in that region.

Politics, under the separation of church and state, is a system designed to be free from the domination of any singular theological doctrine.

Also, the example given of two pro-choice Hispanic Catholics does not necessarily constitute a sacrifice of beliefs. The author assumes that all Catholics' personal beliefs are lock-step within those of the Catholic Church, even when it comes to political and social issues. Many Catholics consider the core of their faith to be their belief in Jesus Christ, rather than being obliging "followers" of the Catholic hierarchy and its positions on issues such as abortion, gun control, capital punishment, and euthanasia. A Catholic's disagreement with the Church authority does not make him or her any less of a Catholic. The author asks, "How can any Catholic support capital punishment like the GOP does?" I can, with conviction, but that is beside the point.

My point is that while the author speaks of Catholics "selling out" to politics, his suggested alternative amounts to politics "selling out" to Catholicism, which is a much worse proposition.

• Where's the female faculty?
  
• Filling my dress for my sister's wedding
  
• Student rapists must be expelled, swiftly
  
• Napster is no threat
  
• Politicians shouldn't sell out to religions