How You Will Never Hear the Seamless Garment Theory Used, by Dr. Jeff Mirus

Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture, Oct 02, 2025

Jeffrey Mirus holds a Ph.D. in intellectual history from Princeton University. A co-founder of Christendom College, he also pioneered Catholic Internet services. He is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org.  See full bio.

In commenting on the Durbin-award controversy, when Pope Leo XIV made comparative remarks about related contemporary moral positions, he put it this way:

Someone who says I’m against abortion but is in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life. Someone who says I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if that’s pro-life.

I think the order of the clauses or phrases in this comment is not only typical but very significant. It indicates that the first instinct of many speakers is to emphasize the seamless garment of morality in ways which subtly but specifically criticize abortion opponents for being insufficiently seamless. I am sure that this is unintentional with Pope Leo, but it does demonstrate the influence of the dominant culture on the manner in which the seamless garment theory of morality is typically discussed and deployed.

In other words, nobody every says this: …

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