In late August, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, appeared on Meet the
Press. In order to justify her support of abortion as a Catholic, she
misrepresented the history and the nature of the authentic teaching of the
Catholic Church on abortion. On behalf of all the bishops, Cardinal Rigali,
chair of our committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop Lori, chair of our
committee on Doctrine, issued a statement refuting Ms. Pelosi’s attempt to
justify the unjustifiable. No one can legitimately argue that support for
abortion can be reconciled with the moral teachings of the Church. In their
statement, the bishops quote succinctly from the Catechism of the Catholic
Church: “Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every
procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.
Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is
gravely contrary to the moral law.” (CCC # 2271)
Last month, I too had to issue a clarification by means of a letter to the
editor that appeared in the Orlando Sentinel on August 16th concerning an
article in that same newspaper on August 13th that suggested that “Catholic
leaders” viewed the Democratic Party Platform’s “abortion plank” in a positive
light. In fact, many would argue that the plank this year was more extreme than
the party’s previous endorsements of “reproductive rights”.
I wrote: “….(the bishops) are the ones who speak as the leaders of the Catholic
Church in the United States — and not political operatives for one party or
another who happen to be Catholic. In Forming Consciences for Faithful
Citizenship, the bishops wrote that ‘opposing intrinsically evil acts has a
special claim on our consciences and our actions’ and warned against a ‘moral
equivalence’ that would make no ethical distinctions between different kinds of
issues involving human life and dignity.
As we bishops wrote: ‘The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human
life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is
not just one issue among many. It must always be opposed.’”
Catholics in public life — whether they are Democrats or Republicans — must act
seriously and responsibly on many important moral issues. Our faith has an
integral unity that calls Catholics to defend human life and human dignity
whenever they are threatened. A priority for the poor, the protection of family
life, the pursuit of justice and the promotion of peace are fundamental
priorities of the Catholic moral tradition which cannot be ignored or neglected.
Yet abortion is a grave violation of the most fundamental human right — the
right to life that is inherent in all human beings, and that grounds every other
right we possess.
As Pope John Paul II wrote in Christifideles Laici, “…the common outcry, which
is justly made on behalf of human rights — for example, the right to health, to
home, to work, to family, to culture — is false and illusory if the right to
life…is not defended with maximum determination…The human being is entitled to
such rights, in every phase of development from conception until natural death;
and in every condition, whether healthy or sick, whole or handicapped, rich or
poor (#38).
Bishops do not endorse candidates or parties. We do not tell people for whom
they should vote. We say that Catholics should vote their consciences — and
public officials who are Catholic should always act in accord with their own
consciences. But, we insist that one’s conscience must be consistent with
fundamental moral principles. As members of the Church, all Catholics are
obliged to shape our consciences in accord with the moral teaching of the
Church. That so many Catholics in public life hold positions on human life —
like Representative Pelosi and Senator Biden — not coherent with their Catholic
faith and yet, at the same time, declare themselves to be “good Catholics” is a
scandal.
In Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, we recognized that, while a
Catholic may never vote for a candidate because of that candidate’s support for
abortion, he or she might — for a serious and grave reason — vote for such a
candidate. And there are a few Catholics with strong pro-life credentials who
feel this way in the current campaign. — One such Catholic is Douglas Kmiec,
former head of The Catholic University of America’s law school.
But the Democratic standard bearers — in reaction to the Sarah Palin nomination
— are seemingly intent on making this election a referendum on defending
abortion “rights”. If they do, a Catholic with a well formed conscience would be
hard pressed to find any “serious” and “grave” reasons to justify voting for
them.
