Catholic and pro-choice…How can that be?
By Wylie on Sep 4, 2008 10:41 pm in Catholic, Politics, Pro-Life
Catholic and Pro-Choice…How can that be? Will someone out there, anywhere, explain for me how one can be both Catholic and pro-choice? As a corollary, I especially want to hear from those of you who say you are pro-life yet, still vote for a blatantly pro-choice candidate when there is an alternative.
I know there are a zillion of you in the latter category. Help my little pea brain to understand how this can be. I am sure every one of you is smarter than I. So, I must be missing something, especially in light of the August 24th broadcast of Meet the Press. The “ardent, practicing Catholic,” Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi tried to spin and distort the teaching of the Catholic Church regarding when life begins as a justification that abortion is OK in certain circumstances.
Did you miss or just ignore the swift and voluminous response by the Bishops throughout the United States? They were unified in their comments.
The following excerpt is taken from the statement by Archbishop Donald Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, and he echoes what they were all saying. He says,
“…interpretation of Catholic faith has rightfully been entrusted to the Catholic bishops. Given this responsibility to teach, it is important to make this correction for the record (emphasis mine).The Catechism of the Catholic Church is clear: the current teaching of the Catholic Church on human life and abortion is the same teaching as it was 2,000 years ago. The Catechism reads:
‘Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception…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.’” (Catechism, 2270-2271) For the complete statement follow this link:
Archbishop Robert Vasa of Portland wrote in the March 1, 2007, issue of the Catholic Sentinel an article titled There are just and unjust choices - Church teaching helps. The Archbishop reminds us that those preparing to fully join the Catholic Church
“recite the Creed and then add their personal attestation and commitment. It is this personal commitment which constitutes the heart of their conversion to the Catholic Faith. The phrase which is added is this: ‘I believe and profess all that the Holy Catholic Church teaches, believes and proclaims to be revealed by God (emphasis mine).’ It is a moment of great freedom; a moment of abandonment of oneself into the hands of God and into the teachings of the Catholic Church. It is an unconditional ‘yes’ to Jesus while at the same time recognizing that we may never completely know all that this ‘yes’ entails.”
Archbishop Vasa later explains, “It is categorically impossible for the same person to state that he or she believes simultaneously both what the Catholic Church teaches and that abortion is just a choice. What we believe must inform what we do… If I truly believe, then my actions must be consistent with what I profess to believe. My action must also defend what I believe.” See what else he has to say here.
If you profess to be Catholic, you cannot be pro-choice. To be Catholic is to give assent to the authentic teachings of the Catholic Church in the areas of faith and morals. If you learn that you disagree with Church teachings, you must do as Archbishop Chaput of Denver has said, “change… your… mind.” My prayer and hope is that you do just that.
Take courage my friend.
Here is the perfect bumper sticker to remind confused Catholics about what the Church really teaches. Just Google Pro-Life bumper stickers, it won’t be hard to find. Buy one and put it on all your cars.
Here is another one I like.
As an aside to the political misrepresentation of Catholic teaching, I want you to know about a non-Catholic organization whose purpose is convincing Catholics to vote for pro-choice Democrats. I will link to the article here and I hope you will read it. It is not long.
A few responses by other bishops are to be found at the following links.
A STATEMENT BY THE MOST REVEREND MICHAEL J. SHERIDAN, DIOCESE OF COLORADO SPRINGS, REGARDING THE EVIL OF PROCURED ABORTION: Colorado Springs, CO – Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Click here.
Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver ON THE SEPARATION OF SENSE AND STATE: A CLARIFICATION FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE CHURCH IN NORTHERN COLORADO
Denver, CO – Monday, August 25, 2008
Click here.
STATEMENT OF HIS EMINENCE, EDWARD CARDINAL EGAN, Archbishop of New York, CONCERNING REMARKS MADE BY THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 26, 2008
Click here.
WASHINGTON–Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William E. Lori, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, have issued the following statement: Click here.
From: Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Document: Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church’s Constant Teaching
Click here.
I am Roman Catholic since infancy, and I am very much Pro-Choice.
The Catholic Religion can’t force it’s members to support certain issues. We have the right to make up our own minds, obviously.
It’s very easy to be Catholic and Pro-Choice. I am. You don’t have to agree with or support everything the Catholic Church believes in order to practice the religion. I am also Pro-Gay Rights. And I’m still Catholic!
No religion can make you vote a certain way. It’s an individual choice.
Barbara | Nov 7, 2008 | Reply
Barbara » You say, “It’s very easy to be Catholic and Pro-Choice.” Are you telling me that cooperating in the slaughter of untold millions of babies is easy for you?
Then you go on to say, “You don’t have to agree with or support everything the Catholic Church believes in order to practice the religion.” This makes me wonder, do you have a limit as to how many core teachings you can reject before you no longer, using your words, “practice the religion”? You are at least up to two with pro-choice and pro-gay issues. Let us say you are for women priests; that makes three issues. Would that be the tipping point where you would no longer be Catholic? What if you do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, don’t follow the Church’s teaching on artificial contraception (the pill), don’t consider attending Mass on Sundays a necessity, and so on. That is now four, five, and six teachings that you reject. Are you still Catholic? Do you get my drift? To be a Catholic is to be in conformity with the teachings of the Church established by Christ and guarded by the Holy Spirit in the areas of Faith and Morals. If you want to reform the Church in your own image and ideas, you are too late. It was done and done badly in the 1500’s. So, now there are over 38,000 Christian denominations all doing their own thing. Certainly, you can find one among them that lines up with what you believe. At least be intellectually honest with yourself.
You began your comments by saying, “The Catholic Religion can’t force it’s members to support certain issues. We have the right to make up our own minds, obviously.” I ask you this: If you are unwilling to follow the teachings of the Catholic Church, why do you call yourself Catholic?
My post referenced Church documents and the comments by several bishops in order to inform the readers as to what the Church teaches in hopes that they would see the wisdom of the constant teaching of the Church. Most of us know that 2 + 2 = 4. However, you can choose to disagree and say it is 7. You could say that mathematicians for the last 2000 years didn’t know what they were talking about, but you would be incorrect. The Catholic Church, for 2000 years, has taught that abortion is the killing of a human being and you cannot cooperate in this grave sin. You can choose to believe otherwise, but you would be incorrect. You may think you can fool the Just Judge, but you would be incorrect.
Wylie | Nov 8, 2008 | Reply
To Barbara: Sorry, but you are not a Catholic; you are a Protestant. If you think that the core of your Christian belief resides in your right to make up your own mind about everything, then you do not accept the Magisterium or the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, and you are not a Catholic.
Jim | Mar 24, 2009 | Reply