Catholic Bishops At Conference Adopt Declaration Against Freedom Of Choice Act

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 13 Nov 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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Catholic bishops on Tuesday at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops General Assembly approved a statement saying that if the Democratic-controlled Congress and President-elect Barack Obama enact the Freedom of Choice Act -- which would codify abortion rights -- the Catholic leaders would consider it an attack on the church, the Washington Post reports. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops President Cardinal Francis George is expected to formally issue the statement on Wednesday. According to the Post, the statement also is expected to warn that the Freedom of Choice Act would reduce religious freedom, make tax money available for abortions and alienate millions of Americans who oppose abortion rights. Obama throughout the presidential campaign said he would sign the legislation as president (Salmon, Washington Post, 11/12).

During the meeting on Tuesday, several bishops said they would not compromise on abortion-rights policy, and many condemned Catholics who have argued it was morally acceptable to vote for Obama because he pledged to reduce abortion rates, the AP/Google.com reports. Church leaders also said they are concerned that any expansion of abortion rights could require Catholic hospitals to perform abortions or face loss of federal funding. Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Paprocki said such hospitals would close rather than comply (Zoll, AP/Google.com, 11/12).

Although the initial draft of the bishops' statement says they have a "desire to work with the administration" on social issues such as immigration, economic justice and health care for low-income people, it adds that the "common good of our country is assured only when the life of every unborn child is legally protected. Aggressively pro-abortion policies and legislation will permanently alienate tens of millions of Americans and would be interpreted by many Catholics as an attack on the church" (Grossman, USA Today, 11/12). Several bishops also said Obama might issue executive orders upon taking office that would approve the use of taxpayer money for abortions and reverse President Bush's ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research (Duin, Washington Times, 11/12).

Bishops also approved a new "Blessing of a Child in the Womb," which prays "for our civic leaders that they may perform their duties with justice and compassion while respecting the gift of human life" (Schillaci, Bergen Record, 11/12). Bishops on Tuesday also held a closed-door session on the document "Forming Conscience for Faithful Citizenship," a guide they adopted last year for Catholic voters. Some bishops during the presidential campaign said the statement did not go far enough in emphasizing the church's teachings on abortion (Washington Post, 11/12).

Future Strategy

Exit polls showed that 54% of Catholics voted for Obama. Although many bishops said the election "was not a referendum on Catholic teaching," they also are "eager to reassert their authority in the face of widespread dissent" -- particularly from a vocal minority of bishops who suggested that Catholics could in good conscience support a candidate who supports abortion rights, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports (Burke, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 11/12).

According to AP/Google.com, bishops differ on whether Catholic lawmakers who support abortion rights should receive Communion, and each bishop sets the policy in his own diocese (AP/Google.com 11/12). Scranton, Pa., Bishop Joseph Martino said bishops must focus on reaching out to Catholic politicians who differ on abortion rights, even if they have to threaten excommunication. "We must speak to Catholic politicians who are stridently anti-life," he said (Washington Times, 11/12). However, Patrick Whelan, president of Catholic Democrats, said angry statements from church leaders are counterproductive and will only alienate Catholics. "We're calling on the bishops to move away from the more vicious language," he said, adding that the church needs to act "in a more creative, constructive way" to end abortion (AP/Google.com, 11/12). According to an August poll by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, nearly one-half of U.S. Catholics believe that abortion should be legal in all or nearly all cases. Jon O'Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, said the bishops "represent a minority view of Catholics in the United States and in the world. These are people who don't even believe contraception can be used" (Washington Post, 11/12).

Broadcast Coverage

NPR's "Morning Edition" on Tuesday reported on the conference. The segment includes comments from Martino; Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest and scholar at Georgetown University; and Nicholas Cafardi, a Catholic legal scholar who publicly supported Obama (Bradley Hagerty, "Morning Edition," NPR, 11/12).

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