Recently, a group of 55 Catholic Democrats issued a statement entitled “Catholics in Political Life,” a manifesto explaining their private committment to upholding Catholic moral values while remaining a member of a party that condones abortion — something explicitly contrary to their faith.
The Catholic Bishops have, in their own turn, clairfied that position and re-emphasized that at the heart of all social justice must be a committment to end abortion:
We welcome this (document) and other efforts that seek to examine how Catholic legislators bring together their faith and their policy choices. As the Catholic bishops of the United States said in our June 2004 statement, ‘Catholics in Political Life’: ‘We need to do more to persuade all people that human life is precious and human dignity must be defended. This requires more effective dialogue and engagement with all public officials, especially Catholic public officials. We welcome conversation initiated by political leaders themselves.’
Therefore, we welcome the representatives’ recognition that Catholics in public life 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. We encourage and will continue to work with those in both parties who seek to act on these essential principles in defense of the poor and vulnerable.
At the same time, we also need to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s constant teaching that 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.
Pope John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation on the vocation and mission of the laity, “Christifideles Laici,” which the representatives’ statement cites, declares: “The inviolability of the person which is a reflection of the absolute inviolability of God finds its primary and fundamental expression in the inviolability of human life. Above all, 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, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, 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”.
Catholic Democrats – Kennedy, Kerry, and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine among them – have some explaining to do. Their actions cause grave scandal to practicing Catholics, and the bishops are paying more and more attention.
You cannot be both Catholic and pro-abortion. Recently, Catholic bishops have been using a stronger word to define such a position: heresy.
They’re right too.