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(First published in 2001, following the Ashcroft hearings in late 2000 and early 2001)
Abortion is the most flagrant and widespread offense against the basic right to life of all human persons in the United States. A country that “legally” kills over a million of its children each year is fundamentally disordered and, despite any material or technological successes, cannot be considered peaceful or just, let alone a moral authority in world affairs.
The recent election and consequent confirmation hearings brought into even a clearer light a specific dimension of this problem: the complicity of Catholics. Much has been written concerning the fact that a majority of those who identified themselves as “Catholic” voted for a presidential candidate who unabashedly endorsed abortion rights. There currently are approximately 70 Catholics in Congress who consider themselves “pro-choice.” What can be done to reverse this negative Catholic witness?
While there are many aspects to the abortion problem, this position paper is limited to addressing the particular issue of Catholic legislators who support abortion rights. We will first briefly review magisterial teaching on the subject. Then we will examine the particular situation in the United States and the U.S. bishops’ response. After that we will examine specific issues raised by the Ashcroft hearings and identify particular concerns voiced by our members. We will then conclude with some practical, constructive steps for lay people to take in addressing these serious concerns.
I. Church Teaching
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (nos. 2270-75) clearly spells out the Church’s perennial teaching that abortion is always and everywhere an abominable crime. Paragraph 2271 of the Catechism provides:
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.
The same paragraph of the Catechism also quotes Vatican II’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), which similarly does not mince words:
God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.
In his 1995 encyclical letter The Gospel of Life (Evangelium Vitae), Pope John Paul II confirmed “by the authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his successors, and in communion with the bishops of the Catholic Church,” that “the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral” (no. 57). It is a grave act of disobedience to God, the author of human life, and “contradicts the fundamental virtues of justice and charity” (ibid.). The Pope goes on to say that no authority can legitimately recommend or permit such an action.
In the specific context of legislation that favors abortion rights, the Holy Father writes:
In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to “take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or vote for it” (Evangelium Vitae, no. 73, quoting a 1974 document from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith).
The Pope recognizes that upholding the right to life of the unborn may be difficult for the Catholic legislator, perhaps even requiring “the sacrifice of prestigious professional positions or the relinquishing of reasonable hopes of career advancement” (Evangelium Vitae, no. 74). Even so, Catholic politicians who actively promote abortion rights are cooperating in evil actions. “This cooperation can never be justified either by invoking respect for the freedom of others or by appealing to the fact that civil law permits it or requires it” (ibid., emphasis added).
Much more can and must be said concerning the dignity and value of each human person, created in the image and likeness of God. We also affirm the absolute need to present this teaching charitably, sensitively, and in a way that promotes reconciliation and healing in the Church. However, for our purposes here, as will be set forth at further length below, we believe it is important to highlight at the outset the Church’s firm, unchanging moral teaching concerning abortion.
II. The American Context
With the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade (1973), as well as subsequent cases that have affirmed and expanded the ruling, such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) and Stenberg v. Carhart (2000), abortion is considered a constitutional right. This situation is abhorrent to many Christians and others who recognize and value the right to life of the unborn child.
Sadly, many of the legislators and judges who have championed and upheld abortion rights publicly identify themselves as Catholics. We have no desire to judge the sincerity of the thought processes or motives that underlie their position, nor do we fail to recognize some of the values these individuals seek to uphold in other areas. It is simply an empirical fact that there are prominent politicians who publicly identify themselves as practicing Catholics who nonetheless support—some more zealously and completely than others—the “right” to abortion. In fact, they use their Catholic heritage to their political advantage while advancing the goals of their pro-abortion constituents.
This situation has far-reaching implications and the problem will only become more acute with each year that Roe v. Wade remains the law of the land.
III. The Teaching of the U.S. Bishops
The prophetic stance of the U.S. bishops in response to this state of affairs has been increasingly clear. Individual bishops and bishops of individual states or regions have labored privately and publicly to form the consciences of their flocks and to exhort wayward Catholic politicians to defend the lives of the unborn. In 1997 there was the historic petition to President Clinton signed by all the U.S. cardinals and then-NCCB President Anthony Pilla of Cleveland, imploring him not to veto legislation banning most partial-birth abortions.
Even more to the point when it comes to the problem of Catholic politicians, the U.S. bishops published in 1998 a document entitled Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics. This document had some important things to say to Catholic politicians:
In a special way, we call on U.S. Catholics, especially those in positions of leadership—whether cultural, economic or political—to recover their identity as followers of Jesus Christ and to be leaders in the renewal of American respect for the sanctity of life. . . .
Bringing a respect for human dignity to practical politics can be a daunting task. There is such a wide spectrum of issues involving the protection of human life and the promotion of human dignity. Good people frequently disagree on which problems to address, which policies to adopt and how best to apply them. But for citizens and elected officials alike, the basic principle is simple: We must begin with a commitment never to intentionally kill, or collude in the killing, of any innocent human life, no matter how broken, unformed, disabled or desperate that life may seem. In other words, the choice of certain ways of acting is always and radically incompatible with the love of God and the dignity of the human person created in His image. Direct abortion is never a morally tolerable option. It is always a grave act of violence against a woman and her unborn child. . . .
[S]ome Catholic elected officials have adopted the argument that, while they personally oppose evils like abortion, they cannot force their religious views onto the wider society. This is seriously mistaken on several key counts. First, regarding abortion, the point when human life begins is not a religious belief but a scientific fact—a fact on which there is clear agreement even among leading abortion advocates. Second, the sanctity of human life is not merely Catholic doctrine but part of humanity’s global ethical heritage, and our nation’s founding principle. Finally, democracy is not served by silence. Most Americans would recognize the contradiction in the statement, “While I am personally opposed to slavery or racism or sexism I cannot force my personal view on the rest of society.” Real pluralism depends on people of conviction struggling vigorously to advance their beliefs by every ethical and legal means at their disposal (original emphasis).
IV. The Aftermath of the Ashcroft Hearings
We strongly desire that the Attorney General of the United States be pro-life. The recent confirmation process of John Ashcroft had several troubling aspects, which bring to the forefront the complicity of Catholic politicians in the promotion of abortion rights.
(1) It was clear to objective viewers of the evening news and congressional commentators alike that what was really fueling the opposition to Ashcroft’s nomination was his personal opposition to abortion.
(2) The opposition to Ashcroft’s nomination was led by several prominent Catholics—both on the Senate Judiciary Committee and in the Senate itself. Eight Catholic senators voted against Ashcroft’s nomination. A few other Catholic senators, known for their support even of the grisly partial-birth abortion procedure, reluctantly voted for Ashcroft’s confirmation.
(3) The opposition to Ashcroft made a point of using the confirmation proceeding as a show of strength. They vowed to block any Supreme Court nominee who opposed abortion, irrespective of his or her qualifications or positions on any other issues. In other words, they would provide a pro-abortion litmus test that would derail the nomination, inter alia, of any nominee who took to heart the bishops’ 1998 teaching. It is ironic that while those who support the right to life of the unborn are pejoratively dismissed as being “single issue,” the fact is that pro-abortion congressmen, including those who are Catholic, can be “single issue” when it comes to defending the abortion industry.
(4) The basis for their strong stance, according to one of the Catholic senators in question, is to uphold the right to choose abortion as a “core value” in our nation. This perverse logic is rooted in the eclipse of the sense of God and of man in our society. When we call “evil good and good evil,” our Holy Father writes, we are “already on the path to the most alarming corruption and the darkest moral blindness” (Evangelium Vitae, no. 24).
(5) Despite their apparent knowledge of the Church’s teaching on abortion and the frequent admonitions of the U.S. bishops, there are Catholic lawmakers who believe they can systematically block attempts to protect human life on Friday and worthily receive Holy Communion on Sunday. This duplicity has the ostensible blessing of the Church to the extent this situation is permitted to continue unabated.
V. Concerns of Catholics United for the Faith
CUF members have several concerns with regard to Catholic politicians who support abortion. Before listing such concerns, we want to emphasize that they are completely divorced from partisan considerations. It is not our place as a lay Catholic apostolate to advocate affiliation with a particular political party (cf. Gaudium et Spes, no. 76) or to take a collective stand on matters in which Catholics rightfully reflect a diversity of opinion. However, we see abortion as a pressing human rights issue and not as a liberal-conservative or Democrat-Republican issue. The Holy Father emphasizes our “moral duty” to oppose laws that legitimize the direct killing of unborn children and thus deny the equality of everyone under the law (Evangelium Vitae, nos. 72, 74). Given this context, we have the following concerns:
(1) The salvation of the Catholic politician. Our faith tells us that Catholic politicians who aid and abet abortion on a massive scale are participating in a grave offense against God and against human life. Again, we do not judge any particular Catholic politician, but prudence and charity dictate that we be concerned about the state of his or her soul.
(2) The scandal to the faithful. Catholics who publicly champion the cause of abortion give grave scandal to the faithful. Obviously it is confusing to the laity to see a politician maintain such views while purporting to be a Catholic in good standing. Catholic students are taught one thing in their religion class and then hear another message from their Catholic heroes or leaders. Eventually the faithful become inoculated to the discussion, and believe—along with their elected politicians—that it’s okay for a Catholic to favor abortion rights.
(3) Ecumenical and evangelistic concerns. When it comes to abortion, many Catholic politicians stand with the secularists over and against devout Christians who strive to instill a sense of morality in our culture. This, we believe, is exactly the type of counter-witness discussed in Gaudium et Spes. After identifying atheism as one of the most serious problems of our day, this Vatican II document says that “[b]elievers can . . . have more than a little to do with the rise of atheism. To the extent that they are careless about their instruction in the faith, or present its teaching falsely, or even fail in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion” (no. 19).
(4) Violence in society. A society that countenances the killing of one class of vulnerable citizens will surely set its sites on other classes as well, such as the elderly and handicapped, among others. At some point we must reverse the cycle of violence that manifests itself in so many ways today.
(5) Future generations. The threat of Catholic legislators to block attempts to reverse or even minimize the scope of Roe v. Wade places at grave risk future generations of Americans who will be unjustly deprived of the fundamental right to life if these Catholic legislators are successful.
VI. Recommendations to our members
While we acknowledge the gravity of this situation, and the need for action, even more we recognize the plenitude of God’s grace and the need for prayer. This outlook, shaped by the writings of CUF founder H. Lyman Stebbins and the rich spiritual tradition of our Catholic faith, enables us to encourage all those who share our fundamental goals and concerns to take the following practical steps:
(1) Our founder rightly emphasized that our zeal must first of all be directed to the renewal of our own hearts. We all need to be more deeply converted; we all need to strive for holiness. As helpful as pro-life judges, journalists, and legislators can be, even more we need more pro-life saints and heroes, such as St. Maximilian Kolbe and Pope John Paul II, Bl. Gianna Beretta Molla and Mother Teresa. We exhort all our members to strive for holiness as their first and foremost duty as Christians.
(2) We need to pray fervently and daily for all those in public office (cf. 1 Tim. 2:1-4), especially for our fellow Catholics. We must resist the real temptation to harbor uncharitable thoughts about Catholic politicians who fail to uphold the right to life, and instead we should offer extra prayers and mortifications for their conversion on this issue.
(3) Both the Holy Father and the U.S. bishops have emphasized the role of the laity—and particularly the family—in the political arena. For example, in his 1981 apostolic exhortation on the role of the Christian family in the modern world (Familiaris Consortio), Pope John Paul II writes: “The social role of families is called upon to find expression also in the form of political intervention: families should be the first to take steps to see that the laws and institutions of the State not only do not offend but support and positively defend the rights and duties of the family” (no. 44).
This role can be manifested in many different ways, depending on one’s state in life, occupation, talents, etc. Certainly as Catholic laity we should be involved—both formally and informally—in the education of society on life issues and foster an informed, responsible use of the right to vote. Even more in this context, we encourage the faithful to call and/or write Catholics in public office, charitably but firmly expressing our disapproval of their support of abortion rights, and calling upon them to support specific measures and judicial nominees that will protect the lives of unborn children.
(4) We encourage pastors of souls who have pro-abortion Catholic legislators within their jurisdiction to exercise their moral and, if need be, canonical authority to bear prophetic witness to the truth in a way ordered to the salvation of the Catholic legislator and indeed the good of all the faithful entrusted to their pastoral care and protection. Canon 1371 of the Code of Canon Law, particularly as amended by Pope John Paul II in Ad Tuendam Fidem (1998), provides that one who publicly repudiates Church teaching, and who does not retract after being legitimately warned, is to be punished with a remedial penalty. In this regard, the lay faithful play an important role by praying for their bishop and encouraging him with respectful communications to take appropriate, decisive action to protect the flock entrusted to him.
It is our prayer that, united in Christ and ever faithful to His bride, we will help the “Gospel of Life” flourish in our beloved homeland, so that all people, without exception, may enjoy the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” which our Founding Fathers sought to guarantee for future generations.
Copyright © 2001, Catholics United for the Faith |
