Against Abortion and “Mercy Killings” : The Struggle Continues

One of the early battles of the Obama administration may revolve around abortion. Catholic bishops meeting in Baltimore yesterday promised a forthright defense of the Catholic Church’s position on abortion.

According to an article in My Way, “The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops vowed Tuesday to forcefully confront the Obama administration over its support for abortion rights, saying the church and religious freedom could be under attack in the new presidential administration.

In an impassioned discussion on Catholics in public life, several bishops said they would accept no compromise on abortion policy. Many condemned Catholics who had argued it was morally acceptable to back President-elect Obama because he pledged to reduce abortion rates.

There is a wide range of possible responses to a Catholic politician who supports abortion. On the one hand, a blind eye can be turned towards Catholics in public life who are “pro choice.”

On the other hand , politicians can be banned from the sacraments, the central rituals in the lives of Roman Catholics. They can even be excommunicated, as have been political figures such as Papa Doc Duvalier of Haiti and Juan Peron of Argentina. In America, the imposition of any penalty upon errant Catholics varies from one locality to another, being decided in most instances by local bishops.

There could be some pointed and specific action taken in the future by Catholic bishops who are enforcing adherence to church doctrine among those who wish to be considered Catholics in good standing According to the My Way article, “Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton, Pa., singled out Vice President-elect Biden, a Catholic, Scranton native who supports abortion rights.

“I cannot have a vice president-elect coming to Scranton to say he’s learned his values there when those values are utterly against the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

The article goes on to mention Archbishop Joseph Nauman of Missouri .

Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Diocese of Kansas City in Kansas said politicians “can’t check your principles at the door of the legislature.”

My way notes that Naumann took the concrete step of asking Kathleen Sibelius, the Governor of Kansas to refrain from taking communion until she changes her stance noting, “They cannot call themselves Catholic when they violate such a core belief as the dignity of the unborn.

Although I normally stay far away from discussions in other religions about their beliefs, matters of human life and public policy are of direct interest to the public at large.

Click here to read my article on American Sentinel