Aug
25
Credit where it is due
August 25, 2008 | 3 Comments
We can be pretty quick to criticize the American Bishops for failing to publicly make a stand against Catholic politicians who go against Church teachings, so kudos are in order as two Bishops have issued a statement on the front page of the USCCB website, so Thomas Peters reports.
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:
In the course of a “Meet the Press” interview on abortion and other public issues on August 24, 2008, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion.
The Church has always taught that human life deserves respect from its very beginning and that procured abortion is a grave moral evil. In the Middle Ages, uninformed and inadequate theories about embryology led some theologians to speculate that specifically human life capable of receiving an immortal soul may not exist until a few weeks into pregnancy. While in canon law these theories led to a distinction in penalties between very early and later abortions, the Church’s moral teaching never justified or permitted abortion at any stage of development.
These mistaken biological theories became obsolete over 150 years ago when scientists discovered that a new human individual comes into being from the union of sperm and egg at fertilization. In keeping with this modern understanding, the Church has long taught that from the time of conception (fertilization), each member of the human species must be given the full respect due to a human person, beginning with respect for the fundamental right to life.
Well done.
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3 Comments so far
Rigali is our Cardinal. I love him.
Let’s hope the rest of the American bishops have the stones to do what is right.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/archbishop-pelosis-comments-on-abortion-are-false-2008-08-25.html
Wuerl weighs in too. Glad to hear it!
I think the bit at the end of the article is especially enlightening. It seems Pelosi believes that not receiving communion for descent from Church teaching is a “regional” thing. I didn’t realize that sin was defined by region. Maybe I should shop around and find a region that suits my particular proclivities.
From what I understand, California is pretty much supportive of any kind of sin you can come up with, and a few that have not been invented yet.
(Though I can kind of see her point. The Archbishop of LA — Mahony — is less than optimum. He’s been soft on sin for years.)