Bishops counter politicians' letter supporting a right to abortion

By Peter Pinedo | Catholic News Agency
and by The Catholic Free Press

Two congressmen who represent cities and towns in the Diocese of Worcester are among the 31 Catholic Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives who signed a letter on the first anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision vowing to continue to support abortion despite the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
Rep. James P. McGovern of Worcester, whose district covers central Massachusetts and much of Worcester County and Rep. Lori Trahan of Lowell, whose district covers northern Worcester County, are among the signatories. The boundaries of the diocese coincide with the boundaries of Worcester County. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch of South Boston, whose district covers the eastern part of the state, including part of Boston, also signed the letter.
The group of Democrats, led by Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro and including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, cited their Catholic faith and St. John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici as reasons to support abortion.

    This public statement of principles falsely invokes specific teachings of the Catholic Church to defend the congressmen’s support of a legal right to abortion, states a press release issued Wednesday by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine, issued the following corrective statement in response:
     “Members of Congress who recently invoked teachings of the Catholic faith itself as justifying abortion or supporting a supposed right to abortion grievously distort the faith. It is wrong and incoherent to claim that the taking of innocent human life at its most vulnerable stage can ever be consistent with the values of supporting the dignity and wellbeing of those in need. ‘Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception,’ including through the civil law [Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2270, 2273].  
Abortion violates this with respect to preborn children and brings untold suffering to countless women.
     “Conscience rightly enjoys a special regard both in Church teaching and in the public sphere. And policymakers should support the freedom of Catholics and of others to serve the common good in accord with their beliefs in a wide range of areas – from services and assistance to recently arrived migrants, to offering health care and social services.
     “Nevertheless, conscience is not a license to commit evil and take innocent lives. Conscience cannot and does not justify the act or support of abortion. In fact, conscience ‘must be informed and moral judgment enlightened’ with the Word of God in faith and prayer, and ‘guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church’ [CCC 1783, 1785]. Moreover, the reality that the preborn are our living sisters and brothers is not only a matter of faith, but is attested to by science and sound reason.
     “We once again implore and pray for Congress to join us in working toward the true common good by prioritizing authentic, uplifting support for the vulnerable and marginalized, including mothers and families in need.”
     
The document the politicians cite, Christifideles Laici, was published in 1988 after the 1987 bishops’ synod on the vocation and mission of the laity.
In this exhortation, John Paul II called on the lay faithful to fully join in the Church’s mission to confront the growing indifference toward religion and violations against the dignity of the human person.
The Democrats contend in their letter that “the fundamental tenets of our Catholic faith — social justice, conscience, and religious freedom — compel us to defend a woman’s right to access abortion. Our faith unfailingly promotes the common good, prioritizes the dignity of every human being, and highlights the need to provide a collective safety net to our most vulnerable.”
They go on to say, “We are committed to making real the basic principles at the heart of Catholic social teaching: helping the poor, disadvantaged, and the oppressed; protecting the least among us; and ensuring that all Americans of every faith are given meaningful opportunities to share in the blessings of this great country.”
Before the USCCB statement was released, Bishop McManus of the Diocese of Worcester took issue with their interpretation of Catholic social teaching stating that it “relies on the fundamental principle that we are all created in the image and likeness of God from the moment of conception.That is foundational to all of St. John Paul II’s teaching throughout his pontificate.”
In Christifideles Laici John Paul II wrote, “Who is able to count the number of babies unborn because they have been killed in their mothers’ wombs, children abandoned and abused by their own parents, children who grow without affection and education?”
“Despite all this, then, humanity is able to hope. Indeed it must hope: the living and personal Gospel, Jesus Christ himself, is the ‘good news’ and the bearer of joy that the Church announces each day, and to whom the Church bears testimony before all people.”
“The lay faithful have an essential and irreplaceable role in this announcement and in this testimony: through them the Church of Christ is made present in the various sectors of the world as a sign and source of hope and of love,” John Paul II wrote.

ONE YEAR

Saturday marked one year since the Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade case. The decision in Dobbs allowed abortion bans and restrictions in multiple states across the country to go into effect.
By overturning Roe v. Wade, the letter said that “the justices stripped women of their right to abortion and escalated an ongoing reproductive health care crisis in this country.”
According to the Democrats who signed the letter, abortion bans and restrictions “disproportionately harm those who already endure poverty, discrimination, and racism.”
“As Catholics, we believe all individuals are free to make their own personal decisions about their bodies, families, and futures,” the Democrats said. “Our faith and our country’s Constitution demand that no person impose a single religious viewpoint into law or regulation.”
“As Catholic Democrats who embrace the vocation and mission of the laity as expressed by the late Pope John Paul II in his apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici," the letter continued, “we believe that the Church is the ‘people of God,’ called to be a moral force in the broadest sense.”
In a separate statement, DeLauro decried the Dobbs decision, saying it was made by an “activist conservative Supreme Court” that “disregard[ed] science to strip away a woman’s fundamental and constitutional right to make her own health care decisions.”
DeLauro further denounced states that have enacted abortion bans and restrictions since the Dobbs decision and attacked an ongoing effort by some pro-life groups to ban mifepristone, the abortion drug most commonly used throughout the country.
    Bishop Burbidge’s statement as pro-life committee chairman marking the anniversary of the Dobbs decision was released earlier this month.

PHOTO: A pro-life sign is displayed during the 2019 annual March for Life rally in Washington. (OSV News photo/Tyler Orsburn)