Fr. Joseph C. Howard’s remarks at 1/18/02 news conference
For 2,000 years, the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church has been unequivocal on abortion in always condemning it as a grave moral evil. This teaching of the Magisterium is derived from both Divine Law and Natural Law; hence, even the Supreme Roman Pontiff himself cannot not alter it. The Church, therefore, declares that this teaching is, in fact, unchangeable. Ms. Kissling of “Catholics for a Free Choice” is espousing her own personal beliefs which in fact constitute heresy by violating both Natural Law and Divine Law and oppose the Magisterium which was instituted by Christ Himself. Ms. Kissling’s beliefs are rooted in grave error and are completely irreconcilable with being a Catholic or even a Christian. It must be made known that Ms. Kissling is not a Catholic and her organization—”Catholics for a Free Choice”—likewise is in no manner Catholic.
The 1983 Code of Canon Law which governs the universal Church applies canonical penalties to most serious crimes including abortion. Canon 1398 is quite clear that all who are involved in the deliberate and successful ejection of a non-viable fetus incur latae sententiae excommunication. This penalty serves a medicinal purpose in helping the individual(s) to recognize the gravity of the crime—sin—they have committed hopefully causing such person(s) to repent utilizing the sacrament of confession. Once such sins are remitted, such persons are brought back fully and completely into the Roman Catholic Church. As Christ Himself says, “I do not wish the sinner to die but rather to turn to me and live.” If Ms. Kissling has or does own abortoriums or has worked within them and has been aware of this canonical penalty, her own actions by the law itself have excommunicated her until such time as she repents of what Vatican Council II called “an abominable crime.”
Ms. Kissling has run press releases which falsely allege that our Catholic Bishops are killing people by not promoting and endorsing the use of condoms. Empirical research studies have in fact demonstrated that the use of condoms can be likened to that of Russian Roulette. In 1987, JAMA found that one in ten couples with an infected spouse passed on HIV when using condoms. Another federally-funded study conducted at UCLA found that four of the nation’s most popular condom brands permitted HIV to escape in laboratory tests. Also, HIV leaked in one of ten condoms tested in each of three brands, and six of twenty-five tested in a fourth brand. In 1995, the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that in a heterosexual population where condoms were always used, the risk of male-to-female transmission of HIV was 23%. Also noted in this study was the suggested relationship between the use of oral contraceptives and HIV infection. Where will Ms. Kissling and her companions be the next time my pager goes off at 2:00 a.m. and I report to the ICU of a hospital to give the Last Rites to a young person with HIV who is seizuring terribly and on a ventilator with Pneumocystis carinii—a parasitic protozoan—as this person dies? Where will Ms. Kissling be? What will Ms. Kissling say? I think we all know the answer: Ms. Kissling will be nowhere to be found. It will be priests of the Church who bring Christ to that young person who has died by the cooperative efforts of Ms. Kissling’s rhetorical campaign. The truth is that Ms. Kissling’s campaign ends up killing our young people—spiritually and even physically.
The mercy of Jesus Christ is infinite and knows no boundaries except those which we as humans may place. No matter what a person has done or how many times they have done it, Christ wills their repentance and forgiveness. Nowhere is this more evident than that of Bernard Nathanson, M.D. One of the co-founders of NARAL, Dr. Nathanson directed the largest abortion clinic in the world for two years where he claims responsibility for 80,000 abortions. Dr. Nathanson embraced the Catholic Church several years ago and is living testimony not only to the horror of the crime of abortion but also the infinite mercy of Jesus Christ. As priest of Christ who is a bioethicist, I call upon Ms. Kissling to repent of these grievous sins. I assure her that she will find true compassion, freedom, and peace and will be welcomed back lovingly into the Catholic Church. Just ask Bernard Nathanson, M.D.
Release issued: 18 Jan 02
