By Judie Brown
It is not surprising that the “Catholics in name only” politicians are unpacking their rhetorical armaments and preparing for a knock-down, drag-out battle in this new political era. Their claim is that access to unfettered abortion and contraception is not only required, but a right. Hearing their illogical arguments, we can only ask: Why do such people persist in describing themselves as Catholic?
In The Gospel of Life, Saint John Paul II taught that abortion and contraception are fruits from the same tree. In the same document he asserted once again that abortion is murder. These are Catholic truths! These are not debate points.
But this truth does not seem to phase some politically driven so-called Catholics.
For example, New York governor Andrew Cuomo is frightened for women whose rights to kill their babies by surgical, medical, or chemical means may be curtailed now that the Trump administration has moved into the White House. So he has decided to “require health insurers to expand access to medically necessary abortions and contraception.” In other words, if the governor gets his way, abortion for any reason at all will be covered by health insurance in the state of New York. Using the words “medically necessary” makes abortion-on-demand a given since the terminology, which is purely subjective, means there is no reason to deny funding of surgical or medical abortion.
Further, this New York Times report addresses religious entities, stating that “religious organizations and employers that oppose abortion will not be required to offer employee health insurance plans that cover such abortions,” though information on alternatives should be available in such cases. Or to put it another way, a religious organization that opposes abortion will have to provide information for anyone who asks for it on where abortion coverage can be acquired. Anyone with a conscience would find this not only hypocritical but unacceptable.
Clearly Cuomo, who claims to be Catholic, is taking steps to protect the killing of the preborn at all costs. I find it interesting that the New York Catholic Conference of Bishops, and Cardinal Dolan in particular, have not stepped up to condemn this action and instruct the governor that he is at odds with Church teaching.
Yet Cuomo is not the only Catholic who is making advocacy of abortion a priority.
Just a week ago former speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi was interviewed by MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough. She eventually delved into the subject of pro-life Americans, abortion, and Republicans, and said that Republicans who claim to be pro-life are exploiting their views on abortion for political reasons. Pelosi stated, “They pray in church on Sunday, and prey on everyone the rest of the week. . . . And while we’re doing the Lord’s work by ministering to the needs of God’s creation, they are ignoring those needs, which is to dishonor the God who made them.”
What? Does she honestly believe that people perceive the abortion-hungry Democratic party as “doing the Lord’s work”?
I suggest that we say a prayer for Grandma Pelosi and her warped view of what it means to minister to God’s creation since she is a virulent proponent of abortion—an act that has killed millions of God’s creation and continues to do so even now.
Like Cuomo, Pelosi has never been effectively reprimanded by her bishop. Perhaps that is why she takes such liberty with her extraordinarily hypocritical—not to mention offensive—language.
In a perfect world, the Church hierarchy would excoriate Catholics in public life who choose to support acts of violence like abortion. But we do not live in such a world. We know that political correctness sometimes prevents Catholic hierarchy from doing what should be done in order to hopefully save the souls of such errant hypocrites, while also protecting the souls of the faithful from scandal, but the Church should not live by rules of political correctness. God’s truths do not change. And our Church leaders should never feel that silence is the answer.
In the meantime, while we wait for the bishops to take action, we must continue to discuss, debate, and share the truth on matters pertaining to Christ, His truth, and His betrayers.
And, as always, we should pray for those who lack the understanding or desire to be faithful Catholics and who choose to ignore the tenets of the Church.
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Join American Life League as we defend the truth by teaching it with our Culture of Life Studies Program, by showing others how to live it with our Life Defenders program, and when arming others for battle with our Stop Planned Parenthood International program.
