Washington, D.C. (26 January 2009) – The leader of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life is sending a message loud and clear to President Barack Obama.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that President Obama's reversal of the Mexico City Policy – the ban on state funding for groups that carry out or facilitate abortions overseas – was "arrogant."
"As a three-term member of the Pontifical Academy for Life I am extremely proud of the Academy's president, Archbishop Fisichella. President Obama's Achilles heel has been made manifest in his executive order rescinding the Mexico City Policy," said Judie Brown, president of American Life League. "If only American prelates were as forthright in their condemnation of such evil."
The archbishop told the newspaper it is "the arrogance of someone who believes they are right, in signing a decree which will open the door to abortion and thus to the destruction of human life…If this is one of the first acts of President Obama, with all due respect, it seems to me that the path towards disappointment will have been very short," he continued.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
- TIME Magazine: Vatican Slams Obama Over Abortion (26 January 2009) http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1873904,00.html?imw=Y
- BBC News: Vatican Attacks U.S. Abortion Move (25 January 2009) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7849600.stm
- Catholic News Agency: Obama's Pro-abortion Executive Order Creates First Clash with Vatican (25 January 2009) http://catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14884
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