Are any Catholic politicians pro-life?

Just in - 5/9/07

By Philip Pullella

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Wednesday warned Catholic politicians they risked excommunication from the Church and should not receive communion if they support abortion.

Doing some research on the subject, I was surprised to learn how being ‘pro-choice’ affects a Catholic and elections:

Fr. Frank Pavone National Director, Priests for Life

When a candidate for public office is wrong on abortion, he or she cannot be right on the other issues.

‘Indeed, the failure to protect and defend life in its most vulnerable stages renders suspect any claims to the ‘rightness’ of positions in other matters affecting the poorest and least powerful of the human community’ (US Bishops, 1998, Living the Gospel of Life, n.23).

‘Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights – for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture – is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition of all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination’ (Pope John Paul II, 1988, The Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World (Christifideles Laici), n.38).

Those are clear and strong words.

Why do the bishops say that when a public servant cannot stand up for the right to life, his stand for other human rights is ‘suspect?’

When one says that people have a ‘right’ to be safe, free, educated, and economically secure, on what basis do these rights exist? Are they human rights, that belong to the person simply because he or she is human, and are therefore beyond the authority of anyone to take away? Or are they ‘rights’ granted by those in power?

These rights cannot possibly be human rights if life itself isn’t a human right. And the public official who says abortion can be legal is saying that life itself is not a human right. This is because he or she is saying that some human beings (those in the womb) can be deprived of that right to life.

Bishop Elio Sgreccia, Vice-President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, stated, ‘Without respect for life, society simply does not exist…all [other] rights presuppose the right to life. If the right to life is not defended, the defense of all these other rights is useless. It becomes a lie, because it would mean that the defense to the right to work, to society, etc. applies only to some, and not to all’ (May 2004 interview with Priests for Life).

This is also why the Pope can call the outcry for human rights ‘false and illusory’ without the right to life.

Cardinal Renato Martino, President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, ‘The Holy Father speaks of the protection of life as the fundamental realization and respect for human rights. Without that respect for the right to life, no other discussion of human rights can continue; it must be based upon the foundation of human dignity and the right to life’ (May 2004 interview with Priests for Life).

In short, to allow legalized abortion is an attack on the entire moral order. If abortion is not wrong, nothing is wrong. If it is wrong, civilization will not survive unless it is set right.

You are absolutely right that this is not an optional point of doctrine, and any politician who supports it risks ex-communication (more about this later)

I can’t think of all the Catholic politicians off-hand, but most who call themselves Catholic are not pro-life for politcal reasons.

Here are a few who are prolife: Rick Santorum (former Senator PA just voted out in Nov. 2006) Tommy Thompson (Secretary of Health and Human Services) Sam Brownback (Senator KS; was a presidential candidate at one point this election) Joseph Pitts (Rep. PA’s 16th; I am not 100% sure that he’s Catholic, but I know he’s pro-life)

Note that there are also 5 Catholics currently serving on the Supreme Court (Yes, that is a majority): Chief Justice John Roberts (current abortion position not fully proven) Antonin Scalia (as pro-life as they come) Clarence Thomas (same as Justice Scalia) Anthony Kennedy (won’t overturn Roe v Wade, but is a swing vote for other issues) Samuel Allito (status similar to Chief Justice Roberts)

I am sure that there are more, but I don’t really know the religious affiliations of everyone in politics, nor their views on abortion, especially those that I can’t vote on (ie those out of my state/congressional district etc.)

Oops, I forgot to talk about the ex-communications thing.

The official Catholic position is that any person who obstinately denies (after bapitsm) a truth of the faith that must be believed for salvation is ex-communicated “ibso facto” (that means the the act in itself triggers the consequence I.e. it does not require the act of a bishop).

The Church does believe in conversion and repentance, however there is a special set of circumstances for politicians because of the public nature of the offense. If the sin is public, then there must be public redress to help correct the scandalous affects of the sin. (scandal is understood to mean something that leads others to sin as Jesus addressed in the Gospels. See Mat. 18:6-9).

Most of the Catholics I meet are politically pro-choice. They would never have an abortion themselves but they would not force others to carry unwanted children.

Some feel like the RCC will eventually come around and accept abortion but the church is stuck in the past. Remember that after imprisioning Gallileo and forcing him to recant his scientific observations that the RCC took almost 400 years to admit that the Earth might go around the Sun after all. The gears of justice turn very slowly.

This sort of smells like Catholic bashing to me. And no, I can’t name any.