The Bishop of Scranton Teaches the Truth About Life

October 5th, 2008 at 08:54am Mark Noonan

And we hope that Joe Biden (who talks as if Scranton were the center of his universe) will pay attention, especially as he claims adherence to the Catholic faith…it would also be good for Senator Obama to lend an ear:

…The American Catholic bishops initiated Respect Life Sunday in 1972, the year before the Supreme Court legalized abortion in the United States. Since that time, Catholics across the country observe the month of October with devotions and pro-life activities in order to advance the culture of life. This October, our efforts have more significance than ever. Never have we seen such abusive criticism directed toward those who believe that life begins at conception and ends at natural death.As Catholics, we should not be surprised by these developments. Forty years ago, Pope Paul VI predicted that widespread use of artificial contraceptives would lead to increased marital infidelity, lessened regard for women, and a general lowering of moral standards especially among the young. Forty years later, social scientists, not necessarily Catholics, attest to the accuracy of his predictions. As if following some bizarre script, the sexual revolution has produced widespread marital breakdown, weakened family ties, legalized abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, pornography, same-sex unions, euthanasia, destruction of human embryos for research purposes and a host of other ills.

It is impossible for me to answer all of the objections to the Church’s teaching on life that we hear every day in the media. Nevertheless, let me address a few. To begin, laws that protect abortion constitute injustice of the worst kind. They rest on several false claims including that there is no certainty regarding when life begins, that there is no certainty about when a fetus becomes a person, and that some human beings may be killed to advance the interests or convenience of others. With regard to the first, reason and science have answered the question. The life of a human being begins at conception. The Church has long taught this simple truth, and science confirms it. Biologists can now show you the delicate and beautiful development of the human embryo in its first days of existence. This is simply a fact that reasonable people accept. Regarding the second, the embryo and the fetus have the potential to do all that an adult person does. Finally, the claim that the human fetus may be sacrificed to the interests or convenience of his mother or someone else is grievously wrong. All three claims have the same result: the weakest and most vulnerable are denied, because of their age, the most basic protection that we demand for ourselves. This is discrimination at its worst, and no person of conscience should support it.

Another argument goes like this: “As wrong as abortion is, I don’t think it is the only relevant ‘life’ issue that should be considered when deciding for whom to vote.” This reasoning is sound only if other issues carry the same moral weight as abortion does, such as in the case of euthanasia and destruction of embryos for research purposes. Health care, education, economic security, immigration, and taxes are very important concerns. Neglect of any one of them has dire consequences as the recent financial crisis demonstrates. However, the solutions to problems in these areas do not usually involve a rejection of the sanctity of human life in the way that abortion does. Being “right” on taxes, education, health care, immigration, and the economy fails to make up for the error of disregarding the value of a human life. Consider this: the finest health and education systems, the fairest immigration laws, and the soundest economy do nothing for the child who never sees the light of day. It is a tragic irony that “pro-choice” candidates have come to support homicide – the gravest injustice a society can tolerate – in the name of “social justice.”…

…My dear friends, I beg you not to be misled by confusion and lies. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, does not ask us to follow him to Calvary only for us to be afraid of contradicting a few bystanders along the way. He does not ask us to take up his Cross only to have us leave it at the voting booth door. Recently, Pope Benedict XVI said that “God is so humble that he uses us to spread his Word.” The gospel of life, which we have the privilege of proclaiming, resonates in the heart of every person – believer and non-believer – because it fulfills the heart’s most profound desire. Let us with one voice continue to speak the language of love and affirm the right of every human being to have the value of his or her life, from conception to natural death, respected to the highest degree…

We can’t do anything for the dead - this is rather common sense, but it escapes the notice of liberals, especially liberals who are running for President and are desperate to pry away some Catholic votes from the Republican candidate. It does astound, at times, to think that there are people who think that abortion can be a morally good choice - one wonders how a person comes to the conclusion that a permanent solution is needed for a temporary condition…that immediate death can be the proper response to new life.

I included that last bit of the Bishop’s letter because I think it important - even if you’re not Christian or, indeed, even a believer. It is wisdom of the highest kind to instruct a person to adhere to truth no matter what people demand. It is also such wisdom to insist on taking all of one’s self into the voting booth. And we also must keep in mind the humility needed for the ultimate triumph of the Culture of Life - in a sense, we who can barely be trusted to do the right thing from minute to minute are the people who must convince a fallen and depraved modern world that life is a beautiful thing and it is to be held precious from the first to the last moment.

As the poison in American politics in the 1850’s could be traced to slavery, so the poison in American politics in the first decade of the 21st century can be traced to abortion. Not, of course, that abortion is the source of all ills, but because the defense of abortion - the defense, that is, of something even more abominable than slavery - leads people, step by step, into lies and hatred. Slaveholders in the South started talking themselves into believing their slaves were happy to be slaves; abortion proponents have talked themselves into believing that death is the best thing for the unborn child and, indeed, that child would thank us - if he could - for killing him and thus sparing him the burden of life. We can do much, short of an abortion ban, to lessen the evils in our political life and heal the wounds inflicted on us by the Culture of Death but, in the end, we won’t exorcise this demon until abortion is gone and viewed, as slavery is today, as some primitive aberration no decent person would contemplate.

As it relates to 2008, the good Bishop can’t say it - and even if there wasn’t a federal issue involved with men of the cloth entering deeply into politics, the Bishop would still refrain from saying, “vote for So and So”. But it is clear from his teaching - and the teaching of so many other Bishops, priests and pastors - that anyone who takes the name of “Christian” cannot, if properly informed of Christian teaching, vote for Obama. Heck, if Obama fully understood his own Christian faith, he’d vote against himself - and so would Biden. This is not to condemn those who are Christian and yet manage to find justification for supporting a pro-abortion candidate or party - but it is to point out that only ignorance or willful blindness can explain a Christian being in favor of continued legal elective abortion.

Those of us who place life at the forefront of our concerns know that in the choice of 2008, there is no choice - Only Senator McCain and Governor Palin understand that the belief in the sanctity of human life brings with it the requirement to support some actions, and oppose others. For the Culture of Life, McCain and Palin represent victory - Obama and Biden represent defeat.

Tags: abortion, Christianity, conservative truth, culture of death, Culture of Life, Joe Biden, Sarah Palin

Entry Filed under: Campaign 2008, Democrats, Life Issues, Religion, Republicans, Social Issues