HOW WE GOT INTO THIS ABORTION MESS? - 2 OF 2

How we got into this Abortion Mess? – 2 of 2
The website- cinops be gone – Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Anne Hendershott continues to pursue the truth in her Wall Street Journal, article:

Former Jesuit priest Albert Jonsen writes that the Hyannisport colloquium was influenced by the position of another Jesuit, the Rev. John Courtney Murray, a position that “distinguished between the moral aspects of an issue and the feasibility of enacting legislation about that issue.” It was the consensus at the Hyannisport conclave that Catholic politicians “might tolerate legislation that would permit abortion under certain circumstances if political efforts to repress this moral error led to greater perils to social peace and order.”
{This is a cop-out. There were no greater perils to social peace and order. ghk}

Father Milhaven later recalled the Hyannisport meeting during a 1984 breakfast briefing of Catholics for a Free Choice: “The theologians worked for a day and a half among ourselves at a nearby hotel. In the evening we answered questions from the Kennedys and the Shrivers. Though the theologians disagreed on many a point, they all concurred on certain basics … and that was that a Catholic could in good conscience vote in favor of abortion.”
{I graduated from a Jesuit College and the above is malarkey. ghk)

But can they now? There are signs today that some of the bishops are beginning to confront the Catholic politicians who consistently vote in favor of legislation to support abortion. Charles J. Chaput, the archbishop of Denver, has been on the front lines in encouraging Catholics to live their faith without compromise in the public square. Most recently in his book “Render Unto Caesar,” Archbishop Chaput has reminded Catholic politicians of their obligation to protect life.
{This whole business of abortion has morphed into the evils of same-sex marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, assisted-suicide and euthanasia. All of these evils, the pro-choice Catholic politician is now supporting. ghk}

The archbishop is not alone. The agenda at the November’s assembly in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops included a public discussion of abortion and politics. The bishops’ final statement focused on concern about the possible passage of the “Freedom of Choice Act,” and referred to it as “an evil law that would further divide our country.” The bishops referenced their 2007 document, “Faithful Citizenship,” which maintains that the right to life is the foundation of every other human right. In it, they promised to “persist in the duty to counsel, in the hope that the scandal of their {‘Catholic congregants’} cooperating in evil can be resolved by the proper formation of their consciences.”
{There are consequences to voting for the Democratic Party. Maybe the staff at USCCB will learn on what happens.}

Whether the bishops truly will persist remains to be seen. New York’s Cardinal Edward Egan, for instance, has not publicly challenged Ms. Caroline Kennedy’s pro-choice promises. This is unfortunate. Until the clerics begin to counter the pro-choice claims made by high-profile Catholics such as Nancy Pelosi, Caroline Kennedy, faithful Catholics will continue to be bewildered by their pastoral silence. {But, there will be no silence by informed Catholic laity. ghk}

George H. Kubeck