Abortion Must Take Priority

Archbishop Elden Curtiss, the Catholic bishop of Omaha, Nebraska, in a pastoral letter released last week has clearly spelled out that Catholic opposition to abortion must have priority over opposition to the death penalty. In the archbishop's own words:

'The church is consistently pro-human life from conception until natural death. This is the reason that we oppose the death penalty as well as euthanasia and abortion. However, Catholic teaching does not weigh opposition to capital punishment the same way it weighs opposition to abortion.

'The thousands of innocent pre-born babies killed every year by abortion constitute a greater evil than the execution of a few convicted felons by the state not only because of sheer number of deaths, but because of the gravity of the act itself.

'Therefore opposition to abortion must be a priority for Catholics who support the church's teaching about the sacredness of all human life.' (Emphasis added.) '...before you were born I consecrated you.' (Jeremiah 1:5); the Didache, a first century document on Christian life which states, 'You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.' (Didache 2,2).

And large helpings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Canon Law and Donum Vitae (the Gift of Life), a contemporary document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Then he cites the practical implications of these official teachings:

'To dissent against the official teaching of the church regarding the serious evil of abortion creates a breach between Catholics and the church and causes a serious scandal when it becomes public. Catholics who actually participate in a woman's decision to have an abortion share in her alienation from the church because they share in the destruction of a beginning human life, which is forbidden by divine law and the natural law.

'Consequently, I ask the people of this (Omaha) archdiocese to join me in challenging any Catholic who claims to be an active member of the church and at the same time supports the right of a woman to have an abortion (pro-choice means essentially support for the right of a woman to terminate the life of her pre-born or partially born baby). Such a person either does not know the clear teaching of the church or is indifferent to it. This means an incorrectly formed conscience or ignorance of the law or rejection of church teaching. In any case, these people are at loggerheads with the church over a major doctrine of faith. They need conversion and reconciliation with the church, and a new heart.'

While the archbishop naturally cites Catholic sources, the evil of abortion is self-evident on purely human terms. The truth about abortion transcends religious boundaries. But the traditional reasons politically liberal Catholics cite to vote Democratic despite abortion no longer wash. Democrats support the death penalty. The myth that liberal Democrats are somehow more 'compassionate' than others has been largely debunked, and the number receiving unfair and unjust treatment in the name of 'social justice' and 'tolerance' is growing. But most of all abortion is a legalized crime, neither compassionate, just, nor medically (or morally) defensible, and deserves no one's vote.

John Mallon is contributing editor for Inside the Vatican magazine and a member of The Daily Oklahoman's Opinion Board of Contributors.  This article originally appeared in The Daily Oklahoman on 09/15/2000 and is reprinted with permission.  Send an e-mail to John Mallon