The Freedom of Choice Act would abolish all abortion restrictions up to the time of fetal viability. Obama has said he would sign the bill if Congress passed it.“We bishops are united in our teaching and our belief in the sanctity of all life,” said Bishop Michael Hoeppner of the Crookston Diocese. “That’s not new, and it’s across the board, and some politicians have missed that.”
Aquila represents 85,000 Catholics in eastern North Dakota, and Hoeppner represents 35,000 in northwestern Minnesota.
In interviews with the Herald, both Aquila and Hoeppner mentioned Obama’s running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, as an example of what they are trying to correct.
Biden, a Catholic, said during the campaign that it’s possible for a Catholic to support the right to abortion.
Not so, say the bishops, who point out the Catholic Church’s teaching is that abortion, unlike capital punishment and killing during war, is an “intrinsic evil” that can never be justified.
According to exit polls, U.S. Catholics voted for Obama by a margin of 54 percent to 45 percent over Republican Sen. John McCain, who is anti-abortion.
That’s a big switch from 2004, when 52 percent voted for President George W. Bush, an evangelical Methodist who is anti-abortion. Democrat Sen. John Kerry, a Catholic who is supports abortion rights, got 46 percent.
Obama is a Protestant who, for 20 years, has attended a United Church of Christ congregation in Chicago.
More emphasis
While the Catholic Church has always opposed abortion, many observers see a more militant approach on the issue by many bishops during the past year or two. Some, like Aquila, say clearly that Catholic office-holders who are pro-choice should not take Communion.
“The nice thing about Biden, at least he says his conscience bothers him, which is good,” Aquila said. “But they really should not be presenting themselves for Holy Communion because it is a scandal. And by us giving them Holy Communion, essentially what is communicated to them is that their position is fine.”
He and Hoeppner agreed that they and other bishops are speaking out more on the issue of abortion and public life.
“It is taught with much more emphasis,” Aquila said. “Certainly the teaching has always been there, but it’s not been taught with the force it’s being taught today.”
Kate Kenna, a lifelong Catholic from Grand Forks who serves on the board of Catholic Charities in the Fargo Diocese and works in social services, said she’s been bothered by a disproportionate emphasis some priests have placed on abortion compared with other issues. “It makes the pro-life message seem like pro-delivery,” she said.
She works with families in trouble and sees many of the cases that lead to abortion.
“I consider myself anti-abortion. But I don’t think our reality is that black-and-white,” Kenna said. “Not everyone has Catholic values. And they aren’t bad people. Mothers who get abortions aren’t always bad people. Maybe they are desperate.”
Catholics United was among the groups that argued during the presidential campaign that taking the “pro-life” position means more than opposing abortion.
Executive director Chris Korzen said there is a “deadlock” over abortion that is keeping the church from other issues. “What are the bishops going to do now? They have burned a lot of bridges with the Democrats and the new administration.”
But Aquila said his main responsibility is to clearly lay out the church’s teachings.
“It’s up to the person to decide who they are going to vote for,” Aquila said. “As I tell people, you will have to answer for that on the day of judgment, for how you vote.”
Hoeppner said he told his flock that he could not see any way to vote for a pro-choice candidate without doing wrong.
“It’s not the priest’s job, not the bishop’s job, to tell people who to vote for,” Hoeppner said. “On the other hand, be sure you teach what the church teaches, and you will help them form a conscience in the right way.”
“You can’t profess one thing in church and something else outside of church,” Aquila said.
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