CARDINAL GEORGE VOICES HOPE FOR OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, POINTS TO POSSIBLE
OBSTACLES TO OUR DESIRED UNITY
Administration but pointed to
possible obstacles to our desired unity, in a Nov. 12 statement at the end of
the annual fall assembly of the USCCB.
“The
bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States welcome this moment of
historic transition and look forward to working with President-
elect Obama
and the members of the new Congress for the common good of all,” he said.
He
said that “the unity desired by President-elect Obama and all Americans at this
moment of crisis will be impossible to achieve,”
if the administration’s
policies increase abortions.
“Aggressive
pro-abortion policies, legislation and executive orders will permanently
alienate tens of millions of Americans, and would be seen by many
as an
attack on the free exercise of their religion.”
“We
express again our great desire to work with all those who cherish to common good
of our nation,” he added. “The common good is not the sum total of
individual interests: it is achieved in the working out of a common life based
upon good reason and good will for all.”
Cardinal George’s remarks follow.
STATEMENT of the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
“If
the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor; if the Lord
does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil.”
(Psalm
127, vs. 1)
The
Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States welcome this moment of
historic transition and look forward to working with President-elect Obama and
the members of the new Congress for the common good of all. Because of the
Church’s history and the scope of her ministries in this country, we want to
continue our work for economic justice and opportunity for all; our efforts to
reform laws around immigration and the situation of the undocumented; our
provision of better education and adequate health care for all, especially for
women and children; our desire to safeguard religious freedom and foster peace
at home and abroad. The Church is intent on doing good and will continue to
cooperate gladly with the government and all others working for these goods.
The
fundamental good is life itself, a gift from God and our parents. A good state
protects the lives of all. Legal protection for those members of the
human
family waiting to be born in this country was removed when the Supreme Court
decided Roe vs. Wade in 1973. This was bad law. The danger the Bishops
see
at this moment is that a bad court decision will be enshrined in bad legislation
that is more radical than the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself.
In
the last Congress, a Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) was introduced that would, if
brought forward in the same form today, outlaw any “interference” in
providing abortion at will. It would deprive the American people in all fifty
states of the freedom they now have to enact modest restraints and regulations
on the abortion industry. FOCA would coerce all Americans into subsidizing
and promoting abortion with their tax dollars. It would counteract any and all
sincere efforts by government and others of good will to reduce the number
of abortions in our country.
Parental
notification and informed consent precautions would be outlawed, as would be
laws banning procedures such as partial-birth abortion and protecting infants
born alive after a failed abortion.Abortion clinics would be deregulated. The
Hyde Amendment restricting the federal funding of abortions would be abrogated.
FOCA would have lethal consequences for prenatal human life.
FOCA would have an
equally destructive effect on the freedom of conscience of doctors, nurses and
health care workers whose personal convictions do not
permit them to
cooperate in the private killing of unborn children. It would threaten Catholic
health care institutions and Catholic Charities. It would be
an evil law
that would further divide our country, and the Church should be intent on
opposing evil.
On this issue, the
legal protection of the unborn, the bishops are of one mind with Catholics and
others of good will. They are also pastors who have
listened to women whose
lives have been diminished because they believed they had no choice but to abort
a baby. Abortion is a medical procedure that kills,
and the psychological
and spiritual consequences are written in the sorrow and depression of many
women and men. The bishops are single-minded because they
are, first of all,
single-hearted.
The recent
election was principally decided out of concern for the economy, for the loss of
jobs and homes and financial security for families, here and
around the
world. If the election is misinterpreted ideologically as a referendum on
abortion, the unity desired by President-elect Obama and all
Americans at
this moment of crisis will be impossible to achieve. Abortion kills not only
unborn children; it destroys constitutional order and the
common good, which
is assured only when the life of every human being is legally protected.
Aggressively pro-abortion policies, legislation and
executive orders will
permanently alienate tens of millions of Americans, and would be seen by many as
an attack on the free exercise of their religion.
This statement is
written at the request and direction of all the Bishops, who also want to thank
all those in politics who work with good will to protect
the lives of the
most vulnerable among us. Those in public life do so, sometimes, at the cost of
great sacrifice to themselves and their families;
and we are grateful. We
express again our great desire to work with all those who cherish the common
good of our nation. The common good is not the sum
total of individual
desires and interests; it is achieved in the working out of a common life based
upon good reason and good will for all.
Our prayers
accompany President-elect Obama and his family and those who are cooperating
with him to assure a smooth transition in government.
Many issues demand
immediate attention on the part of our elected “watchman.” (Psalm 127) May God
bless him and our country.
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