Update 6/30/23: The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the chairmen of the USCCB’s pro-life and doctrine committees released a joint statement on Wednesday in response to the pro-abortion “Renewed Statement of Principles” signed by Catholic legislators. The message is clear that using the “teachings of the Catholic faith itself as justifying abortion or supporting a supposed right to abortion grievously distort the faith.”
“It is wrong and incoherent to claim that the taking of innocent human life at its most vulnerable stage can ever be consistent with the values of supporting the dignity and wellbeing of those in need,” the bishops said. “‘Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception,’ including through the civil law (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2270, 2273). Abortion violates this with respect to preborn children and brings untold suffering to countless women.”
The bishops added that “conscience is not a license to commit evil and take innocent lives. Conscience cannot and does not justify the act or support of abortion. In fact, conscience ‘must be informed and moral judgment enlightened’ with the Word of God in faith and prayer, and ‘guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church’ [CCC 1783, 1785]. Moreover, the reality that the preborn are our living sisters and brothers is not only a matter of faith, but is attested to by science and sound reason.”
In addition, they asked legislators “to support the freedom of Catholics and of others to serve the common good in accord with their beliefs in a wide range of areas — from services and assistance to recently arrived migrants, to offering health care and social services.” They also asked that the lawmakers work to help “the vulnerable and marginalized, including mothers and families in need.”
The USCCB statement was issued by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, USCCB president; Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Va., chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities; and Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine.
6/29/23: In response to the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, a group of 31 House Democrats who call themselves the “faithful pro-choice Catholic majority” has issued a “Renewed Statement of Principles” reaffirming their support for abortion.
In the statement, which was organized by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), the Catholic lawmakers attempt to justify their support of abortion by citing their freedom of conscience.
“As Catholics, we believe all individuals are free to make their own personal decisions about their bodies, families, and futures,” they write. “The role of informed conscience is at the very core of our faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC] plainly states that ‘A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his [or her] conscience. If he [or she] were deliberately to act against it, he [or she] would condemn himself [or herself].’ We regard conscience as both a sacred gift and a responsibility: we are called to follow our conscience.”
In citing the CCC, the lawmakers notably omit the second part of the passage, which states, “Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance, and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed.” This statement, and further explanations laid out in subsequent CCC passages, demonstrate that despite the lawmakers’ claims, the Church does not advocate the freedom of conscience above all else — especially when the argument of conscience results in the taking of an innocent human life.
Freedom of conscience does not imply freedom to do whatever one feels like, and it does not give anyone permission to murder — which is what is done to the innocent humans in the womb who are starved to death, suctioned apart, pulled apart limb by limb, or poisoned to death. It would be unthinkable for society to justify a woman murdering her three year-old-child because she is impoverished. Yet this is the same argument that the lawmakers make in their statement when they argue that “bans and restrictions on abortion disproportionately harm those who already endure poverty, discrimination, and racism.”
Elsewhere, the CCC cements the Church’s strong stance against abortion stating, “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.”
The Catechism goes on to state, “Since the first century, the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law: You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.”
The Catholic Church’s position is clear: abortion is a grave evil, and all life must be protected. While these lawmakers cite social justice and freedom of conscience in an attempt to hold up their position, there is no justification for their continued advocacy of the greatest injustice of our day: the murder of innocent humans in the womb.
