Catholic Bishops to confront Obama on abortion

From the Washington Post:

The nation's Roman Catholic bishops vowed Tuesday to forcefully confront the Obama administration over its support for abortion rights, saying the church and religious freedom could be under attack in the new presidential administration. In an impassioned discussion on Catholics in public life, several bishops said they would accept no compromise on abortion policy. Many condemned Catholics who had argued it was morally acceptable to back President-elect Obama because he pledged to reduce abortion rates.

Several prelates promised to call out Catholic policy makers on their failures to follow church teaching. Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton, Pa., singled out Vice President-elect Biden, a Catholic, Scranton native who supports abortion rights.

"I cannot have a vice president-elect coming to Scranton to say he's learned his values there when those values are utterly against the teachings of the Catholic Church," Martino said. The Obama-Biden press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Diocese of Kansas City in Kansas said politicians "can't check your principles at the door of the legislature." Naumann has said repeatedly that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Catholic Democrat who supports abortion rights, should stop taking Holy Communion until she changes her stance. "They cannot call themselves Catholic when they violate such a core belief as the dignity of the unborn," Naumann said Tuesday.

According to exit polls, 54 percent of Catholics chose Obama, who is Protestant. The new bishops' statement is meant to drive home the point in a way that cannot be misconstrued.

"We have a very important thing to say. I think we should say it clearly and with a punch," said New York Cardinal Edward Egan.

These would be the same bishops who thought it was perfectly OK to vote for George W. Bush, despite the fact that Bush launched an aggressive war that has killed hundreds of thousands, withdrew money from AIDS prevention programs, and ordered the torture of prisoners. And I don't remember any of these guys running to the press to warn Catholics that some of their priests were child molesters, and that their fellow bishops were protecting the pedophiles by moving them from parish to parish.

Apparently, the only time these guys find their voices is when they're trying to tell women what to do with their bodies. No wonder most American Catholics ignore them.

(cross posted at appletree)