| On 8 September the Archdiocese of Denver released the following
untitled statement on the erroneous comments on abortion made by Senator Joseph
Biden, a Catholic, on the news program Meet the Press (September
7).
To Catholics of the Archdiocese of Denver:
When Catholics serve on the national stage, their actions and words
impact the faith of Catholics around the country. As a result, they open
themselves to legitimate scrutiny by local Catholics and local bishops
on matters of Catholic belief. In 2008, although NBC probably didn’t
intend it, Meet the Press has become a national window on the flawed
moral reasoning of some Catholic public servants.
On August 24, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, describing herself
as an ardent, practicing Catholic, misrepresented the overwhelming body
of Catholic teaching against abortion to the show’s nationwide audience,
while defending her “pro-choice” abortion views. On September 7, Sen.
Joseph Biden compounded the problem to the same Meet the Press audience.
Sen. Biden is a man of distinguished public service. That doesn’t
excuse poor logic or bad facts. Asked when life begins, Sen. Biden said
that, “it’s a personal and private issue.” But in reality, modern
biology knows exactly when human life begins: at the moment of
conception. Religion has nothing to do with it. People might argue when
human “personhood” begins – though that leads public policy in very
dangerous directions – but no one can any longer claim that the
beginning of life is a matter of religious opinion.
Sen. Biden also confused the nature of pluralism. Real pluralism
thrives on healthy, non-violent disagreement; it requires an environment
where people of conviction will struggle respectfully but vigorously to
advance their beliefs. In his interview, the senator ob served that
other people with strong religious views disagree with the Catholic
approach to abortion. It’s certainly true that we need to acknowledge
the views of other people and compromise whenever possible – but not at
the expense of a developing child’s right to life. Abortion is a
foundational issue; it is not an issue like housing policy or the price
of foreign oil. It always involves the intentional killing of an
innocent life, and it is always, grievously wrong. If, as Sen. Biden
said, “I’m prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at
the moment of conception,” then he is not merely wrong about the science
of new life; he also fails to defend the innocent life he already knows
is there.
As the senator said in his interview, he has opposed public funding
for abortions. To his great credit, he also backed a successful ban on
partial-birth abortions. But his strong support for the 1973 Supreme
Court decision Roe v. Wade and the false “right” to abortion it
enshrines, can’t be excused by any serious Catholic. Support for Roe and
the “right to choose” an abortion simply masks what abortion is, and
what abortion does. Roe is bad law. As long as it stands, it prevents
returning the abortion issue to the states where it belongs, so that the
American people can decide its future through fair debate and
legislation.
In his Meet the Press interview, Sen. Biden used a morally exhausted
argument that American Catholics have been hearing for 40 years: i.e.,
that Catholics can’t “impose” their religiously based views on the rest
of the country. But resistance to abortion is a matter of human rights,
not religious opinion. And the senator knows very well as a lawmaker
that all law involves the imposition of some people’s convictions on
everyone else. That is the nature of the law. American Catholics have
allowed themselves to be bullied into accepting the destruction of more
than a million developing unborn children a year. Other people have
imposed their “pro-choice” beliefs on American society without any
remorse for decades.
If we claim to be Catholic, then American Catholics, including public
officials who describe themselves as Catholic, need to act accordingly.
We need to put an end to Roe and the industry of permissive abortion it
enables. Otherwise all of us – from senators and members of Congress, to
Catholic laypeople in the pews – fail not only as believers and
disciples, but also as citizens.
+Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. Archbishop of Denver
+James D. Conley Auxiliary Bishop of Denver
|