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Pope makes firm statement to Pelosi on abortion.

By: Moe Lane (Diary)  |  February 18th, 2009 at 12:22 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

I’m going to put up the full text of the Vatican’s statement about Nancy Pelosi’s visit with the Pope, because I suspect that they want this put out there:

Following the General Audience the Holy Father briefly greeted Mrs Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the United States House of Representatives, together with her entourage.

His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development.”


Based on what I wrote earlier, I’m thinking that while the Church is hopeful to avoid a confrontation in the American Church over abortion, it is not expectant that they can avoid it. Ed Morrissey is right when he notes the use of the word “consistent” in the above: it’s in direct contradiction to the excuse Pelosi uses to justify her heresy on abortion. I keep using the term “heresy” here because that’s what it is, by the way: pro-choice Catholics are not having a debate with the Church on this doctrine, much as they’d like to pretend otherwise. That would imply that the Roman Catholic Church recognizes their right to have a variant opinion on this topic and still be a good Catholic, which it pointedly does not – which is why Benedict XVI made sure to have this statement sent out.

Fortunately, it’s really easy to leave the Church these days, and it’s perfectly safe to do it, too. Unfortunately, there’s no indication that the Speaker of the House will take the hint and either reform her ways, or switch her sect. Really unfortunately, that means that we’re not any less likely to see a showdown over FOCA, which is probably going to end with a lot of Catholic hospitals permanently closing their doors, rather than provide abortion services.

Personally, I don’t see where parent-notification laws and mandatory ultrasounds are such an intolerable burden to the American people that they justify shutting down health-care providers that disproportionately treat the poor, but that’s just me.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

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COMMENTS

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  • http://americaconservative.ning.com/ cbenner

    Amen brother!

  • http://andrightlyso.com/ civil_truth

    and posit that pushing the Catholic hospitals (and other like minded hospitals) is exactly what the goal of the FOCA legislation would be.

    First they can accuse the Catholic Church of overstepping the separation of church and state and trying to impose their views on the country, which would justify further restrictive legislation against the expression of unfavored religious opinion in the public realm (removing tax exemptions, speech laws, etc).

    Second, this becomes an excuse for getting government into the business of running hospitals to serve these poor and needy whom the callous Church has abandoned. Possbly in conjunction with getting the properties at an extortionary rate. A giant leap toward government-run healthcare and recruitment of a permanent voter base.

    Though perhaps they simply expect the Church to fold in the face of a propaganda campaign. Either way, a win.

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    …will close the hospitals. They won’t resell to a third party, and the PR disaster that would accompany trying to confiscate them would instantly wreck everything that the Democrats have done for Latino outreach for the last few decades.

    I don’t think that the Church really wants a showdown on this; but they also don’t want their hospitals performing abortions.

  • Crowe

    …notice how those turned out for the secular powers of the world?

    “Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it” has a couple modern-day corollaries:

    “Those who study history but think themselves inherently greater than their forebears are doomed to repeat it.”

    And

    “Those who study history and learn its lessons are surrounded by those doomed to repeat it.”

    Pelosi should ask General Jaruzelski about opposing the Pope on cultural issues…

  • Crowe

    It is with great joy that my husband, Paul, and I met with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today.

    In our conversation, I had the opportunity to praise the church?s leadership in fighting poverty, hunger and global warming, as well as the Holy Father?s dedication to religious freedom and his upcoming trip and message to Israel.

    I was proud to show His Holiness a photograph of my family?s papal visit in the 1950s, as well as a recent picture of our children and grandchildren.

    I can just hear Pelosi’s opening statement:

    “Your Holiness, I really want to commend you for your work to end poverty, hunger, and global warming. And, wouldn’t you know it, I work hard to end those very same things! I mean, under policies that I have supported and other policies that I hope to enact into law, we’ll dramatically reduce the number of people being born, which will cause the number of people living in poverty, who are hungry, and who are contributing to global warming to go down… In fact, with our efforts combined–yours to end poverty and hunger for those who manage to escape the birth canal in one piece, and mine to reduce the number of those who do–we can likely make a real difference! Isn’t that great!”

  • Read Chesterton

    They seem to be bolstered by the false statistic that most Catholics are D voters. If the statistic were to leave out the lapsed and “cultural” non-churchgoing self-identified Catholics, it would reveal a consolidated Conservative base that would dwarf the so called protestant evangelical “Religious Right.” Go ahead President Obama… energize that base even further. It has money, and it votes.

  • Read Chesterton

    The media won’t report on anything but Pelosi’s spin.

  • Crowe

    Besides, as I intimate in my possible Pelosi opening statement, it’s not like she isn’t interested in reducing the number of abortions down the road… If more baby girls are aborted today, there will be fewer women to get abortions in the future! See? Nan really is working hard to reduce the number of abortions after all!

  • Read Chesterton

    as he’s admonishing her to stop legislating for the murder of unborn babies.

  • Read Chesterton
  • Crowe

    n/t

  • JHancock

    I don’t think the Church would just hand over properties to other pro-abortion management. They would be more likely to privatize and not take govt funds, then run the Hospital however they want–or simply close-otherwise they would be helping abortion just as much as if they did it themselves.

    Personally I’m really frightened by FOCA as I am a anti-choice Medical student (I say anti-choice, not pro-life because it recognizes that some things shouldn’t be left to choice, like the choice to rape or the choice to kill, that’s why we have laws and need anti-abortion laws).

  • paint_it_red

    It is impossible, yes impossible, for the Church to overstep the bound between Church and State. Why? Because the Constitution only acts to restrict government from “endorsing an establishment of religion or prevent the free exercise thereof.” Legally, its a non-starter.

    Last time I checked, Catholics are one of the, if not the, largest swing constituencies in the country. The Church’s action on this does not take a prophet to predict. The Bishops have already stated unequivocally that compliance with FOCA would bring their hospitals into direct cooperation with evil.

    The Church would not, however, just shut down. They would more likely operate and tend the sick as long as possible and force the FOCA advocates to shut them down. So who gets the political win there?

  • http://andrightlyso.com/ civil_truth

    I don’t know if it is possible to the church to fully privitize their hospital operations to escape FOCA. Depending on how expansively the law is written, it’s pretty hard to avoid all federal entanglement.

    And under FOCA, it wouldn’t take much more of a stretch to turn denial of abortions into a civil rights violation. Religious convictions won’t be a defense – witness the overriding of religious convictions in recent cases involving public accomodations or businesses open to the public. And Massachusetts didn’t hesitate to shut down Catholic adoptions over gay adoptions, which was framed as a civil rights matter. So this could become a big club in the hands of government.

    And if the hospitals do try to shut down, then I’d expect that they would be stuck with unusable property if the zoning authorities refused to change zoning. Plus they could get hit with punitive property taxes once they no longer use the property to operate a hospital. Again, more pressure for them to sell out.

    And all the time, there will be all sorts of effort to get the church to adopt a fig-leaf as their clothing style.

  • http://andrightlyso.com/ civil_truth

    Both of you are medical students – you should compare notes.

    I have Susannah’s e-mail address – if you sent yours to me at yahoo.com I’ll forward it to Susannah.

  • Praying

    by bringing up “global warming”. Hey Dims – get it through your frozen thick heads – global warming is a HOAX!!!!!

  • JHancock

    is the most evil B**CH to exist in reality or fiction. She’s like Delilah, DeVille, Medusa, Frau Eva Braun, and a Harpy all rolled into one.

    Someone please get her out of office!