Posted on 03/10/2006 4:41:55 PM PST by Coleus
The bishops of the United States have countered a “statement of principles” issued by 55 Catholic Democrats with a statement of their own by calling on all Catholics to “shape our consciences in accord with the moral teaching of the Church,” Our Sunday Visitor has learned.
“As the Church carries out its central responsibility to teach clearly and help form consciences, and as Catholic legislators seek to act in accord with their own consciences, it is essential to remember that conscience must be consistent with fundamental moral principles,” said the bishops’ statement, which was released March 10 on the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The “Statement on Responsibilities of Catholics in Public Life” was signed by Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C., chairman of the Task Force on Catholic Bishops; and Catholic Politicians; and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Domestic Policy.
Their 682-word document was a direct response to the 55 of 73 Catholic House Democrats’ statement last month that said while they seek the Church’s guidance on moral issues, they also believe “in the primacy of conscience” that can lead them to dissent from the Church’s position.
That statement, released Feb. 28 on the website of Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), was widely seen as a thinly veiled defense of Catholic legislators who support laws that protect or expand legal abortion.
The representatives said they “agree with the Catholic Church about the value of human life and the undesirability of abortion” and would work to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and promote alternatives to abortion. However, they also said they “acknowledge and accept the tension that comes with being in disagreement with the Church in some areas.”
The 55 Catholic legislators said they were “committed to making real the basic principles that are at the heart of Catholic social teaching,” including “helping the poor and disadvantaged,” “reducing the rising rates of poverty,” “pressing for increased access to health care” and “protecting the most vulnerable among us.”
But the bishops and the legislators, most of who support the pro-choice position on abortion, part company on whether unborn children must be counted among those most vulnerable and thus warrant legal protection.
“We encourage and will continue to work with those in both parties who seek to act on these essential principles in defense of the poor and vulnerable,” the bishops said. “At the same time, we also need to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s constant teaching that abortion is a grave violation of the most fundamental human right — the right to live that is inherent in all human beings and that grounds every other right we possess.”
The teaching of the Church, they said, “calls all Catholics to work actively to restrain, restrict and bring to an end the destruction of human life.”
The exchange of statements is in part a sequel to the very public debates that took place across the country during the national election of 2004 over the role of faith and conscience in arriving at political positions. The debate was sparked in part by the nomination of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a Catholic who supports legal abortion, as the Democratic nominee for president.
While individual bishops have taken different stances on whether pro-choice Catholic politicians should be allowed to receive Communion, the U.S. bishops were unanimous in urging all Catholic politicians to form public policy positions that are informed by Catholic moral and social teachings.
That encouragement will continue, the bishops said.
“As bishops, we too are bound by our own consciences to teach faithfully and to recommit ourselves to continued reflection and discussion on how Catholic faith and public service can work together to promote human life and dignity and advance the common good,” their statement said. “Through dialogue, especially the irreplaceable dialogue between Catholic political leaders and their own bishops, we hope to promote a better understanding of how the Church’s teaching on human life and dignity challenges us all.”
Bishops' Statement on Responsibilities of Catholics in Public Life (March 10, 2006) (on the U.S. Bishops' web site)
House Democrats Release Historic Catholic Statement of Principles (on web site of the U.S. House of Representatives)
Today, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops responded to a statement by 55 Catholic Democrats in the House of Representatives regarding the “primacy of conscience” in regard to issues such as abortion. In the bishops’ response, they affirmed the Church’s constant teaching against abortion and the obligation of all Catholics to shape their consciences in accord with Church teaching.
On Feb. 28, the 55 Democrats released a statement expressing their commitment to making real the Church’s social and moral teachings, including the dignity of life. However, they also asserted the right of political leaders to act on their personal consciences, even when in disagreement with the Church, and their duty to represent a diverse U.S. population.What follows is Our Sunday Visitor’s news story on the statements, along with links to both the Democrats’ “Statement of Principles” and the U.S. bishops’ “Statement on Responsibilities of Catholics in Public Life.”
OSV Exclusive: "U.S. bishops issue strong retort to Catholic Democrats' statement on conscience" by Gerald Korson, OSV editor.
These 55 want Catholic votes. Period. I hope the bishops stand their ground.
They're Episcopalians,Unitarian/Universalists or atheists.
"Conscience" is not "conscience" unless it is informed. "Conscience" does NOT mean saying whatever you want because the concept of "conscience" is vague and can mean whatever one wants it to mean. Conscience is only conscience when it is informed and being informed means understanding and dutifully considering all of Church teaching. These 55 do not have informed consciences unless having an informed conscience means only understanding what your electorate favors.
The bishops are gradually coming around, I think.
Let me add one thing. These 55 could be guilty of "scandal". Their positions of authority place them in a position to influence others. Being in that position to influence others, they have used their status as influential Catholics to state positions that could lead others to sin. This is the definition of scandal and is a gravely serious offense.
Maybe this is a start of backbone in Catholic Bishops in the US. However, I feel we need to continue prodding them with our shoe a bit lower in their anatomy.
Sadly, there a few dumb Catholic Democrats who will fall for that stuff, but that demographic is dying off.
I think that more and more of the bishops are realizing that this "seamless garment" and "don't balance the budget on the backs of the poor" cant have aided and abetted pro-choicers who argue, "I believe in a woman's right to choose [abortion], but I also back social programs for the poor."
March 10, 2006
Cardinal William H. Keeler
Chairman, USCCB Committee on Pro Life Activities
Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick
Chairman, USCCB Task Force on Catholic Bishops and Catholic Politicians
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio
Chairman, USCCB Committee on Domestic Policy
A recent public statement by 55 Catholic and Democratic members of the House of Representatives offers an opportunity to address several important points about the responsibilities of Catholics in public life.
We welcome this and other efforts that seek to examine how Catholic legislators bring together their faith and their policy choices. As the Catholic bishops of the United States said in our June 2004 statement, “Catholics in Political Life”:
We need to do more to persuade all people that human life is precious and human dignity must be defended. This requires more effective dialogue and engagement with all public officials, especially Catholic public officials. We welcome conversation initiated by political leaders themselves.
Therefore, we welcome the Representatives’ recognition that Catholics in public life must act seriously and responsibly on many important moral issues. Our faith has an integral unity that calls Catholics to defend human life and human dignity whenever they are threatened. A priority for the poor, the protection of family life, the pursuit of justice and the promotion of peace are fundamental priorities of the Catholic moral tradition which cannot be ignored or neglected. We encourage and will continue to work with those in both parties who seek to act on these essential principles in defense of the poor and vulnerable.
At the same time, we also need to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s constant teaching that abortion is a grave violation of the most fundamental human right – the right to life that is inherent in all human beings, and that grounds every other right we possess. Pope John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation on the vocation and mission of the laity, Christifideles Laici, which the Representatives’ statement cites, declares:
The inviolability of the person which is a reflection of the absolute inviolability of God fínds its primary and fundamental expression in the inviolability of human life. Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination…. The human being is entitled to such rights, in every phase of development, from conception until natural death; and in every condition, whether healthy or sick, whole or handicapped, rich or poor (# 38).
While it is always necessary to work to reduce the number of abortions by providing alternatives and help to vulnerable parents and children, Catholic teaching calls all Catholics to work actively to restrain, restrict and bring to an end the destruction of unborn human life. As the Church carries out its central responsibility to teach clearly and help form consciences, and as Catholic legislators seek to act in accord with their own consciences, it is essential to remember that conscience must be consistent with fundamental moral principles. As members of the Church, all Catholics are obliged to shape our consciences in accord with the moral teaching of the Church.
As bishops, we too are bound by our own consciences to teach faithfully and to recommit ourselves to continued reflection and discussion on how Catholic faith and public service can work together to promote human life and dignity and advance the common good. Through dialogue, especially the irreplaceable dialogue between Catholic political leaders and their own bishops, we hope to promote a better understanding of how the Church’s teaching on human life and dignity challenges us all.
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington DC 20017-1194 | (202) 541-3000 © USCCB. All rights reserved.
PING!
Wrong.
Episcopalians, Unitarians, and atheists do not receive the Eucharist from the hands of bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome.
These Catholic politicians do.
That makes them Catholic - by the visible public acts of the successors of the apostles.
When you think about it, it's the Catholic Democrat politicians who were dumb.
If John Kerry hadn't taken so many photo ops of himself receiving communion, and boasting about his Catholicism, the issue might not have arisen.
If these politicians hadn't issued a statement claiming the right as Catholics to vote in favor of abortion, this probably wouldn't have arisen. The Democrats have been very good at fudging and obfuscating the issues, but they are getting backed into a corner, because everyone knows now that "a woman's choice" is merely another name for abortion.
What else could the bishops do, when confronted by outright rebellion by these "Catholics"?
Hmmmm...I guess it depends of your point of view.Although these clowns are *claiming* to be Catholics and *pretending* to be Catholics,they're publicly (and,often,proudly and defiantly) proclaiming their disgust with the Church's position on vital issues like abortion and homosexual "marriage".
My understanding of the Church's teachings suggests that such actions qualify them for excommunication.And in my book,once you qualify for excommunication,you're no longer a Catholic.
FINALLY!!!
Yes, it is when cockroaches expose themselves that they get squashed. The gang of 55 exposed themselves, as did Kerry, when they wanted the Catholic vote.
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