Abuse Board (USCCB National Review) Member Is Abortion Activist

National Catholic Register ^ | November 1, 2004 | Wayne Laugesen

[NYer]

NEW YORK — A member of the U.S. bishops’ National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People says she’s proud of her efforts to promote and expand abortion through political action.

But counselors who work with teens say that her position is incompatible with the protection of children. In abortion, not only are unborn children abused — they say teen mothers are, too.

Attorney Pamela Hayes is one of twelve members who were appointed to the National Review board formed by the bishops in 2002. It oversees compliance with sexual abuse and child protection policies.

“I’ve contributed to a lot of pro-choice candidates, and so what? So what?” Hayes told the Register. “What are they going to do about it? If they don’t like it, then don’t put me on the board. If they’ve got a problem with that, you tell them they’ve got a problem.”

She spoke in harsh terms about U.S. bishops who have suggested that Catholics vet the abortion platforms of politicians before voting and expressed enthusiastic support for the promise of fetal stem-cell research to “expand life of living.”

Hayes was responding to a recent report that said she had donated to Emily’s List, the single-issue political-action committee whose sole purpose is to elect pro-abortion politicians. The story also revealed $2,000 in donations to the John Kerry for President campaign and two $250 gifts to pro-abortion Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

Hayes said the story also failed to mention numerous other pro-abortion causes and candidates to which she has contributed.

“They haven’t a clue how much money I’ve given to her,” Hayes said of Clinton in an interview Oct. 21. “I’ve given her way more than that, and I mean a lot more. In addition, I was on her finance committee and raised substantial amounts of money for her.”

Hayes characterized support for abortion as the key political issue for her. “If they’re pro-choice and they’re Democrat, they’re my kind of candidate,” said Hayes, who grew up Catholic, attended Catholic schools in Manhattan and belongs to Manhattan’s St. Aloysius Parish.

Hayes expressed her pro-abortion agenda on the heels of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ announcement of five new members who will join her on the board to replace former and outgoing members Charles Keating, Robert Bennett, Anne Burke, William Burleigh and Leon Panetta.

Federal Election Commission records reveal that Bennett and Panetta also donate to pro-abortion candidates, and Panetta voted for abortion funding in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Bill Ryan, deputy director of communications for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said neither he nor other officials at the conference would comment about the pro-abortion views expressed by Hayes.

“It would be inappropriate to comment on the views of an individual board member,” Ryan told the Register.

The Register contacted the office of Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the bishops conference, and was told he was unreachable in Rome. The Register also left messages for Msgr. William Fay, general secretary of the bishops conference, and Msgr. Francis Maniscalco, director of communication for the conference, and was told both were unavailable for comment.

Abortion and Abuse

Georgette Forney, who had an abortion when she was 16, has counseled hundreds of girls who suffer from post-abortion psychological trauma.

Her own abortion led her down a path of drugs, alcohol and self abuse that she says is common today among girls as young as 12 who are getting impregnated by older men who pay for abortions.

She describes a cycle of sexual abuse perpetuated by the abortion industry, and urged the National Review Board to oppose it.

“Young girls who engage in sexual activity are looking for affirmation. Older men who want to have sex with them know how to exploit that,” says Forney, 44, of Pittsburgh. “Abortion makes this easier for the perpetrators. If the victim gets pregnant, typically she follows the perpetrator’s lead and lays herself out on the table at an abortion clinic, completely clueless as to what’s about to happen to her. At 16, I had no idea they were going to put a vacuum hose in my body and suck a baby out. They just did it.”

Molly White, a post-abortion counselor in Belton, Texas, also warned that abortion and abuse are related. She tells of a girl in Texas who, starting when she was 14, was impregnated at least three times by one teacher who convinced her each time to get an abortion.

“There’s no question today that the abortion industry helps facilitate the sexual exploitation of very young girls,” White said. “One would not expect someone on a board that’s concerned with sexual exploitation of minors to be championing the abortion industry’s rights.”

Abortion also kills a child, said Dolores Grier, president of Black Catholics Against Abortion. Grier, a New Yorker, knows the review board member personally. She said it’s inappropriate that Hayes or anyone else engaged in pro-abortion activities be chosen to serve on a board for the protection of children. She says the abortion industry is rooted in racism and kills a disproportionately high number of black children who should be protected by the Catholic Church.

Asked Grier: “How can you be a Catholic, in accord with Catholic Church teachings — which are pro-life — and favor abortion rights while serving on a board that’s supposed to protect children?”

…

All Over the Map: Surveying New Members

In interviews with the Register, two of the five new members of the bishops’ National Review Board said they fully back Catholic doctrine in opposition to abortion, euthanasia, fetal stem-cell research, homosexual “marriage” and cloning. One said he’s guided by Church positions on moral issues, and two declined to answer the Register’s questions directly.

Bishop Gregory appointed the new members and promoted board member Nicholas Cafardi as chairman. Cafardi, dean of the Duquesne University Law School, said he suspects the new members respect Catholic teachings on abortion and other life issues.

“I know them to be good, orthodox Catholics who were carefully chosen,” Cafardi told the Register.

Cafardi described himself as an orthodox Catholic and a “Bob Casey Democrat,” referring to the late governor of Pennsylvania who was snubbed as a speaker at the 1992 Democratic National Convention because of his pro-life views.

“I worked for the Church for 13 years of my professional life, as the lawyer for the Pittsburgh Diocese, and I followed it up by coming to work for a Catholic university,” Cafardi said. “I was one of the first lay canon lawyers in the United States, and the Church is very much my life. Anybody who knows me knows that I’m pro-life.”

New members of the board are:

• Judge Michael Merz, a federal magistrate in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio. Merz calls himself an “orthodox, cradle Catholic” who has been active in the Church all his life and has been a registered Republican his entire adult life.

On abortion, euthanasia, stem-cell research, cloning and homosexual “marriage,” Merz said: “My views are orthodox on all of those.”

On support of pro-abortion candidates, Merz said: “I don’t make any political contributions of any kind, because as a sitting federal judge, I’m prohibited from doing that. My voting decisions for this election are not made up. I’m trying to listen carefully to what the bishops have had to say about it, and what Cardinal [Joseph] Ratzinger has had to say, but my mind isn’t made up.”

• Dr. Angelo Giardino, vice president for clinical affairs at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. He is a lifelong Catholic who attended Catholic schools for 12 years.

On abortion, euthanasia, stem-cell research, cloning and homosexual “marriage,” Giardino said: “I certainly would consider myself pro-life… I would say they’re all very serious issues and all obviously hotly contested. As I form my views on those issues, I certainly do consult what the Church teachings are to help inform that decision. As the issue gets debated, I certainly take what the Church says seriously.”

On support of pro-abortion candidates, Giardino said: “I consider a candidate’s stand on sanctity-of-life issues very seriously. I can’t say it’s my sole litmus test, because there are many other issues of similar or equal importance. It’s certainly an important parameter, but not my sole parameter.”

• Joseph Russoniello, dean of the San Francisco Law School and senior counsel and resident in the law firm Cooley Godward LLP. Russoniello is a lifelong Catholic who attended Catholic schools from high school through college.

On abortion, euthanasia, stem-cell research and homosexual “marriage,” Russoniello said: “Abortion, I’m square (with the Church) on that. Euthanasia, I’m square on that. Stem-cell research, I’m square on that. Homosexual “marriage,” I’m square on that. Human cloning, I’m square on that. My views are consistent with the Church on all of those. I am a supporter of the death penalty, and I don’t think that puts me in conflict with the Church.”

On support of pro-abortion candidates, Russoniello said: “I haven’t ever knowingly supported a pro-choice candidate. Someone who is consciously and overtly pro-choice is not someone who endears himself or herself to me.”

• Patricia O’Donnell Ewers, an educational consultant who served as president of Pace University in New York from 1990 to 2000. She is a lifelong Catholic who attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through college.

On abortion, euthanasia, stem-cell research, cloning and homosexual “marriage,” Ewers said: “One of the questions asked me at my interview (for the board) was where I took public stances in relation to the Church, and I think one of the wisest things for me to do is not to take public stances on issues outside of those with which I will be concerned as a member of the board.

“I would add to that list (of non-negotiables) war and capital punishment — those are all major issues of concern. I think they should be on a list of any issues that Catholics who are thoughtful about moral issues of our time should consider.”

On support of pro-abortion candidates, Ewers declined to comment.

• Ralph Lancaster Jr., an attorney at the Pierce Atwood law firm in Portland, Maine. Lancaster is a lifelong Catholic who attended Catholic schools from high school through college.

On abortion, euthanasia, stem-cell research, cloning and homosexual “marriage,” Lancaster said: “There’s a danger that, if a board member expresses his or her view on a particular issue, that the public interprets that as if he or she were speaking in a representative capacity. I’m going to persist in my declination to answer those questions.”

On support of pro-abortion candidates, Lancaster declined to comment.

Though Lancaster refused to reveal his position on life issues, he resigned as chairman of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Judiciary because of the association’s 1992 resolution endorsing a right to abortion. At the time, he told Insight magazine, “I would not have resigned if the ABA had not adopted its resolution on abortion. The issue is so controversial that it should not be part of the ABA’s agenda.”

Wayne Laugesen writes from Boulder, Colorado.

[NYer]

“I’ve contributed to a lot of pro-choice candidates, and so what? So what?” Hayes told the Register. “What are they going to do about it? If they don’t like it, then don’t put me on the board. If they’ve got a problem with that, you tell them they’ve got a problem.”

This is definitely a call to action! Can someone post email links to the National Review Board, so that we can express our own sentiments on Pamela Hayes ... this woman has got to go!

[NYer]

Hayes was responding to a recent report that said she had donated to Emily’s List, the single-issue political-action committee whose sole purpose is to elect pro-abortion politicians. The story also revealed $2,000 in donations to the John Kerry for President campaign and two $250 gifts to pro-abortion Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

Utterly speechless!

[sinkspur]

Gregory will have to fire her after this interview. She can't possibly remain on this board, and it have any credibility.

[veritas2002]

The world is all screwed-up. Kerry and the Demoncrates impose a litmus test against pro-life Catholic candidates for the Supreme Court and yet the US Conference of Catholic Bishops appoint pro-abortion Democrats to a board designed to advise the Bishops about internal problems within the Church. Is it me?????

[BobCNY]

I guess we will have to wait and see on this one.

[Aquinasfan]

Hayes characterized support for abortion as the key political issue for her. “If they’re pro-choice and they’re Democrat, they’re my kind of candidate,” said Hayes

What the hell is going on? But I guess this is nothing new considering the appointments of Bennett and Panetta.

[Rutles4Ever]

You're assuming Gregory has the rocks to do it.

I listened to two extraordinarily honorable and brave priests give riveting homilies against abortion this Sunday at my parish. RINO's were getting up and leaving necause they were angry.

Gregory doesn't hold a candle to them. He won't move unless he's moved.

[Romulus]

Why-am-I-not-surprised bttt.

[sinkspur]

I take that back. Gregory is stepping down as president of the USCCB in two weeks, so it will likely fall to the new president (likely Skylstad of Spokane) to make a decision on this woman.

She is so blatant in her support for pro-abortion candidates! Of course, there are others quoted who are non-committal, so who knows where they stand?

[Fast Ed97]

I live in Wilton Gregory's Diocese, he is a very nice man who says the right things. However he tolerates alot of abuse and dissent. I would not expect anything to come out of this.

[Dominick]

There is no litmus test when we appoint people to a Catholic Board? Who the heck checked out these people before appointing them? Time to make a lot of noise!

This could be a glimpse of life under Kerry if the election goes poorly, or if the Democrats succeed in fixing the election.

[old and tired]

You're right that this woman will have to step down (or more likely be thrown off). However, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say Skylstad will not be the next head of the USCCB. His diocese is near bankruptcy and the bishops do not need negative press right now.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Wilton Gregory is morally bankrupt. He selected both Panetta and this heretic.

Contact Gregory through the Diocese of Belleville or here .

[thegreatbeast]

“It would be inappropriate to comment on the views of an individual board member,” Ryan told the Register.

The Church hierarchy still requires weeding out. This guy should go too.

[AskStPhilomena]

"She can't possibly remain on this board, and it have any credibility."

The board never had much credibility in the first place - although they probably have far more credibility than the vast majority of our bishops.

[AskStPhilomena]

"Wilton Gregory is morally bankrupt. He selected both Panetta and this heretic."

But who selected all these morally bankrupt priests to become bishops?

[cpforlife.org]

"But who selected all these morally bankrupt priests to become bishops?"

Right question, and at the heart of the real underlying problem.

[cpforlife.org]

Not only am I NOT suprised, but sadly, this should be expected from this group--IMO.

In the first go round, Gov. Keating was fired because he was so strong on the cause, but known pro-abort Klinton hacks were well represented.

This is basically how as a group the USCCB has operated for decades--much like the national DNC, godlessly liberal.