Thread by bdeaner.
A pro-life outreach has started a new prayer campaign hoping for the conversion of pro-abortion Catholic politicians to the pro-life perspective. The web site and outreach OneNationUnderGod is starting the effort today, the feast day of St. Thomas More.
Pope John Paul II proclaimed More the patron saint of statesmen and politicians, so June 22 appears to be an appropriate time for prayer for lawmakers who Catholic deviate from the Catholic Church's longstanding pro-life teachings.
Lisa Correnti talked with LifeNews.com about the new effort.
"In the 1995 encyclical Evangelium vitae, John Paul II reiterates what the Catholic Church has always taught: that lawmakers have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that contradicts humanity's fundamental right to life," she explained.
"Months ago, we discovered that 50 percent of Catholic politicians serving in the 111th Congress have accepted large donations from pro-abortion lobby groups while reinforcing their support for abortion rights legislation," she added. "These elected officials are deeply confused about Catholic teaching on the morality of abortion."
Correnti says pro-abortion Catholic lawmakers fail to recognize that legitimate social policy must be guided by absolute truth -- in this case the understanding that human rights begin when human life begins, at conception. . .
Thread by me.
The President's Council on Bioethics is no more. With a one-day notice, the members were told in a letter from the President that their services were no longer required. Pack up, get out. Forget the fact that they had a couple of interesting reports coming out soon, one more meeting, and that the Council's tenure would expire come this September.
Peter Lawler, member of the now-defunct Council, notes that he is reassured when the letter states that "President Obama recognizes the value of having a commission composed of experts on bioethical issues to provide objective and non-ideological advice to his Administration."
Maybe it's because the President wants to change to bioethics. Maybe it's because he's smarting a bit because, when he issued his new executive order opening the door to more human embryo research and cloning, 10 of the 18 current Council members criticized his new policy. But a more likely reason is that he needs a philosophical, well-stacked bioethics rubber stamp. . .