He defied his own church's teachings. You can spin it all you want, but it's pretty pathetic that Mitt didn't adhere to his church's pro-life dogma in making his political calculations. I guess power trumps principles, eh?
Again, you are the one spinning. The church would only take a position if he, himself, has caused someone to have an abortion, or if he, as a church leader, was promoting abortion, which he never did.
If he had been “defying his church,” he would not have held the relatively high ecclesiastical positions he held through that period.