English bishop: you cannot be Catholic and support abortion

Bishop Michael Campbell said it was a 'foundational issue' for the faith and there is 'no getting around it.'

Catholics cannot claim to be true to their faith if they do not support Church teaching on abortion, a bishop has said.

Bishop Michael Campbell of Lancaster said abortion was a “foundational issue”, quoting Pope Francis who said: “We are called to defend and safeguard human life, especially in the mother’s womb, in infancy, old age and physical or mental disability.”

“Sadly,” Bishop Campbell added, “The price of admission into mainstream British life has meant that we somehow keep the Catholic brand name and tribal loyalty, but are content to live a mix of nostalgia and generic good will and ‘keep our heads down’ in the public sphere.”

True Catholics, on the other hand, have a duty to “sanctify and humanize” the country, and lead to towards Church teaching.

As Britain approaches the 50th anniversary of the Abortion Act, he added, Catholics must remember opposition to abortion is integral to the faith. “There’s no way around it. It’s the cornerstone issue for any society because it deals with the most basic human right of all – the right to life.”

The bishop also criticised Catholic publications that fail to defend Church teaching on the issue.

“Some Catholics – including some periodicals and newspapers who claim to use that name – seem simply embarrassed by the abortion issue,” he said.

“The abortion struggle gets in the way of their natural political alliances. Others don’t really agree with the Church’s teaching, or don’t accept the personhood of the unborn child. Others just want a respectable way to explain away this issue and get on with what they regard as the ‘real’ work of the Church!”

Bishop Campbell concluded by saying overturning the Abortion Act is achievable, although it could take decades as it “challenges the moral premises of a society”.

“Let us work and pray under God for this intention – especially with the Rosary this October – always with the compassion of Christ,” he said.

https://bishopcampbellsblog.wordpress.com/2017/10/14/a-word-of-encouragement-for-the-pro-life-movement/
“Dear friends in Christ,

Welcome to this week’s Bishop’s Blog! – a word of encouragement to those who work in and pray for the Pro-Life Movement.

Sometimes, we can tend to assume that as long as we’re well-intentioned, God will overlook the more ugly side of our actions. But nothing in Sacred Scripture supports this. In fact, you will find very little soft sentiment in the words of the Lord Jesus. We can, of course, count on God’s mercy and compassion, but we can also count on his justice. God will always love us, no matter what we do. But love always tells the truth.

Here’s the truth: Three hours ago Pope Francis Tweeted:

“We are called to defend and safeguard human life, especially in the mother’s womb, in infancy, old age and physical or mental disability.”

Consequently, we cannot claim to be Catholic and then ignore what our faith teaches on serious matters of human dignity, especially on a foundational issue like abortion. We need to be faithful and well-informed Catholics first. If we are, then our Catholic convictions will naturally enrich our country’s public life.

For some Catholics, sadly the price of admission into mainstream British life has meant that we somehow keep the Catholic brand name and tribal loyalty, but are content to live a mix of nostalgia and generic good will and ‘keep our heads down’ in the public sphere. Rather, as Catholics, we have a baptismal duty to sanctify and humanize our country; in other words, to lead it to Jesus Christ.

As we approach the 50th anniversary of the (1967) Abortion Act in Britain, we recall we’re citizens of heaven first and we have pro-life obligations to the poor, the homeless, the disabled, the elderly and the refugee. But abortion is foundational. There’s no way around it. It’s the cornerstone issue for any society because it deals with the most basic human right of all – the right to life.

We just cannot build a just society while allowing more than a 185,000 abortions a year (in England and Wales), or even half that number. This is why “abortion reduction” strategies can sound persuasive and do have value, but they never adequately address the brutality and injustice of abortion itself, or abortion’s deep wounds to both women and children – with 8.8 million lives lost thus far in Britain since the introduction of the Act.

Some Catholics – including some periodicals and newspapers who claim to use that name – seem simply embarrassed by the abortion issue.

The abortion struggle gets in the way of their natural political alliances. Others don’t really agree with the Church’s teaching, or don’t accept the personhood of the unborn child. Others just want a respectable way to explain away this issue and get on with what they regard as the ‘real’ work of the Church!

I don’t think we’ve lost the abortion struggle just yet. Quite the opposite. A social conflict like abortion or racism is fundamental; it challenges the moral premises of a society and can often go on for decades. Overturning the Abortion Act is achievable. So are legal restrictions on abortion and legal protections for the unborn. Let us work and pray under God for this intention – especially with the Rosary this October – always with the compassion of Christ.

Until next week, let us pray for each other and for all those Catholics and others, too, who work to nurture and protect human life at its most vulnerable,

As ever in Christ our Lord,

+Michael G Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster”

Re: thishere article we’re supposedly discussing: the good prolife English bishop quotes Pope Francis. Good on both of them then.

By the evidence, I would say Pope Francis is a material heretic, and maybe a formal heretic. As I understand it, a formal heretic cannot hold any office in the Catholic Church.

So that leaves the question, who,if anyone, is the present Pope?

My money’s on Benedict, but he doesn’t seem to know that. Or his handlers are keeping him on Ambien.

When one of them dies, it’s probably going to hit the flashpoint, I think.

I still support the Catholic Church.

The real one, with the Catholics.

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