You just hit the nail on the head with regards to unity. Each local bishop is in charge of these critters and should be following the teachings of the Pope. Let’s pray other bishops will follow this example. It is 30+ years past due.
I believe part of this current story is explained below:
Excerpts from the March 2003 mailing from
Priests for Life
Dear Friend of Priests for Life,
One of the most frustrating things you and I must deal with in our fight to end abortion is the fact that so many politicians who call themselves Catholic are also the most ardent proponents of abortion-on-demand! !
Well, thanks to the courage of Pope John Paul II, that may be about to end.
This past January the Vatican released a statement entitled: Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the participation of Catholics in political life. At the very opening of this statement, even before it addressed its concerns, the Vatican stressed:
"This Note is directed to the Bishops of the Catholic Church and, in a particular way, to Catholic politicians and all lay members of the faithful called to participate in the political life of democratic societies."
But please take note. Although it has a message for the Ted Kennedy’s and Tom Daschle’s and Gray Davis' and all "Catholic" politicians who promote abortion,
... it was also directed at YOU and every lay Catholic in America.
That's because you "participate in the political life" of our country by the very fact that you are a citizen of the U.S. and, as such, are an eligible VOTER!
For this reason, this wonderful and timely clarification of the grave error that Catholic
politicians engage in when they promote abortion is intended for ALL Catholics here in the U.S.
It is for that reason that I am proud to announce the following initiative:
Priests for Life is launching a massive nationwide campaign to rally all faithful
Catholics - both clergy and laity - to sign a "Pro-life Commitment Pledge"
No longer can a Catholic politician or voter claim ignorance on this grave issue.
The Vatican has made it crystal clear:
A person can be EITHER Catholic… OR pro-abortion ... but NOT BOTH!
Pro-Woman Pro-Family Pro-Life
P.O. Box 141172. Staten Island, NY 10314. (718) 980-4400. Fax (718) 980-6515
e-mail:
pfl@prietstsforlife.org. Website:
http://www.prieststsforlife.org Page two
Today I urge you to be one of the very first Catholics to sign this "Pledge."
Already bishops are publicly calling on elected politicians to either withdraw their support
for abortion or refrain from receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion. Kansas City Archbishop
James Kelleher has done so with regard to Kansas' pro-abortion Catholic governor, Kathleen
Sebelius. Years ago Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska made headlines when he
issued similar challenges to all Catholic legislators in his diocese.
In addition, Bishop William Weigand of Sacramento has publicly chastised California's
Catholic governor, Gray Davis, for his ardent defense of abortion. Bishop Weigand did so as he
publicly thanked Msgr. Edward Kavanagh, the priest in his diocese who had called on Governor
Davis to repent of his pro-abortion views. The priest had made it clear that the Governor was in
conflict with the faith.
This is important because it is a strong affirmation of what Priests for Life is all about! As I
have been saying all along:
If priests take the initiative and become more courageous in upholding Church
teaching on abortion, more bishops are likely to do the same!
That's why Priests for Life works to make the almost 50,000 priests in America
bold and uncompromising preachers of the Gospel of Life!
In fact, several months ago Priests for Life sent a "Clergy Commitment Pledge" to every
priest in the nation. Thousands of priests have responded. Each one promises to preach about
political responsibility and to call on politicians to be faithful to the defense of life.
Again, this is work no other pro-life organization in America is set up to do.
And like I said, as more and more priests take the "Clergy Commitment Pledge" and become
more outspoken in defense of human life, more and more bishops will do the same!
In the meantime, however, the Vatican's "Doctrinal Note" has presented the LAITY and
Priests for Life with a golden opportunity to take the lead in challenging all Catholic politicians
and voters to embrace the Gospel of Life and withdraw their support for the killing of innocent
unborn babies.
Let me tell you. Incredible as it may sound, one out of every four voters in the U.S. is a
Catholic! In actual numbers, it is estimated that well over TWENNTY MILLION Catholics vote
in Presidential elections.
If we could get every one of those Catholics to sign our "Pro-life Commitment
Pledge" and carry it out in the voting booth, that in itself would give us the
numbers we need to bring an end to legalized abortion in America.
There are 20 million Bathists in the Middle East. Look at what they did when they had their way.
In South TX nearly all the Catholics call themselves "prolife," but most voted for George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, Michael Stanley Dukakis, Walter F. Mondale, Albert A. Gore, Jr., and shall I say his name, the first Hispanic (no, black) president.