A group of 96 influential Catholics issued a petition January 21 that explicitly criticizes a statement by other prominent Catholics and released in November 2007 that called for greater "civility" among Catholics in political discourse.The signers of the new statement believe the November statement would have the effect of silencing the pro-life movement and silencing criticism of pro-abortion Catholic politicians. Among the 96 signers are Templeton Prize winner Michael Novak, authors Robert Royal and Peter Kreeft, and columnist Russell Shaw.
Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), and one of the organizers of the new statement said, "Rather than giving pro-abortion Catholic politicians a pass, we should vote them out of office and encourage them to repent."
Michael Novak of the American Enterprise Institute said, "Too often these days civility is defined as giving in to the way the media define the issue under debate, whereas honesty demands insisting upon a different way of looking on things, even when this attempt is treated as a nuisance."
William Saunders of the Family Research Council said, "I signed this statement because, as the Church teaches, abortion is the most important issue in the world; it is not an issue like others, it is not one on which reasonable people can disagree. We cannot let calls for civility toward pro-abortion Catholic politicians obscure our fundamental obligation to oppose abortion."
Among the other signatories are Rev. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life, Rev. Tom Euteneur of Human Life International, and the Rev. Robert Sirico of the Acton Institute, and Patrick Fagan, formerly of the Heritage Foundation.
The new statement called "A Catholic Response to the 'Call for Civility'" says in part "All men and women of good will value civility, but civility is not the highest -- or the only -- civic virtue. Rather, justice is. As Pope Benedict XVI reminds us in Deus Caritas Est, "Justice is both the aim and the intrinsic criterion of all politics."
Furthermore, the statement released January 21 says "If Catholic politicians advocated segregation or -- even worse -- slavery, would there be a call for civility towards them?
If Catholic politicians said the poor are poor because of their bad behavior and we are not obliged to help them in any way, wouldn't we say they are heartless and even un-Christian? Some ask for civility now for one reason, abortion."
And, "The lack of public civility comes not from pro-lifers but from those Catholic politicians who support the right to kill innocent life in the womb and those who support defining man-woman marriage out of existence."
"But, some want to treat these politicians differently because they agree with them on important but purely prudential questions like health care, and the minimum wage."
The statement concludes "Though not all of its signers intend it, we believe the effect of the 'Call for Civility' would be to silence the pro-life and pro-family movements. We oppose this effort root and branch."
"In short, we will feel free even strongly to condemn the public policy positions of Catholic politicians who support abortion, embryo-destructive research, and homosexual marriage.
"They stand against the teachings of the Church and in favor of morally repugnant practices that are counter to the common good and that should be unwelcome in a just or even polite society."
The November 2007 "A Catholic Call to Observe Civility in Political Debate" statement was co-organized by former US Ambassador to the Holy See Thomas Melady and Timothy J. May - a Trustee Emeritus with the Catholic University of America.
According to Melady, the group had not invited clergy to sign because “they are not supposed to take part in partisan politics”.
Urging Catholic laity and clergy to refrain from shrill debate, the 2007 statement focused on proposals to deny Holy Communion - which Catholic teaching holds is the literal Body and Blood of Jesus Christ - to US politicians who publicly differ with Catholic teachings on issues such as abortion.
"As lay Catholics we should not exhort the Church to condemn our political opponents by publicly denying them Holy Communion based on public dissent from Church teachings," the statement read. "An individual's fitness to receive communion is his or her personal responsibility. It is a bishop's responsibility to set for his diocese the guidelines for administering communion."
Full text and signatories of "A Catholic Response to the 'Call for Civility'":
1. All men and women of good will value civility, but civility is not the highest --- or the only --- civic virtue. Rather, justice is. As Pope Benedict XVI reminds us in Deus Caritas Est, “Justice is both the aim and the intrinsic criterion of all politics.”
2. If Catholic politicians advocated segregation or --- even worse --- slavery, would there be a call for civility towards them?
3. If Catholic politicians said they did not believe in just war principles but rather in aggressive wars of conquest, would there be a call to be civil toward them?
4. If Catholic politicians said the poor are poor because of their bad behavior and we are not obliged to help them in any way, wouldn't we say they are heartless and even un-Christian?
5. We know the answer to these questions. There would be a justified public and not very civil call for their removal from public life. Moreover, there would be a public and justified call for the Catholic hierarchy to do something about them. And leading the public cry would be many who have signed the "Call for Civility."
6. Some ask for civility now for one reason, abortion. John Paul the Great called abortion the greatest civil rights issue of our time and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops recently called it the number one political issue of our time. Embryo-destructive research, and homosexual marriage follow right behind, though numerous Catholic politicians also oppose the fundamental teachings of the Church on these issues.
7. The lack of public civility comes not from pro-lifers but from those Catholic politicians who support the right to kill innocent life in the womb and those who support defining man-woman marriage out of existence. But, some want to treat these politicians differently because they agree with them on important but purely prudential questions like health care, and the minimum wage.
8. These are old and tired arguments that have been criticized by successive Popes and by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops for putting unequal problems on the same moral plane. Though not all of its signers intend it, we believe the effect of the "Call for Civility" would be to silence the pro-life and pro-family movements. We oppose this effort root and branch.
9. One of the greatest moral leaders in modern history led the fight in Britain to end the slave trade. William Wilberforce also campaigned for prison reform, the end of child labor and many other worthy social reforms. But Wilberforce knew that all these questions would never be answered until the great poison of the slave trade was ended. The slave trade coarsened the British people, the British ruling class, and British public life. In precisely the same way, abortion and other issues have coarsened our public life, and have poisoned American political discourse and our politics. Progress will not be made on other important but prudential issues about which well-intentioned people may disagree civilly unless and until the Culture of Death is as much a part of history as the slave trade.
10. In short, we will feel free even strongly to condemn the public policy positions of Catholic politicians who support abortion, embryo-destructive research, and homosexual marriage. They stand against the teachings of the Church and in favor of morally repugnant practices that are counter to the common good and that should be unwelcome in a just or even polite society. And we support bishops who move strongly to eliminate their grave public scandal. We say this not as Democrats or Republicans but as faithful Catholics.
Signed,
(Organizations listed for identification purposes only)
Carol Nevin Sue Abromaitis
Professor of English, Loyola College
Daniel Allott
Senior Writer/Policy Analyst, American Values
John Baker
Professor of Law, Louisiana State University
Miquel Bedolla, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
Jeffrey Bell
Former aide to Ronald Reagan
Principal, Capital City Partners
Brian Benestad
Professor of Theology, University of Scranton
Judge Robert Bork
John T. Bruchalski, M.D.
Founder, Tepeyec Family Center
Christian Brugger
Associate Professor of Theology and Philosophy,
Institute for Psychological Sciences
Brian Burch
President, Fidelis
Cristina Burrelli
Executive Director, Alliance for the Family
William D. Byrne, M.D.
Rear Admiral William M. Callaghan
Frank Cannon
Principal, Capital City Partners
Joseph Capizzi
Associate Professor of Theology, Catholic University of America
Katherine H. Carroll, R.N.
Samuel B. Casey, J.D.
Larry Cirignano
Former President, Catholic Citizenship
Richard Clair Esq.
Board of Directors, Human Life International
Margaret Colliton, R.N.
William Colliton, M.D.
Board of Directors, Human Life International
James Costantino, Ph.D.
Julie A. Curtis, M.D.
Richard P. Delaney, M.D.
Bernard Dobranski
Dean, Ave Maria School of Law
Charles Donovan
Executive Vice President, Family Research Council
Dawn Eden
Author, "The Thrill of the Chaste"
Carmen H. Egge
George V. Egge Jr., Esq.
Father Tom Euteneuer
President, Human Life International
Patrick Fagan
Senior Fellow, Family Research Council
Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons
Author, Psychiatrist
Gerry Giblin
Board of Directors, Cardinal Newman Society
Thomas Giblin, M.D.
Kenneth L. Grasso
Vice President, Society of Catholic Social Scientists
James Hitchcock
Professor of History, Saint Louis University
Jim Holman
Publisher, California Catholic Daily
Jerry Horn
Director of Communications, Priests for Life
Larry Jenkins Jr., M.D.
Colonel William T. Keegan, USA Ret.
Father Joseph Koterski SJ
Professor of Philosophy, Fordham University
Peter Kreeft
Author, Professor of Philosophy, Boston College
V. Bradley Lewis
Associate Professor, School of Philosophy
Catholic University of America
Lorenzo Marcolin, M.D.
George Marlin
General Editor, Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton
Author, "The American Catholic Voter"
Connie Marshner
Raphael Services
William E. May
Michael J. McGivney Professor of Moral Theology
Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family
Catholic University of America
J. Laurence McCarty
Board of Directors, Cardinal Newman Society
Tom McClusky
Vice President for Government Affairs, Family Research Council
Kelly McGinn
Board of Directors, Human Life International
Francis Xavier McLaughlin, Esq.
David Mills
Editor, Touchstone Magazine
Gerald Mitchell
Attorney at Law
Charles Molineaux, Esq.
Steve Mosher
President, Population Research Institute
Honorable Tim Murphy
George Neumayr
Editor, The Catholic World Report
James Nolan
Attorney at Law
President, Crossroads Pro-Life
Stuart W. Nolan, Jr., Esq.
Michael Novak
George Frederick Jewett Chair in Religion and Public Policy
American Enterprise Institute
Winner --- Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion
J.M. Brian O'Connell, M.D.
Father Frank Pavone MEV
National Director, Priests for Life
Father Marcel Quarnizo
President, Educational Initiative for Central and Eastern Europe
Patrick Reilly
President, Cardinal Newman Society
Daniel Robinson
Professor, Philosophy Faculty, Oxford University
Robert Royal
President, Faith and Reason Institute
Ray Ruddy
President, Gerard Health Foundation
Austin Ruse
President, Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute
Cathy Ruse
Former chief pro-life spokesperson, US Conference of Catholic Bishops
Carol Saeman
Philanthropist
John Saeman
Philanthropist
William L. Saunders
Senior Fellow
Director of the Center for Human Life and Bioethics
Family Research Council
Brian Scarnecchia
Professor of Humanities and Catholic Culture, Franciscan University of Steubenville
Robert Shalhoub, M.D.
Russell Shaw
Author, "Good News, Bad News: Evangelization, Conversion and the Crisis of Faith"
Father Robert Sirico
President, Acton Institute
Edward D. Soma, M.D.
Founding Chairman, Department of Radiology and
Nuclear Medicine, Holy Cross Hospital
Joseph J. Soma, M.D.
Damian von Stauffenberg
Chairman, Educational Initiative for Central and Eastern Europe
Donna Steichen
Author, "Prodigal Daughters: Catholic Women Come Home to the Church"
Richard Stith
Professor of Law, Valparaiso University
Emily Sullivan
Mary Alice Swengros
Mike Tarone
Attorney at Law
Pat Trueman
Former Executive Director/General Counsel
Americans United for Life
John Vanchiere, M.D., Ph.D.
Deborah Vanlandingham, R.N., M.S.N.
Joseph A. Varacalli, Ph.D.
Author, "The Catholic Experience in America"
Dr. Paul Vitz
Professor of Psychology, Institute for Psychological Sciences
Bridgett Wagner
Policy Expert
Steve Wagner
President, QEV Analytics
Jack Whelan
Chairman, Culture of Life Foundation
Kenneth Whitehead
Former Assistant Secretary of Education
Jack Willke, M.D.
Former President, Nation Right to Life Committee
Former President, International Right to Life
Christopher Wolfe
President, American Public Philosophy Institute
Thomas Woods
Author, "How the Catholic Church Invented Western Civilization"
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