U.S. Catholic bishops have praised the historic nature of electing an African-American president but are worried that he will make access to abortion easier.NPR Morning Edition reports that when the Catholic bishops woke up on Nov. 5, two stark realities stared them in the face.
First, 54 percent of Catholics voted for Obama — despite the bishops' teachings that abortion is evil. Second, the president-elect has promised to loosen restrictions on the procedure.
During their meeting Tuesday in Baltimore, one bishop after another echoed the words of Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Neb., who said the church can't let that happen.
"One cannot compromise between the fire and the fire department, the fly and the fly swatter," Bruskewitz said. "There are things that don't admit of compromise — and a vile ... intrinsic evil such as abortion do not admit us any such compromise."
The bishops are writing a letter to Obama and the Democratic-held Congress, urging them to refrain from making an abortion easier to obtain. The bishops fretted most about the Freedom of Choice Act, which Obama has promised to sign if it lands on his desk. That legislation would knock down most federal and state restrictions on abortion, including parental consent and waiting periods.
The bishops also told politicians they cannot leave their faith at the door of Congress. Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton, Pa. — Vice President-elect Joe Biden's hometown — went further at the meeting. He suggested the bishops use "canonical measures" — such as denying Communion — to make their point.
"I cannot have the Vice President-elect coming to Scranton and saying he learned his values there," Martino said, "when those values are — at least in the area of abortion — utterly against the teachings of the Catholic Church."
But Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest and scholar at Georgetown University, says Martino's position is rare. And he notes that Biden will soon be moving to Washington — the archdiocese of the more moderate Donald Wuerl.
"And Archbishop Wuerl has made clear he does not believe in using the Communion as a weapon against Catholic politicians," Reese said. "So Vice President Biden will be able to go to Communion in Washington, D.C., and I would guess in at least 180 other dioceses in the country."
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(Source: CTHUS)