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In a series of Holy Week homilies, Bishop Joseph F. Martino stressed that Catholics have the responsibility to defend life at lass stages.

The Bishop lamented that there seems to be a pervasive indifference in society, even among Catholics, to many of the life issues. These include abortion, embryonic stem cell research, capital punishment and euthanasia.

He cited the example of Terri Schiavo, the woman who has been at the center of the debate over the provision of nutrition and hydration to a cognitively disabled person. Mrs. Schiavo's feeding tube had been removed March 18 by court order. As The Catholic Light went to press, her death appeared imminent.

"No one can explain to me why this woman is being starved to death," Bishop Martino said.

In his statement concerning the person in a "persistent vegetative state," Pope John Paul II strongly affirmed that the "intrinsic value and personal dignity of every human being do not change, no matter what the concrete circumstances of his or her life." The Holy Father maintains that the sick person in a vegetative state, awaiting recovery or a natural end, still has the right to basic health care (nutrition, hydration, cleanliness, warmth, etc.), and to the prevention of complications related to confinement to bed.

Bishop Martino noted that the pontiff's own suffering, so evident during Holy Week, provides an example of the inherent value and dignity of every life even in the midst of great tribulation.

The Holy Father, in the Bishop's words, puts to shame those who would allow convenience to determine the value of human life.

Locally, the apparent indifference to the sanctity of life came to light prior to Holy Week on the occasion of the St. Patrick's Day dinner held by the Society of Irish Women in Scranton. The guest speaker for the affair was Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a noted supporter of abortion rights who has won accolades from the National Abortion and Reproductive Tights Action League (NARAL).

In a letter sent to the president of the Society of Irish Women and the Scranton Times-Tribune, diocesan pro-life director David A. Clarke noted that, in addition to nostalgia and mirth, St. Patrick's Day is an occasion to reflect on the virtues of a great saint and the deep religious roots of Ireland.

"It is truly outrageous that the Society of Irish Women would select a notorious pro-abortion speaker to offer reflections on Irish heritage," Mr. Clarke wrote. "There is no doubt that many of the guests who attended the March 17 gathering would not have done so had they known of Mrs. Townsend's support for the killing of the unborn.

"Let us hope that the Society of Irish Women, when the organization is selection a speaker for next year's dinner, will find a woman who truly represents the heritage and values of the Irish people. Cleary, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, as a pro-abortion politician, does not".

Bishop Martino told the The Catholic Light that he will continue to monitor events like these and the actions of organizations and individuals, particularly public officials, to ensure that everyone in the Diocese has a clear understanding of the Church's teaching on the sanctity of live.

"We must all remain vigilant in the defense of life," he said. "Jesus Christ himself expects nothing less."

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Priest for Life on Catholics, Abortion, and Voting, by Father Frank Pavone, Life Lines, Fall 2004

Never have I seen a more shameless abuse and distortion of somebody's words than in the recent articles that some secular and Catholic publications have run regarding a memo written by Vatican Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger about abortion and voting.

The Cardinal wrote, "Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia…There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia…A Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil, and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion, if he were to deliberately vote for a candidate precisely because of the candidate's permissive stand on abortion and/or euthanasia."

That's pretty clear. Those want to keep abortion legal and therefore vote for candidates who have promised to do that are sinning and are excluded from Communion.
Instead, some publications are saying that the Vatican now gives Catholics permission to vote for pro-abortion candidates! One article I saw said this is true "if a voter feels a candidate's position on other issues outweighs his or her stand on abortion."

But whether abortion outweighs other issues is not for a voter's feelings to decide. The Holy Father has written, "The common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition of all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination . . . " (Christifideles Laici, n.38)

The full body of United States bishops, moreover, went so far as to say that legal abortion is so unacceptable that it may in fact require us to abolish our entire system of government. The exact words, found in paragraph 3 of their 1998 document Living the Gospel of Life, are, "When American political life becomes an experiment on people rather than for and by them, it will no longer be worth conducting. We are arguably moving closer to that day."

Cardinal Ratzinger's memo does answer a dilemma that many good Catholics find themselves in when all the candidates -- at least among those likely to win -- seem to support at least some abortions. What then? Are we required to vote for a candidate who does not have a sufficient base to win? Are we required to abstain from voting altogether? The answer to both is no. We may vote for the candidate who supports less abortion than his or her opponent. This is supported by the following sentence in the footnote to the Cardinal's memo: "When a Catholic does not share a candidate's stand in favor of abortion … but votes for that candidate for other reasons, it … can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons."

The Cardinal had already explained that abortion is not proportionate to other issues, but is certainly proportionate to itself.

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