Catholic Bishops Speak Out on Pro-Life Priority in Election

By Kathleen Sweeney, Outreach Department

As the November 7 elections draw closer, several Catholic bishops have chosen to speak out very clearly about the critical import of these elections on pro-life concerns. Since the Catholic Church has been unequivocally committed to opposing legalized abortion and euthanasia, the individual Catholic voter has firm principles to guide his or her voting decisions. Nevertheless, confusion and indifference could mute the voice of the pro-life vote.

It is thus encouraging to hear the strong and clear voices of Bishop James Timlin of Scranton, Pennsylvania; Bishop Paul Loverde of Arlington, Virginia; Bishop James McHugh of Rockville Centre, New York; and Archbishop Elden Curtiss of Omaha, Nebraska. Excerpts from the articles/homily of the first three are provided below, and from Archbishop Curtiss on p.9.
Bishop James C. Timlin of Scranton, Pennsylvania
(From "The Ballot and the Right to Life," Catholic Light, 9/23/00)

"Silence. A calculated and perhaps cowardly silence about the death of innocent babies by this nation's abortion industry is painfully evident during this election year. Politicians seeking our votes are ever ready to talk about Social Security, prescription drug programs, foreign trade policy - - everything but the issue that has scarred the conscience of our nation since Roe v. Wade made the killing of the unborn a socially acceptable practice for those facing unwanted pregnancies.

"Abortion is the issue this year and every year in every campaign. Catholics may not turn away from the moral challenge that abortion poses for those who seek to obey God's commands.

"They are wrong when they assert that abortion does not concern them, or that it is only one of a multitude of issues of equal importance. No, the taking of innocent human life is so heinous, so horribly evil and so absolutely opposite to the law of Almighty God that abortion must take precedence over every other issue. I repeat. It is the single most important issue confronting not only Catholics, but the entire electorate....

"We Catholics are called to offer prophetic witness as we take concrete and deliberate steps to elect leaders who heed God's law as well as the truths advanced by our country's founders. The words of the Declaration of Independence set forth the truths that were forever to guide American society. The truths of the Declaration are so fundamentally at odds with the vision of the human person which was imposed upon the nation by the deplorable Roe v. Wade decision: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness....'

"...As the election of 2000 approaches, I urge Catholics to focus on the real issue of this campaign, the right to life, which in the words of Pope John Paul II is 'the most basic and fundamental right and the condition of all other personal rights.'... I urge you, my dear people, to give prophetic witness by voting for men and women who believe that the equal rights afforded all of our citizens also belong to every child, born and unborn."

Bishop Paul S. Loverde of Arlington, Virginia

(From address to the Arlington Diocese Pro-Life Leader's Conference, 8/5/00)

"We must support candidates who uphold the Gospel of Life. This is a presidential election year and a year when we elect every seat in the House of Representa-tives and one-third of the Senate. This presidential election and the related Senate elections are most crucial because the next president will probably appoint up to three justices to the Supreme Court. Now is the time - - not the week before the elections - - to accept your responsibility as Catholics to participate in the election process. 'The Gospel of Life must be proclaimed, and human life defended, in all places and at all times.' (Living the Gospel of Life, 33)

(From homily given at the pro-life Mass on the Feast of St. Peter Claver, Queen of Apostles Church, Alexandria, Virginia, 9/9/00)

"...Are the majority of Americans blind to the fact that the number of lives lost to abortion in our country since Roe v. Wade equals the population of thirteen of our Midwest states?

"...We are less than two months from the first national election of the millennium. We Catholics must approach our task as faithful citizens of this country by understanding our moral principles when listening to the political rhetoric.

"The moral principle that every person is created in the image and likeness of God and thus must be treated as a gift of God stands taller than any Supreme Court decision permitting the destruction of life in the womb.

"...Let me repeat what I have said before, 'It is incompatible with the Catholic faith to support the taking of innocent life whether it is an unborn child or someone who is sick or suffering.' (Homily, 9/3/00) The Holy Father in his ad limina speech to the Bishops of Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 1993 said, 'To defend the right to life of unborn children is one of the greatest human life issues of our day.'

"We must evaluate carefully the record of the candidates running for the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency.

"...We must act as St. Peter Claver (...who worked tirelessly ...to provide for the physical, spiritual and psychological well- being of those men, women and children who were being herded like cattle off the slave ships), by not standing at the sidelines and watching the human travesty unfold before us by those who promote the reduction of the human person to a commodity. We must speak out! We must live the good news of the Gospel of Life."

Bishop James T. McHugh of Rockville Centre, New York

(From "Voting the Gospel of Life," Columbia, 9/00)

"Catholic citizens especially should affirm a personal stance that respects and sustains human life and makes it unmistakably clear to all candidates and officials that this will be a determining factor in their choice of candidates. Catholics should not stay away from the election process but mobilize with others to put forth a clear, consistent and concerted statement of philosophy and political position."

Paid for by the NRL Political Action Committee. Not Authorized by any candidate.