CATHOLIC CHURCH REBUTS “CATHOLICS FOR CHOICE”

To the Editor,

Catholics have the same freedom as other citizens in making choices. They also have the duty to follow a well-formed conscience, a conscience formed not by fad or personal convenience, but by Catholic teaching. Catholic faith and teaching have condemned abortion since the earliest days of the Church. Every unique human life begins at conception. Every unborn human being shares with every other member of the human family a basic moral right to life.

Through pregnancy help centers and other programs, the Catholic Church brings love and mercy and caring to mothers and children according to the call of the Gospel. And with equal love and mercy and caring, the Church works to heal the wounds of every woman or man who has struggled with the emotional and spiritual pain of an abortion.

Sadly, there are those who purport to be Catholic who believe that they can condone abortion.  But abortion is radically inconsistent with the Catholic faith. Anyone who helps to make abortion more widely available commits a grave injustice against the most vulnerable members of the human family.  Those who openly commit such instances while purporting to espouse Catholic faith not only undermine the teaching of the Church, but also seriously weaken their own relationship with the Church, the Body of Christ.

To make sure everyone understands how misguided the Catholics for Choice effort is, read these few words from Pope Francis: “Abortion is without a doubt one of the greatest moral evils within modernity.”

Sincerely,

Most Reverend John J. Myers
Archbishop of Newark