THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 21, 2008
For Catholics, Pope's Words Offer Clear Conscience
By JOHN CRAWFORD
Can Cardinal George overrule the Pope on a mixed issue involving theology and politics? In June 2004, as president of the Congregation for the Defense of the Faith, Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, sent U.S. Catholic bishops a "Statement of Principles" to assist them in their resolution of the "Communion Wars" instigated by some bishops who advocated the denial of Communion to John Kerry and other Catholic legislators who voted for pro-choice legislation. Cardinal Ratzinger stated:
"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. When a Catholic does not share a candidate's stand in favor of abortion and/or euthanasia, but votes for that candidate for other reasons, it is considered remote material cooperation, which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons."
Cardinal Ratzinger concluded that the responsibility for denying Communion rests with the local bishop. To his credit, Cardinal George decided not to deny Communion to any local Catholic politicians. Now, however, in his letter of September 2, 2008 to Catholics of this Archdiocese, Cardinal George is disregarding the well-established principle of moral theology that indirect material cooperation is not immoral where there are good reasons for disregarding a vote on some issue like abortion. The occasion for the Cardinal's letter of September 2 was his displeasure with remarks made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on "Meet The Press" on August 24, 2008. In answer to a question by Tom Brokaw about her opinion on when life begins, Speaker Pelosi (1) agreed with Brokaw that the Catholic church's position is that life begins at the moment of conception, and she voiced no disagreement with this view, but unfortunately she did say that some respected church theologians had in the past voiced different views (such as St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine did centuries ago, before scientific evidence established that life begins at the moment of conception); (2) made no statement about the church's position on abortion (in the context of the Brokaw interview, it was a given that the church is strongly opposed to abortion); and (3) commented that the fact of when life begins is not controlling on the legal question of the woman's right to an abortion, which is governed by considerations as to the first, second and third trimesters in Roe v. Wade. Cardinal George's letter stated that "some profess not to know" the church's position on the immorality of abortion, then proceeded to (1) restate the church's consistent position that abortion is immoral (which Pelosi did not question); (2) state that present laws permitting abortion destroy the common good; and (3) conclude that "One cannot favor the legal status quo on abortion and also be working for the common good." Since the Catholic church enjoins its members to work for the common good in their participation in politics and civil life, Cardinal George's message clearly was meant as advice that it was wrong to vote for Nancy Pelosi or any other candidate who, in his opinion, was "not working for the common good" because he or she tolerated the legal status of abortion.
The Statement on Faithful Citizenship issued by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in November 2007 lists as important goals not only "restricting or bringing to an end ... abortion," but also outlawing euthanasia, assisted suicide, destruction of embryos, the death penalty, imprudent resort to war, and gay marriage, and calls for immigration reform, ending poverty, providing education and health care for all, combating racism and religious bigotry, moral limits on the use of military force, peace, justice and caring for God's creation. This statement appears to accept the fact that reversing Roe v. Wade may not be possible, but measures to reduce the number of abortions is a laudable goal.
Catholic legislators criticized by Cardinal George accept the fact that Roe v. Wade is the law of the land, but seek to reduce the number of abortions by providing social and economic support for pregnant women and mothers. Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, a group formed to assist Republicans and Democrats to find common ground to reach social justice goals of the Catholic church, points out that a survey of women who obtained abortions showed that nearly 75% "cited economic hardship as a reason for obtaining an abortion." A recent press release by the Alliance states, "Being pro-life is not just a slogan. It requires concrete programs and public policies that help families with robust economic and social supports. Both political parties can unite behind comprehensive strategies that reduce abortions." Catholic Charities and the Campaign for Human Development work for many of the goals recommended by the Statement on Faithful Citizenship, and the Cardinal deserves our thanks for strongly supporting these efforts. However, we have Pope Benedict to thank for feeling secure that we can vote with a clear conscience for Democrats who also work for these same goals within the framework of existing law.