DENVER (CNA)—Catholics must share their pro-life convictions and be serious about helping those who are considering abortion, Bishop James Conley of Denver said ahead of the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
“Each of us is called to witness to the dignity of all human life. As uncomfortable as it might be, we are called to share our pro-life convictions with our neighbors, friends and families,” Bishop Conley said in his Jan. 18 Denver Catholic Register column.
“We need not be combative or polemical — but to be serious Christians, we need to be honest. And honesty means telling the truth, in love, about abortion.”
“Make no mistake about it,” he wrote. “Abortion is the killing of tiny human beings in the womb. But for nearly 40 years in the United States, abortion has been a legally protected right by the Supreme Court.”
Bishop Conley, who is apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Denver, encouraged Catholics to engage in charitable work to end abortion, either through Catholic Church programs or by opening their lives to women and families in crisis.
“If we are serious about ending abortion, we should also be serious about helping those who might consider this tragic choice,” he said.
The bishop also stressed the need to pray “at all times,” reminding local Catholics that a pro-life Mass will be celebrated at Denver’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at 10am on Saturday, Jan. 21.
He also considered the distortions abortion has introduced into American society.
“Perversely, abortion is increasingly understood as a safeguard to preserving freedom,” he said.
Bishop Conley cited President Barack Obama’s Jan. 23, 2011, statement in which he said that the Roe v. Wade decision helps ensure that “our daughters have the same rights, the same freedoms and the same opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.”
This is a “tragically confused perspective,” Bishop Conley said.
“In order to protect the rights of our sons and daughters, President Obama, and many more, believe that we must deny the most fundamental, inalienable and God-given right — the right to life.”
Relativism, he said, has made it possible for people to believe abortion is a fundamental right, but that life itself is not.
However, Bishop Conley saw reasons for hope in the work of pro-life young people and in the growth of crowds at the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.
The ongoing presence of abortion in America witnesses to our “deeply troubled times,” he concluded.
“But we do not live alone — we live in Christ. And in Christ each of us can work together to end ‘the dictatorship of relativism.’ Together, we can hope, we can work and we can pray for the flowering of a culture of life.”
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That abortion takes the life of a complete, distinct, living, unconditionally viable and fully human being is inescapable scientific fact. No one who accepts the science and accepts that human rights are granted on the basis of what a human being is and also accepts that a human life has more meaning and importance than an animal’s argues in favor of legalized abortion.
Yet, some still find a way to argue in favor of abortion, usually by trying to undermine or cast doubt on the science of it, which is silly. Or they assign a right to life based on something other than what a human being is, like what he or she can do, which is usually problematic by snatching the right to life from some born people or making it episodic. Or they argue that we’re just another animal that has no special place in the world, and so we can be dispatched without any moral qualms. Or they may exaggerate the problem of a crisis pregnancy to make it seem larger than life itself.
If any Catholic bishop was serious about ending abortion they would encourage their flock to choose between their Profession of Faith which they freely profess to believe in Mass on Sundays, and their political party affiliation. I’m not saying they should belong to a specific party; I’m saying they should disassociate in every way with the only worldly organization in the U.S. responsible for keeping abortion-on-demand the law-of-the-land - the Democrat Party. Otherwise, they are just wasting their time…as the past 39 years have proven.
It is outrageous that Catholics cannot give to Catholic Charities USA without supporting abortion. Catholic Charities USA recently honored Anthony Williams, an outspoken advocate of abortion and homosexuality. Mr Williams recieved the Keep The Dream Alive award. My conscience will not allow me to contribute to Catholic Charities or the USCCB.
Yes! Our Constitution gives us a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but not to abortion! That is not a constitutional right! I hope someday that the Supreme Court recognizes that Roe v. Wade is wrong, especially when it allows the abortion of a child at up to nine months of development! If we do not have the right to life, we do not have the most important freedom!
VH
Thank you Bishop Conley! We’re very blessed to have him here in Denver. That central thought is so important, that we need to tell the truth IN LOVE about abortion. Arguing doesn’t change people. Love does. This is how my husband converted me. And to pray ceaselessly, we sometimes forget that prayer is the most we can do, not the least.
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