BALTIMORE - November 12, 2008 statement of Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at the end of the annual fall assembly of the USCCB [My comments are in red throughout the text.]
"If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor; if the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil." (Psalm 127, vs. 1)
The Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States welcome this moment of historic transition and look forward to working with President-elect Obama and the members of the new Congress for the common good of all [no doubt including the born and unborn]. Because of the Church's history and the scope of her ministries in this country, we want to continue our work for economic justice and opportunity [things which of course matter not if you're never permitted to live in the first place] for all; our efforts to reform laws around immigration and the situation of the undocumented [the unborn are rendered "undocumented" by denying them a birth certificate]; our provision of better education and adequate health care for all, especially for women and children; our desire to safeguard religious freedom and foster peace at home and abroad. The Church is intent on doing good ["intent on?" Don't we actually do good already? Just a thought!] and will continue to cooperate gladly with the government and all others working for these goods.
The fundamental good is life itself, a gift from God and our parents. [Yeah! Our cooperation with God is an important reminder.] A good state protects the lives of all. Legal protection for those members of the human family waiting to be born in this country was removed when the Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade in 1973. This was bad law. [Even the honest, albeit most liberal law school professors readily admit that Roe was wrongly decided.] The danger the Bishops see at this moment is that a bad court decision will be enshrined in bad legislation that is more radical than the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself.
In the last Congress, a Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) was introduced that would, if brought forward in the same form today, outlaw any "interference" in providing abortion at will. It would deprive the American people in all fifty states of the freedom they now have to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry. FOCA would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with their tax dollars. [Obama's certain executive order on the Mexico City Policy will force our tax dollars to fund overseas abortions. Is that how you want your hard-earned money to be spent? I thought we had bridges falling apart and collapsing in our own country!] It would counteract any and all sincere efforts by government and others of good will to reduce the number of abortions in our country. ["Oh, but you're wrong! Obama's policies will reduce abortion." At least that's what they told me BEFORE the election.]
Parental notification [a school needs a parent's permission to give their kid a Tylenol, but the surgical procedure of an abortion can go off without the parents ever knowing - how screwed up have we become?] and informed consent precautions would be outlawed, as would be laws banning procedures such as partial-birth abortion and protecting infants born alive after a failed abortion [a law in Illinois which Obama opposed!]. Abortion clinics would be deregulated. The Hyde Amendment restricting the federal funding of abortions would be abrogated. FOCA would have lethal consequences for prenatal human life. [Pregnancy and parenting support centers would be forced to offer abortion counseling or at a minimum lose their already laughable amount of federal funding.]
FOCA would have an equally destructive effect on the freedom of conscience of doctors, nurses and health care workers whose personal convictions do not permit them to cooperate in the private killing of unborn children. It would threaten Catholic health care institutions and Catholic Charities. It would be an evil law that would further divide our country, and the Church should be intent on opposing evil. [FOCA would be "destructive," it would "divide," and it would be "evil!" Gotta love this paragraph! Way to call it what it is Bishops! On a sad note, who will pick up the incredible volume of health services provided by Catholic hospitals and other institutions when the Catholic ones are forced to close their doors?]
On this issue, the legal protection of the unborn, the bishops are of one mind with Catholics and others of good will. They are also pastors who have listened to women whose lives have been diminished because they believed they had no choice but to abort a baby. Abortion is a medical procedure that kills, and the psychological and spiritual consequences are written in the sorrow and depression of many women and men. The bishops are single-minded because they are, first of all, single-hearted. [To be truly unified on this issue, each Bishop must now go back to their respective flocks and strongly provide this teaching throughout their Dioceses!]
The recent election was principally decided out of concern for the economy, for the loss of jobs and homes and financial security for families, here and around the world. [Yes, it's true. Sadly many Catholic too chose money over life by casting their tainted votes for Obama. How will they spend that thirty pieces of silver?] If the election is misinterpreted ideologically as a referendum on abortion, the unity desired by President-elect Obama and all Americans at this moment of crisis will be impossible to achieve. Abortion kills not only unborn children; it destroys constitutional order and the common good, which is assured only when the life of every human being is legally protected. Aggressively pro-abortion policies, legislation and executive orders will permanently alienate tens of millions of Americans, and would be seen by many as an attack on the free exercise of their religion. [Yes, that is one of the hallmarks of all socialist societies. A main objective if to stamp out the practice of religion. Let's see if Obama shows his true colors on this one!]
This statement is written at the request and direction of all the Bishops [notice it clearly states "ALL"], who also want to thank all those in politics who work with good will to protect the lives of the most vulnerable among us. Those in public life do so, sometimes, at the cost of great sacrifice to themselves and their families; and we are grateful. We express again our great desire to work with all those who cherish the common good of our nation. The common good is not the sum total of individual desires and interests; it is achieved in the working out of a common life based upon good reason and good will for all. [The "common good" is not arrived at via "secular humanism." It is not attained through"relativism." It is achieved only by acknowledging the existence of objective truth!]
Our prayers accompany President-elect Obama and his family and those who are cooperating with him to assure a smooth transition in government. Many issues demand immediate attention on the part of our elected "watchman." (Psalm 127) May God bless him and our country. [Amen!]
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