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The [[USCCB|United States Conference of Catholic Bishops]] has made the statement that "[CFC] is not a Catholic organization, does not speak for the Catholic Church, and in fact promotes positions contrary to the teaching of the Church as articulated by the [[Holy See]] and the [[NCCB]]."<ref>[http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2000/00-123.htm U.S. Catholic Bishops - Office of Communications<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Bishop [[Fabian Bruskewitz]] excommunicated all members of this organization in his jurisdiction in 1996 <ref>http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0606995.htm</ref>. |
The [[USCCB|United States Conference of Catholic Bishops]] has made the statement that "[CFC] is not a Catholic organization, does not speak for the Catholic Church, and in fact promotes positions contrary to the teaching of the Church as articulated by the [[Holy See]] and the [[NCCB]]."<ref>[http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2000/00-123.htm U.S. Catholic Bishops - Office of Communications<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Bishop [[Fabian Bruskewitz]] excommunicated all members of this organization in his jurisdiction in 1996 <ref>http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0606995.htm</ref>. |
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==Controversy== |
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The Roman Catholic Church's position on abortion has been the subject of controversy on numerous occasions. These include: |
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*In March 2009, the mother and doctors of a nine-year-old girl who had been raped by her stepfather were excommunicated by Archbishop [[Jose Cardoso Sobrinho]] for allowing her to abort her pregnancy.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7926694.stm |publisher=BBC |first=Gary |last=Duffy |title=Rape row sparks excommunications |date=March 5, 2009}}</ref> The decision of the Archbishop drew criticism from women's rights groups, and Archbishop [[Rino Fisichella]], president of the [[Pontifical Academy for Life]], called the excommunications unjust.<ref name="PD">{{Cite news |work=Politics Daily |url=http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/05/21/nun-excommunicated-for-abortion-decision-to-save-mothers-life/ |title=Nun Excommunicated For Abortion Decision To Save Mother's Life |first=David |last=Gibson |date=May 21, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Top Vatican ethicist says abortion saved life of nine-year-old rape victim |date=April 21, 2009 |url=http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2009-04/top-vatican-ethicist-says-abortion-saved-life-nine-year-old-rape-victim |work=The Christian Century}}</ref> |
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*In November 2009, Bishop [[Thomas J. Olmsted]] [[Excommunication of Margaret McBride|excommunicated Sister Margaret McBride]] for allowing, as a member of the ethics board of a Catholic hospital, doctors to perform an abortion to save the life of a mother of four suffering from [[pulmonary hypertension]].<ref name="Grauniad">{{Cite news |work=The Guardian |title=Playing Catholic politics with US healthcare |date=December 30, 2010 |first=Becky |last=Garrison |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/dec/31/catholic-us-healthcare-abortion}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
Revision as of 05:31, 25 January 2011
The Roman Catholic Church opposes all forms of abortion procedures whose intended and primary purpose is to destroy an embryo, blastocyst, zygote or fetus. This position is based on a belief in the equality of all human life and that human life begins at conception. 'Indirect abortion' in cases such as ectopic pregnancy where the death of the fetus is a secondary effect of the procedure may be permissible. Catholics who procure abortion are considered to be automatically excommunicated, as per Canon 1398 of the Latin Rite Code of Canon Law or Canon 1450 §2 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Sociologist Kristin Luker writes in the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood that the early Church held different views on whether abortion was wrong, whether it was murder, and how it should be punished, if at all.[1] The Church has been consistent for over two millennia in its condemnation of abortion[2][3] despite many modern misinterpretations claiming the Church's views have evolved.[4]
Position
"The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined. . . . As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child's rights."
Catechism of the Catholic Church[5]
The Church holds that "the first right of the human person is his life" and that life is assumed to begin at fertilization. The equality of all human life is fundamental and complete, any discrimination is evil. The Church's opposition to abortion is also based on the Scriptural assertion that baptism is necessary for salvation; as those who are aborted cannot be baptized, an abortion has the potential result of depriving a soul of eternal salvation.
The Church teaches that the inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation. In other words, it is beholden upon society to legally protect the life of the unborn.[5]
Catholic theologians trace Catholic thought on abortion to early Christian teachings such as the Didache, Barnabas and the Apocalypse of Peter.[6]
Embryos
The Church considers the destruction of any embryo to be equivalent to abortion. The Papal Encyclical Humanae Vitae states that "We are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children."[7]
Unintentional abortion
Catholic scholars with The National Catholic Review[8] and AmericanCatholic.org[9] make a distinction between "direct abortions" —that is, abortion which is either an end or a means— and "indirect abortions." While the Church opposes all direct abortions, it does not condemn procedures which indirectly result in the loss of the unborn child as a "secondary effect."[citation needed]
Ectopic pregnancy
An ectopic pregnancy is one of the only cases where the foreseeable death of a child in the womb is allowed, since it is categorized as an indirect abortion. In Humanae Vitae, Paul VI writes that "the Church does not consider at all illicit the use of those therapeutic means necessary to cure bodily diseases, even if a foreseeable impediment to procreation should result there from—provided such impediment is not directly intended for any motive whatsoever". This view was also advocated by Pius XII in a 1953 address to the Italian Association of Urology.[10]
Using the Thomistic Principle of Totality (removal of a pathological part to preserve the life of the person) and the Doctrine of Double Effect, the only moral action in an ectopic pregnancy where a woman's life is directly threatened is the removal of the tube containing the human embryo (salpingectomy). The death of the human embryo is unintended although foreseen.[11]
In Catholic theology, it is never permissible to evacuate the fetus using methotrexate or to incise the Fallopian tube to extract the fetus (salpingostomy), as these procedures are considered to be direct abortions.[12]
Sanctions
Catholics who procure or participate in an abortion are subject to ipso facto latae sententiae excommunication under Canon law (automatic excommunication, literally by that very fact the sentence is incurred), provided that the person knows of the penalty at the time the abortion occurs.
According to a memorandum written by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Catholic politicians who campaign and vote for permissive abortion laws should be warned by their priest to refrain from receiving communion or risk being denied the Eucharist until they change their political views.[13] This position is based on Canon 915 and is also supported by Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church besides the Pope himself.[14]
Dissenting position among Catholics
There are Catholic scholars who oppose the Church's position on abortion. Notably, philosopher Daniel Dombrowski wrote a "A brief, liberal, Catholic defense of abortion."
An independent organization, called "Catholics for a Free Choice," supports abortion and contraception, in contrast to Catholic teaching which prohibits all use of contraception and direct abortion. This organization was founded in 1973 "to serve as a voice for Catholics" who believe individual women and men are not acting immorally when they choose to use birth control, and that women are not immoral for choosing to have an abortion.[15] Catholics for a Free Choice believe:
Catholic support for legal abortion is grounded in core principles of Catholic theology, which respect the moral agency of all women. It is bolstered by respect for the religious freedom and rights of people of all faiths and no religious faith, by respect for plural and tolerant democratic societies and, most importantly, by adherence to the Catholic principle of standing with the poor and marginalized of the world who are disproportionately women.[15]
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has made the statement that "[CFC] is not a Catholic organization, does not speak for the Catholic Church, and in fact promotes positions contrary to the teaching of the Church as articulated by the Holy See and the NCCB."[16] Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz excommunicated all members of this organization in his jurisdiction in 1996 [17].
See also
- Religion and abortion
- Christianity and abortion
- Catholic moral theology
- Pro-life
- Right to life
- Sanctity of life
- Culture of life
References
- ^ Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood by Kristin Luker, University of California Press
- ^ Hardon, John A., The Catholic Catechism: A Contemporary Catechism of the Teachings of the Catholic Church, p. 335, Random House, Inc., 1975
- ^ Brian Clowes, PhD. "Chapter 9: Catholic Church Teachings on Abortion: Early Teachings of the Church". Facts of Life. Human Life International.
- ^ Brian Clowes, PhD. "Chapter 9: Catholic Church Teachings on Abortion: On the Historical Opposition of the Catholic Church to Abortion". Facts of Life. Human Life International.
- ^ a b Catechism of the Catholic Church, part 3, section 2, chapter 2, article 5: The Fifth Commandment. The Official Vatican Website.
- ^ Abortion, the development of the Roman Catholic perspective By John R. Connery
- ^ Pope Pius VI's Encyclical Humanae Vitae, Paragraph 14, condemnation of abortion issued July 25, 1968
- ^ The national Catholic Review
- ^ The AmericanCatholic.org
- ^ "Indirect abortion".
- ^ "ALL: The moral management of ectopic pregnancies".
- ^ "The National Catholic Bioethics Center - When Pregnancy Goes Awry".
- ^ Written in "Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion. General Principles" by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger on July 3, 2004
- ^ NCRegister.com "America's 'Most Complete' Catholic Newsweekly"
- ^ a b catholicsforchoice.org
- ^ U.S. Catholic Bishops - Office of Communications
- ^ http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0606995.htm