“Abortion kills an unborn, developing human life. It is always gravely evil, and so are the evasions employed to justify it. Catholics who make excuses for it – whether they’re famous or not – fool only themselves and abuse the fidelity of those Catholics who do sincerely seek to follow the Gospel and live their Catholic faith.” – Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput
Patrick Murphy, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden, proclaims himself to be Catholic when it’s electorally advantageous. But, like the Speaker and the Senator, Murphy seems to have made the cold calculation that it’s also electorally advantageous to occasionally buck the church’s central teachings. Such is the case when it comes to ending innocent life.
Writing for The Bulletin, Gregory J. Sullivan examines Murphy’s support for abortion and finds the accidentally elected Congressman’s stance to be at odds with the faith he claims to hold so strongly. Murphy paints himself as a champion of abortion, and couches his campaign in pro-abortion rhetoric at its most basic levels.
For example, a [Patrick Murphy] fundraiser that was recently hosted at a private home in September was advertised exclusively in pro-choice terms. (The invitation is found online at Murphy08.com.) The following categories are established for suggested contributions: $1,000 will make the contributor a “Pro-Choice Champion,” $500 will earn the designation “Pro-Choice Activist,” $250 makes one a “Pro-Choice Advocate, and $100 is a “Pro-Choice Donor.” What is more, the invitation reminds supporters that, “Since being elected to office in 2006, Patrick Murphy has been a strong advocate for women’s health and reproductive rights. He has earned a 100% pro-choice voting record from Planned Parenthood and is a cosponsor of the Prevention First Act, the choice community’s top legislative priority. He is also a cosponsor of a bill to reverse the ‘Global Gag Rule,’ allowing US aid to go to global family planning initiatives, and supports an expanded sex education program for students. Patrick is in a tough battle for re-election against an opponent who has declared himself adamantly pro-life.”
[...]
[T]he Catholic doctrine of exceptionless commitment to the protection innocent human life is not just a ritual practice – like meatless Fridays during Lent – that Catholics are seeking to impose on all Americans. Rather, it embodies a principle of natural law that is binding on all, Catholic or not.
[...]
There is no dispute that Mr. Murphy has made his pro-choice position central to his political views. This position is prevalent in the current American political context. But Mr. Murphy also makes it known that he is a Catholic, and his pro-choice view is not one he can hold as a Catholic. It would benefit all if he would acknowledge this insurmountable problem that he and a host of other unfaithful public officials dishonestly avoid.
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