Honesty Highest Political Value

By Father Frank Pavone Honesty Highest Political Value

As I point out in my new book, Abolishing Abortion (due in August from Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins), there is a profound blind spot in the views and policies advocated by many public officials regarding the unborn. Hillary Clinton tops the blindness list. Her attitude toward children in the womb is that they are not welcome to enjoy the basic constitutional protection our nation affords to everyone else’s life.

But then again, Hillary is seeking her party’s nomination for president, and the Democratic Party is affected by the same blind spot so severely that it’s not imaginable that anyone can seriously seek that party’s nomination without being blind to the children in the womb.

Now some will say that, even in political debate, we need to be nice. Particularly in church circles, as we go into the 2016 political cycle, the pleas for ‘civility’ will probably be louder than the pleas for the children in the womb.

But the fact is that civility is not the highest virtue in political discourse. Honesty is. This doesn’t imply that we need to be mean or coarse. But it does imply that when there’s a holocaust going on around us, and an entire political party not only denies it but fosters it, we can’t sit back and pretend that the main thing that matters is that we be nice and non-partisan. Someone has to start sounding the alarm, and it might as well be us.

Interestingly, Cecile Richards, who heads up the largest abortion business in the world (Planned Parenthood), recently made a public call for the need to talk about abortion. Yet the pro-life movement has been making the same call and engaging in the very same effort for decades. What makes the abortion supporters all of a sudden feel the need to talk about abortion? They have never done so before, and they still don’t. All their talks in favor of “abortion rights” speak not about abortion but about choice, freedom, women’s health, constitutional rights, etc. But not once, neither in Cecile Richards’ comments nor in speeches by President Obama or any other abortion supporters will you ever find a description of the abortion procedure.

And when Sen. Rand Paul recently called on Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the head of the Democratic Party, to answer a question as to whether she thinks it’s okay to abort a baby at 7 pounds in the womb, she failed to directly answer the question. Again, they do not want to talk about abortion; they only want to pretend to be talking about abortion.

The blind spot continues. It is up to us to call for honesty as the highest virtue in political discourse. With legislative proposals now underway to protect children from 20 weeks forward and to protect them from dismemberment abortion, it is a fair and urgent question to ask any public official or any abortion supporter in any profession why dismembering children in the womb should continue to be permitted in our nation.

Frank Pavone is national director of Priests for Life. One can pre-order his  book, Abolishing Abortion, at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Honesty Highest Political Value

Extraordinary Jubilee Year Means Mercy

Rev. Frank Pavone Extraordinary Jubilee Year Means Mercy

It is time for the doors of mercy to open even wider for the People of God. Jesus Christ himself is the mercy of God. To believe in him is to believe in mercy, to witness to him is to witness to mercy. And the Church wants us to become experts in this.

That is why Pope Francis has declared an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, to be observed from Dec. 8, 2015 through Nov. 20, 2016.

On April 11, the Vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday, the Pope issued the document explaining the purpose and vision of this special Holy Year. It intersects perfectly with our commitment to rescue children from the violence of abortion.

Pope Francis points out that mercy is seen in God’s actions, and must be seen in ours. He points out that Psalm 146 “attests to the concrete signs of his mercy: ‘He secures justice for the oppressed; he gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.’… In short, the mercy of God is not an abstract idea, but a concrete reality through which he reveals his love as that of a father or a mother, moved to the very depths out of love for their child” (n.6).

Later in the document, naturally, the Pope points out how this is fulfilled in Jesus’ own description of his ministry as one that will “proclaim liberty to the captives”.

If we are to live out mercy, therefore, the Pope explains that we are to “look forward to the experience of opening our hearts to those living on the outermost fringes of society: fringes modern society itself creates. How many uncertain and painful situations there are in the world today! How many are the wounds borne by the flesh of those who have no voice because their cry is muffled and drowned out … Let us open our eyes and see the misery of the world, the wounds of our brothers and sisters who are denied their dignity, and let us recognize that we are compelled to heed their cry for help!” (n. 15)

As he had pointed out in Evangelii Gaudium, the most defenseless of all are unborn children. Certainly they live in “fringes modern society itself creates” by its false and destructive declaration that they are not persons, that they do not deserve the protection of the law.

Living mercy means seeing their misery and speaking up for them. Death is a result of sin. Mercy not only forgives our sin, it rescues us from death. The Holy Year, the Pope writes, is “to proclaim liberty to those bound by new forms of slavery in modern society…to restore dignity to all those from whom it has been robbed” (n. 16). Let us practice mercy for the children in the womb, speaking up for them and rescuing them from death!

Father Pavone is national director of Priests for Life

Extraordinary Jubilee Year Means Mercy

Mother Daughter Abortion Story

Karen Reynoso’s mother, Miriam Kirk, accompanied her for her first two abortions. Karen would then have another two abortions without her mother’s knowledge. Mother Daughter Abortion Story

When regret and remorse begin to impact the lives of post-abortive women, a mother-daughter relationship like that can be torn apart. But Karen and Miriam actually drew closer, and they will talk about the healing they both found on “The Gospel of Life” at 6 o’clock tonight, March 3, on Radio Maria with host Janet Morana, executive director of Priests for Life and co-founder of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign.

After receiving healing in 2003 through a post-abortion Bible study, Karen began facilitating Bible studies for other women.  Karen also served as a regional coordinator for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign from 2004 to 2010 and was part of a team that led three 40 Days for Life Campaigns in 2009 and 2010.  Karen has served on the board of directors of CHOICES Women’s Resource Center since 2010.

In 2013, she attended a Deeper Still weekend retreat and the Lord took her deeper still in her healing.  After the retreat, Karen, her mother and two other women felt compelled to bring Deeper Still to Southern California and began a Chapter in Fallbrook, CA.

Karen is employed as an environmental consultant. She and her husband, Art, have been married since 1996.

Miriam has been involved in pro-life and abortion recovery ministries since 2006. She joined Fallbrook Pregnancy Resource Center as a bookkeeping volunteer and eventually became a board member and then board treasurer.   As she watched Karen progress on her healing journey from her abortions, Miriam recognized the gravity of her own part in that journey. She says that she and Karen have been blessed to be able to work together to extend healing to others with abortion- wounded hearts, and she  also has a yearning to bring restoration and healing to men and other family members who have been touched by abortion.

Miriam and her husband, Jim, are retired and have four children, more than 20 grandchildren (including blended and married) and six great-grandchildren.

For a list of Radio Maria stations and to listen online, go to Radio Maria website.  A free app also is available for smart phones and tablets.

“The Gospel of Life” is re-aired at 2 a.m. ET on Thursdays and midnight Sunday. All the shows are archived at www.priestsforlife.org/radiomaria

Mother Daughter Abortion Story will be on Radio Maria
Mother Daughter Abortion Story

Gliobastoma Battle Described On Radio Maria

Josh Comeau is a 36-year-old father of five in Indiana who is fighting an aggressive form of brain cancer with prayer and all the weapons of modern medicine. Brittany Maynard, a young woman with the same cancer, attracted international attention when she announced plans to commit suicide under Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act.

She took her life last month but Josh and his wife, Rosary, have chosen Life with Dignity instead. Josh will join Janet Morana on Gospel of Life tonight, Dec. 16 on Radio Maria. Tune in at 6 p.m. ET.

Gliobastoma is a formidable adversary. Few people survive, even with treatment. But on the day Josh was diagnosed, he posted this on his Facebook page: “A new lease on life. Praise God.”

“God has plans for Josh, I really believe that,” said Rosary. “The cancer is just the beginning of that plan.”

Josh has undergone surgery and radiation, and is going through a grueling chemo regimen now.

The couple doesn’t know what lies ahead, but they know they are not alone in their fight.

For a list of Radio Maria stations or to tune in to “Gospel of Life” on the Internet, go to http://radiomaria.us/the-gospel-of-life.  Tablet and smart phone users also can download a free Radio Maria app so they can listen to the show wherever they go.

Anyone with a question for Josh, Janet or Father Frank is invited to call in during the show to 866-333-6279 to speak to them on the air. Those who would prefer not to be on the radio may email questions to info@gospeloflife.com

The show will be rebroadcast at 2 a.m. ET Thursday and midnight ET on Sunday. All the shows are archived at priestsforlife.org/radiomaria .

Gliobastoma Battle Described On Radio Maria

Gliobastoma Battle Described On Radio Maria

Gliobastoma Battle Described On Radio Maria

Prepare Way of the Lord

By Fr. Frank Pavone

‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ Quoting the Prophet Isaiah, John the Baptist calls on the world to prepare the way for Christ, and hence, once again, we live the Spirit of Advent.

He says, furthermore, continuing the quote from Isaiah, “Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth” (Luke 3:5).

Our world is full of crooked roads, winding under the shadow of death. It is a world disgusted with the murderous acts of ISIS and weary of the racial divides in Ferguson, MO. And with a deeper destruction and greater number of victims than these or any other evils, abortion continues to tear apart children in the womb, their families, and our whole society. Ours is a world that needs Advent, a world that needs Christ.

Christ’s coming ushers in the final triumph of life over death. The preparation for that coming, therefore, includes repentance from the works of death, including abortion. Not only individuals but nations likewise need to repent. This repentance includes living with active respect for every human life, and building a society of justice and welcome for the most vulnerable.

“Prepare the way of the Lord”, who is a God of Justice. “Every valley shall be filled” – the valleys where people languish because their rights are trampled, their dignity forgotten, and their lives thrown onto the outskirts of society. “Every mountain and hill shall be made low” – the mountains of pride whereby we think our own choices determine what is right and wrong, rather than submitting our choices to the truth that became visible when Christ was born.

Promoting justice and human rights is a key element of our preparation. A society that aborts its children is not prepared for the coming of Christ. Individuals who ignore the massive slaughter of tens of millions of babies are not prepared to welcome the God who became a little baby.

The Christmas hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem” relates that “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.” Throughout the millennia of history, the human heart has been torn between hope and fear. We fear the menace of death, destruction, and meaninglessness. Yet we yearn in hope for One who can save, protect, and fulfill us. And how does that One, foretold by the prophets and by the mighty acts of God’s intervention to save his people of old, finally come to us? He comes as an unborn child. The almighty Son of God did not appear on earth as a king on the clouds or an adult teaching his message. He first appeared by being hidden in the womb of his mother. He first appeared so small that the naked eye could not see him. He came through a pregnancy and lived as a child in the womb.

Hence the great encyclical The Gospel of Life (Evangelium Vitae) reminds us that the joy of the birth of Christ is reflected in the joy of the birth of every child.

May we prepare to welcome Christ by welcoming and protecting every unborn child. Happy Advent!

This column can be read and heard online.

Prepare Way of the Lord

Prepare Way of the Lord
Prepare Way of the Lord

Prepare Way of the Lord

Prepare Way of the Lord

Prepare Way of the Lord

Humanae Vitae Affirmation By Pope Francis

By Fr. Frank Pavone

More significant than the debates or documents of the Synod of Bishops that just concluded was the act with which it concluded. Yesterday, Oct. 19, at the Vatican, Pope Francis again declared in an official way the holiness of one of his predecessors: he beatified Pope Paul VI, the Pope who brought the Second Vatican Council to its conclusion and also issued the encyclical Humanae Vitae (July 25, 1968) — a document preceded and followed by no small controversy, and sometimes called “the birth control encyclical.”

Humanae Vitae does not identify the key problem of our day in the realm of sex or birth or “the pill,” but rather in the myth that we can be God. Pope Paul writes at the beginning of the document, “But the most remarkable development of all is to be seen in man’s stupendous progress in the domination and rational organization of the forces of nature to the point that he is endeavoring to extend this control over every aspect of his own life — over his body, over his mind and emotions, over his social life, and even over the laws that regulate the transmission of life” (n.2).

The Pope here is painting a wider vision of the problem. We think everything belongs to us, but the reality is that we belong to God. “Humanae Vitae” means “Of human life.” Human life came from God, belongs to God, and goes back to God. “You are not your own,” St. Paul declares. “You have been bought, and at a price” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Sex and having children are aspects of a whole cluster of realities that make up our lives and activities. We suffer from the illusion that all of these activities belong to us. “This is my life, my body, my choice.

The problem we face is not that our society is obsessed with sex. Rather, it is afraid of it– afraid of the total reality and power of what it represents, where it comes from, and where it leads. Sex properly understood requires that we acknowledge God who made it. More than that, sex can never be separated from its purpose: to insert us into this immense, powerful movement of life and love that started when God said “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) and culminates when the Spirit and the Bride say “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:17).

Sexual activity means so much that it is wrong to diminish its message or deny its full reality: it belongs in the context of committed love (sealed by marriage) and openness to life precisely because this is the only context great enough to hold its message and reflect the greater reality to which the gift of sexuality points us and to which it commits us.

This is a reality that is bigger than all of us. It is the self-giving which starts in the Trinity, and is revealed in a startling way on the Cross, and then challenges each of us in our daily interaction with others, with God, and with our own eternal destiny. It is so real and so big that it is scary. That’s why so many today are afraid of the full reality and meaning of sex. That’s why Pope Paul VI wrote Humanae Vitae.

And to remind the faithful of that teaching, and of the holy Pope who articulated it so well, is part of why we now call Pope Paul VI Blessed.

Rev. Pavone is the national  director of Priests for Life.

 

Humanae Vitae Affirmation By Pope Francis

Humanae Vitae Affirmation By Pope Francis
Humanae Vitae Affirmation By Pope Francis

 

 

Priests HHS Mandate Case Advances

By Father Frank Pavone

The lawsuit of Priests for Life against the Obama Administration’s HHS mandate continues to move forward in the nation’s second highest court. We filed earlier this month a supplemental brief with the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals addressing two key developments that have occurred since oral arguments were heard by that court in May. The brief declares that the religious freedom violations inflicted by the HHS mandate are not eliminated by the government’s new regulations, but rather perpetuated. It also states that rather than help the government’s case, the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision strengthens the arguments contained in Priests for Life’s lawsuit.

The filing in Priests for Life v. HHS argues that the latest government “accommodation” to Obamacare’s HHS mandate offers no actual change in policy and, therefore, does nothing to alleviate the mandate’s harm to Priests for Life and other religious groups.

At issue in Priests for Life’s lawsuit is whether the federal government can compel a religious non-profit organization to violate the faith upon which it exists and operates. Even more to the point is the question of whether the government can force such a violation of faith when its purported policy goal can be achieved easily in other ways.

Before its latest regulations were issued, the Department of Health and Human Services had required religious non-profit groups to file a form with their insurance companies authorizing that their employees be provided with coverage for sterilization and birth control drugs and devices, including those which can cause abortions. The authorization of such drugs and devices would directly violate the teaching of the Catholic Church.

After two recent Supreme Court actions related to the HHS mandate went against the government, the Obama administration apparently realized that its so-called “accommodation” for non-profit religious groups would not withstand legal scrutiny. It issued yet another version of this accommodation. As stated in Priests for Life’s latest brief, though, “The new regulations… continue the Government’s pattern of attempting to create the illusion of accommodation while coercing religious organizations to act contrary to their beliefs.”

Call it a smokescreen, call it a ruse, the government’s latest scheme still would require Priests for Life and other religious organizations to violate their faith. Under the new regulations, Priests for Life would be mandated to send authorization for abortifacient, contraceptive, and sterilization coverage for its employees to the government instead of to an insurance carrier. In the words of Priests for Life’s latest brief, “the new regulations do nothing more than provide Plaintiffs with another avenue for violating their religion.”

Referring to the Hobby Lobby decision, the brief also pointed out that the Supreme Court, in effect, reaffirms the arguments that Priests for Life is making. Hobby Lobby made it clear that the government cannot force a believer to act against his or her faith, and that when a believer identifies an action as contrary to his or her faith, it is not up to the government to judge whether that is unreasonable. Mr. David Green, CEO of Hobby Lobby, has stated, “The religious freedom of believers of all denominations is under attack. Our family therefore joins in prayerful support of the Priests for Life case against the HHS mandate. As our Hobby Lobby case represents the concerns of businesses, so the Priests for Life case represents the concerns of the religious non-profit groups. Together, we stand against this injustice, and for the law of God.”

Father Frank Pavone is national director of Priests for Life

Priests HHS Mandate Case Advances

IRS Speech Standard Needs Reform

By Father Frank Pavone

Tax law says that Churches may not intervene in political campaigns. But the definition and boundaries of such intervention are vague and confusing. In its attempt at guidance, the IRS says “all the facts and circumstances” have to be examined. From one point of view, this standard itself is not a standard at all, but a mere statement of the obvious. After all, if a person, in making any kind of judgment, does not consider “facts and circumstances,” what, after all, does he or she consider — crystal balls, astrological signs, dreams and hallucinations?

From another point of view, how can one possibly consider all facts and circumstances of any action or decision? In real day to day life, we consider those facts and circumstances of which we are aware in the amount of time we have to make the decision, and which seem important enough to influence the decision. It’s a normal fact of life that, looking back on decisions we have made, we come to see facts and circumstances we did not have the time or ability to weigh at the time of the decision. Obviously, a consideration of “all the surrounding facts and circumstances” — if it can ever happen at all — can only happen after the action has been taken, and perhaps a long time after, or indeed never.

The Congressional Research Service has reported, “In many situations, the activity is permissible unless it is structured or conducted in a way that shows bias towards or against a candidate. Some biases can be subtle and whether an activity is campaign intervention will depend on the facts and circumstances of each case.” (Lunder & Whitkaker at 3.)

A question obviously arises here. Unless we are to say that Churches have no freedom to teach on issues that also happen to correspond to political debates, how are they protected from the accusation of being “partisan” simply because the position of the organization, or the teaching of the Church or the Gospel, corresponds to the position that one particular political party or candidate has, and is diametrically opposed to that of their opposing party or candidate?

The Church opposes abortion and stands up for the rights of the unborn. The Republican Party platform takes a similar position. The Democratic Party platform, on the other hand, supports abortion as a right. So now, is the Church’s pro-life position partisan, and therefore illegal to assert?

That would be both absurd and intolerable.

Erik Stanley states, “The predictable outcome of this state of affairs has been massive self-censorship among churches and pastors.” Even the Supreme Court, on more than one occasion, has noted with concern what happens when people aren’t given a clear, bright line regarding what speech and activity is forbidden and what is not. “Uncertain meanings inevitably lead citizens to ‘steer far wider of the unlawful zone . . . than if the boundaries of the forbidden areas were clearly marked.’”(Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 109 (1972) (quoting Baggett v. Bullitt, 377 U.S. 360, 372 (1964)).

We at Priests for Life believe there is a solution to all this. We believe it’s time to stop censoring ourselves by the risk-averse mentality, often fostered by legal advisors, that wants to not only avoid breaking the law, but also avoid both the accusation and the appearance of breaking the law. This lack of willingness to fight leads to sterility and paralysis, keeping the Church’s mission from being fulfilled.

Instead, we should rely on legal counsel who are willing to interpret the IRS guidelines in a way that does not stifle our mission, and have the readiness to defend that interpretation. We need to conduct non-partisan activities in a way that common sense judges as non-partisan: no candidate or party is endorsed, and the activity is open to all. And we should push for legislation that provides a “bright line” test for Churches and tax exempt organizations so that they know ahead of time, by a clear, reasonable, and easily discernible standard, what does and does not constitute prohibited political intervention. A perfect example of this is provided in the Buckley vs. Valeo Supreme Court decision which, in another context, indicated the bright line to be defined by whether or not one uses “explicit words of advocacy of election or defeat of a candidate.” The Court gave examples of such words and phrases: ‘vote for,’ ‘elect,’ ‘support,’ ‘cast your ballot for,’ ‘Smith for congress,’ ‘vote against,’ ‘defeat,’ ‘reject.’

It is time to apply a clear standard like this in order to interpret the political intervention prohibition on Churches.

Father Pavone  is national director of Priests for Life

 

IRS Speech Standard Needs Reform

IRS Speech Standard Needs Reform

Another Botched Abortion

By Janet Morana

Lakisha Wilson would be alive  if we cared about women’s health. Because if we did, if we really cared about women’s health, we would have banned abortion long ago, as soon as it became obvious that abortion was equally deadly in the front office and the back alley.

Earlier this spring we watched the CEO of General Motors get a public dressing-down because her company failed to recall cars to perform a very inexpensive fix until thirteen people had died. The broken-hearted families of some of these GM victims have been interviewed on television and we feel for them. We understand their grief. We know that losing a loved one from a completely preventable cause feels woefully unfair.

We may never see the family of Lakisha Wilson on TV. We will not be shown what her family is going through, knowing that they lost this beautiful 22-year-old woman because of a harmful and deadly procedure that should have been recalled decades ago. Certainly no CEO will face a congressional grilling. Did you see Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards facing angry politicians after one of her clinics let Tonya Reaves bleed to death in Chicago? No.

When abortion is the cause of death, there is a whole new set of rules. It’s not mentioned in the media. Death certificates are tailored to make it seem that it wasn’t the abortion that killed these women. The pro-aborts on Twitter barely make a sound. But the fact remains that Lakisha Wilson would be alive today if she hadn’t gone to Preterm clinic in Cleveland to end the life of her baby. And her child would still be kicking in her womb.

The cloak of silence around abortion is so heavy that we would not even know of Lakisha’s death had it not been for the pro-life protesters and sidewalk counselors who watched her taken away by ambulance, and we would not have heard the total nonchalance with which a clinic worker summoned an ambulance to attend a to a young woman who was not breathing if not for the tireless efforts of our friends at Operation Rescue. They are leading a press conference today to make sure people do learn of Lakisha and what killed her.

There is never a reason compelling enough to kill an unborn child, but somehow we as a society have learned to avert our eyes. We cannot let this willful blindness obscure the truth about abortion. It is a harmful product that kills women and their children, and it needs to be recalled before one more mother exercises her freedom of choice and dies in the process.

Please go to RecallAbortion.com and sign the petition to demand that abortion is taken off the market.

And if you are not convinced then read my book, Recall Abortion where there is compelling evidence as to why this product called abortion should be recalled!

 

Janet Morana is executive director of Priests for Life and co-founder of  Silent No More Awareness Campaign.  This column and more like it can be read on Janet’s Blog.

Another Botched Abortion

Another Botched Abortion

Defending Freedom Means Proclaiming Truth

By Father Frank Pavone

It’s an election year, and it’s time to open our mouths, in the Church, about politics, candidates, and the right to life.

Our fight for our unborn brothers and sisters is a fight for freedom and against tyranny; for people and against oppressive governments. Our Founding Fathers fought this fight, and so must we, with the same readiness for self-sacrifice.

This is true for every American. How much more true is it for us as the Church, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ? The Gospel is a Gospel of freedom. “I have come to proclaim liberty to the captives…to let the oppressed go free,” Jesus said in defining his mission.

Carrying out this mission requires the freedom to speak the truth as we understand it. Not only was this fundamental right explicitly acknowledged by our Founding Fathers and placed at the top of the Bill of Rights, but it has been affirmed time and time again by the Supreme Court, not only to point out the existence of such freedom, but also its characteristics.

In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (376 U.S. 254, 270 (1964)), the Court asserted that the protection of citizens to advocate for particular issues reflects our “profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open”

In 2010, the Supreme Court also affirmed the following:

“Speech is an essential mechanism of democracy, for it is the means to hold officials accountable to the people. The right of citizens to inquire, to hear, to speak, and to use information to reach consensus is a precondition to enlightened self-government and a necessary means to protect it. The First Amendment ‘has its fullest and most urgent application to speech uttered during a campaign for political office.’”

“[I]t is inherent in the nature of the political process that voters must be free to obtain information from diverse sources in order to determine how to cast their votes.” (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010)).

The corresponding freedom of the Church to speak and teach the truth — a freedom also contained in the Founders’ recognition of freedom of religion — is something explicitly insisted upon in the Church’s own documents. This freedom is, in fact, an essential aspect of the Great Commission left by Jesus Christ: “Preach the Gospel to every creature.” “Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you.” Because the Gospel covers every aspect of life and human activity, the Church must also be free to comment on political matters. In this regard we see the following strong statement from the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes):

“At all times and in all places, the Church should have the true freedom to teach the faith, to proclaim its teaching about society, to carry out its task among men without hindrance, and to pass moral judgment even in matters relating to politics, whenever the fundamental rights of man or the salvation of souls requires it.”

Rev. Pavone is national director of Priests for Life

 

Visit BillLawrenceDittos.com for Defending Freedom Means Proclaiming Truth
Visit BillLawrenceOnline.com for Defending Freedom Means Proclaiming Truth