PrintMarch 20, 2010
Taxpayer-Funded Abortion on Demand, Courtesy of a Catholic and a Mormon
It is beyond ironic that a Mormon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and a Catholic, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, are in charge of passing ObamaCare. If passed, the legislation will federally fund elective abortions in every state. Reid's and Pelosi's respective religions, both of which (at least according to the churches' official doctrines) ardently oppose abortion, are letting them get away with it. Apparently, in this day and age, the powerful are exempt from following God's laws.
While having been formed centuries apart and on different continents, the Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS, or Mormons) share some strikingly similar attributes. The leader of the Catholic Church, its Pope, and the leader of the LDS Church, its President, are selected from the innermost ring of their churches' hierarchies. In each church, this ring is representative of the original twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Each church believes that its respective leader is divinely inspired and speaks for God.
Both churches have clear and exacting positions on what they believe to be God's teachings and the tenets to which humans must adhere in order to live a morally honorable life. Failure of a church member to adhere to core and fundamental doctrines results in discipline -- and can even lead to excommunication (expulsion).
Yet it appears that both churches are becoming more humanistic by turning a blind eye to some of their core teachings -- as well as by making exceptions to crucial doctrines for the political class. Did God stop talking to these leaders?
The Catholic Church has ten core tenets referred to as the Ten Commandments. The fifth of these commandments includes a provision that prohibits the killing of humans, commonly referred to as murder. For centuries, the Catholic Church has held that abortion is murder and accordingly has forbidden the practice.
In November of 1974, Pope Paul VI, considered the most open and modernizing Pope in recent history, set forth a twenty-seven-point "Declaration on Procured Abortion." It remains the current position of the Catholic Church:
The right to life is no less to be respected in the small infant just born than in the mature person. In reality, respect for human life is called for from the time that the process of generation begins. From the time that the ovum is fertilized, a life is begun which is neither that of the father nor of the mother, it is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth. It would never be made human if it were not human already.
Nevertheless, a small group of sixty American nuns, who have allegedly devoted their lives to the Catholic Church, sent a letter to the U.S. Congress supporting abortion. This is a position in direct contravention of the divinely inspired teachings and declarations of the Catholic Church.
In response, the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, the sanctioned society representing women of over 103 Catholic service organizations in America, sent a letter to Congress officially opposing the proposed health care bill:
In a March 15th statement, Cardinal Francis George, OMI, of Chicago, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, spoke on behalf of the United States Bishops in opposition to the Senate's version of the health care legislation under consideration because of its expansion of abortion funding and its lack of adequate provision for conscience protection.... Protection of life and freedom of conscience are central to morally responsible judgment. We join the bishops in seeking ethically sound legislation.
No action has been taken by the Vatican to discipline the sixty rogue nuns who chose to openly and defiantly misrepresent the Catholic Church's position on abortion to Congress, to U.S. citizens, to the world.
Pope Paul VI was equally clear that it is a violation of the Catholic Church's basic tenets to support and/or vote for abortion:
It must in any case be clearly understood that whatever may be laid down by civil law in this matter, man can never obey a law which is in itself immoral, and such is the case of a law which would admit in principle the liceity of abortion. Nor can he take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or vote for it.
Nancy Pelosi, purportedly Catholic, has long been an open proponent for abortion and today is the leading champion for nationally funded abortion. Pelosi was granted an audience with the sitting Pope. The Pope merely criticized Pelosi for her position and failed to take any disciplinary action for Pelosi's open "propaganda campaign in favor" of abortion. Meanwhile, Pelosi's local priest in San Francisco continues to give her communion -- even though the Pope has stated that those who support abortion should not take part in the Catholic sacrament.
The official position of the LDS (Mormon) Church on abortion closely mirrors that of the Catholic Church. The LDS Presidency has emphatically stated the position of their church, likening abortion to murder:
Abortion must be considered one of the most revolting and sinful practices in this day, when we are witnessing the frightening evidence of permissiveness leading to sexual immorality.Members of the Church guilty of being parties to the sin of abortion must be subjected to the disciplinary action of the councils of the Church as circumstances warrant. In dealing with this serious matter, it would be well to keep in mind the word of the Lord stated in the 59th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, verse 6, "Thou shalt not steal; neither commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unto it." [Emphasis added.]
But the Mormon Church has taken no "disciplinary action" against Harry Reid. According to the Salt Lake Tribune:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid keeps a copy of the Book of Mormon in his office just off the chamber floor. There's a second copy handy to give away to someone in need of spiritual guidance.The Temple-recommend-carrying Reid is very active in his church, say fellow members in the Washington area.
Only the most obedient of Mormons are given "temple recommends." These recommends allow faithful members access to the Church's sacred temple ceremonies. Harry Reid, despite his vocal and public support for legislation that provides federal funds for abortion, is known to have such a "temple recommend."
Abortion is murder unless one is the Senate Majority Leader or Speaker of the House, just as advocating abortion is a sin unless one is the Senate Majority Leader or Speaker of the House.
In the ultimate slap in the face to the Catholic Pope and the Mormon President, Pelosi and Reid have joined in the demand that the congressional health care vote be set for Sunday. Under both Catholic and Mormon doctrines, Sunday is a day of rest, a day set aside for the worship of God. Yet on this Sunday, in the middle of Lent, America's most powerful Catholic and Mormon are abandoning God in favor of nationally funded abortion on demand.
Eileen McDevitt is a retired attorney. Larrey Anderson is a writer, a philosopher, and submissions editor for American Thinker. He is the author of The Order of the Beloved, and the memoir Underground: Life and Survival in the Russian Black Market.
