Catholic Bishops, Obama, and Abortion

The GOP isn’t the only group having trouble deciding on post-election message discipline and policy direction. From John Allen at the National Catholic Reporter:

Two things seem clear from the U.S. bishops’ much-anticipated discussion of abortion and politics during [the US Conference of Catholic Bishops'] fall meeting in Baltimore: The bishops are united in making the fight against abortion their top political priority, but they’re no closer to agreement on what to do about Catholics, especially Catholic politicians, who won’t fall in line.

The hardliners are easy to understand: it’s all about abortion, and anything short of an outright ban on all abortions is condoning murder. Period — end of discussion. Their more moderate colleagues, on the other hand, point out that (a) even with a GOP sweep, there’s never going to be an outright legal ban, and (b) Democrats are much more committed to addressing the underlying issues that lead some women to consider abortion — lack of education, poverty, etc. Jesuit Thomas Reece looked at the results of the November elections and noted that despite the push by some conservative bishops, the laity rejected their rhetoric. His description of the majority of lay Catholic voters also could describe the more moderate bishops: "These pragmatic pro-lifers wanted results not rhetoric."

Chicago’s Cardinal George, the head of the USCCB, will get headlines for his warning to Obama about abortion, especially the Freedom of Choice Act. The adoption of a new "Blessing of a Child in the Womb" will also get some attention. But other bishops had a different message.

DC Archbishop Donald Wuerl stated he would not refuse Vice President-elect Biden communion. Similarly, Bishop Blase Cupich of Rapid City, SD (South Dakota!) noted, “A prophecy of denunciation quickly wears thin."

Completely under the radar in the secular press, however, are the elections that chose bishops to chair various USCCB committees. When the results of the secret ballot were announced, it was apparent that the hardliners took it on the chin. Outspoken conservative KC KS Bishop Joseph Naumann lost his bid (59-165!) to head up the Committee on Pro-Life Activities. (Naumann made headlines for telling Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to refrain from taking communion, amend her life, and apologize for her public stance on abortion.) Also painful to conservatives was the election of Archbishop Wuerl to head the Committee on Doctrine.

Whatever the bishops say in their official statements, that 165-59 secret ballot vote speaks volumes. The hardliners may get the headlines, but there are a lot of more pragmatic bishops who are getting tired of the shouting.

But that won’t stop the hardliners. Does their whine sound familiar? It’s the same one that we’re hearing from folks like Limbaugh in the secular conservative world: "We just weren’t conservative enough."

Right.

Related posts:

1. Catholic Bishops Enact Plan for “300,000 Terri Schiavos”
2. Harsh Immigration Provision in Senate Health Care Bill Denounced by Catholic Bishops
3. And the Catholic Bishops Endorse! A Special Thank-You To Planned Parenthood and NARAL
4. I Wonder What Bart Stupak’s Donors Think About Financing Anti-Abortion Activists?
5. How the Senate Abortion Language Differs from Stupak