Statement in response to Catholics for Choice campaign
On Monday, full-page advertisements ran in the San Antonio Express-News, the Houston Chronicle, and the Dallas Morning News from a Washington D.C.-based entity called Catholics for Choice.
Despite what is implied by its name, Catholics for Choice is not a member-oriented organization and has no affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church. Instead, it is financed by grants from a few secular organizations pushing a pro-abortion agenda. It seldom ventures beyond Washington to Texas, unless it is to buy expensive, full-page ads when it serves their pro-abortion agenda.
It is not clear why Catholics for Choice chose a handful of individuals identifying themselves as Catholics as ambassadors for the false premise that refusal to pay for someone’s abortion is an assault on anyone’s God-given dignity. The only assault on dignity in this discussion is the abortion, which ends one life and irrevocably diminishes countless other lives.
The misguided campaign of the so-called “Catholics for Choice” organization misrepresents the moral guidance of our Church. The Bishops of the United States, in accord with our Holy Father, Pope Francis, have been unequivocal in proclaiming the dignity of unborn human life. Millions of Catholics in Texas actively live out this teaching in our pro-life ministries and advocacy.
Nor is it clear why this small activist group insists on describing itself as “Catholic” when it apparently declines to embrace and live the principles of the Catholic faith. Catholic social teaching is based on and inseparable from our understanding of human life and human dignity. Every person, from the moment of conception to natural death, has inherent dignity and a right to life consistent with that dignity. Catholics, by definition, are in accord with the essential teachings of the Church and embrace the faith that has been handed down to us through Jesus Christ and the apostles. Someone cannot call themselves a Catholic, yet reject the sanctity of life by active support of abortion.