CV NEWS FEED // The US bishops rebuked a group of Catholic lawmakers in the House for signing a letter which claimed to invoke Catholic teaching in support of legal abortion.
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine, issued a joint corrective statement in response to the letter by Catholic Democrats.
“Members of Congress who recently invoked teachings of the Catholic faith itself as justifying abortion or supporting a supposed right to abortion grievously distort the faith. It is wrong and incoherent to claim that the taking of innocent human life at its most vulnerable stage can ever be consistent with the values of supporting the dignity and wellbeing of those in need,” the US bishops stated.
The bishops noted that the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception.”
The bishops added that the defense of unborn children does not rest solely on religious doctrine or Church teaching alone. “The reality that the preborn are our living sisters and brothers is not only a matter of faith, but is attested to by science and sound reason,” the bishops stated.
The letter from the 30 self-processed Catholic Democrats decried that women were stripped of the “right” to abortion, escalating an “ongoing reproductive healthcare crisis in this country.”
CatholicVote President Brian Burch thanked the US bishops for their strong statement.
“We are thankful that the US bishops were quick to rebuke these Catholic lawmakers who invoked Church teaching to support their relentless war on unborn children,” said Burch.
