{"id":26172,"date":"2020-09-01T19:28:10","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T17:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vincenzopaglia.it\/?p=26172"},"modified":"2020-09-01T19:35:06","modified_gmt":"2020-09-01T17:35:06","slug":"catholic-politicians-cannot-protect-or-promote-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vincenzopaglia.it\/index.php\/catholic-politicians-cannot-protect-or-promote-abortion.html","title":{"rendered":"Catholic Politicians Cannot Protect or Promote Abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"
Catholic News Agency<\/strong><\/div>\n
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ROME \u2014 The president of the Pontifical Academy for Life said Saturday that Catholic politicians should not promote legal protections of any kind for abortion, and called Catholics to promote the Gospel of Life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Church is very clear in this regard. It is a response from the Catechism. It is a great mistake to promote legislation on abortion and euthanasia,\u201d Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia said Aug. 29, during a meeting organized by CELAM, the Latin American organization of bishops.<\/p>\n

The Archbishop offered a presentation on Pope St. John Paul II\u2019s 1995\u00a0encyclical<\/a>\u00a0Evangelium vitae<\/em>, or \u201cThe Gospel of Life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catholic politicians \u201cmust stop promoting laws against the life\u201d of the unborn, Archbishop Paglia said during his remarks. \u201cThere is no doubt about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Archbishop said that political leaders should try to improve \u201cbad and sinful legislation\u201d and added that \u201cpoliticians, both Christians and other politicians, have to hear the validity of supporting and aiding the lives of all, and especially of the most fragile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of that obligation, Archbishop Paglia, said, \u201cthere is no doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about the possibility of censuring politicians who support abortion legislation, Archbishop Paglia said such figures \u201care certainly in error,\u201d adding that while \u201cwe are interested in the condemnation of sin\u201d the Church\u2019s focus must be \u201csalvation of the sinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are interested in the clarity of condemning the error but we must do everything to convert the one who errs, to help save him,\u201d Archbishop Paglia added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Church has a great responsibility so that its members, first of all, convert to the Gospel of life, to the beauty of life. It is important that we avoid the dirty work of death and carry out the beautiful work of life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Archbishop\u2019s comments came amid considerable debate in several Latin American countries over the prospect of legally protecting abortion. They also came amid fierce debate over abortion in the context of the U.S. presidential election.<\/p>\n

A Boston priest\u00a0apologized last week\u00a0after he said he believes in a \u201cwomen\u2019s right to choose,\u201d while he endorsed pro-choice presidential candidate Joe Biden. Boston\u2019s Cardinal Sean O\u2019Malley\u00a0said in response to the endorsement\u00a0that Catholics have a right to expect priests will teach the Church\u2019s opposition to abortion clearly and unequivocally.<\/p>\n

Portland, Maine\u2019s Bishop Robert Deeley said in a homily this weekend that \u201cour decision as to how we vote should be grounded in our care for each other, and particularly for those who are most needy. Our civil society does not have a religious creed. We treasure our religious freedom, and our ability to worship and live our faith as we feel called, but we also believe that we are not stopped from allowing our faith to inform our vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRespect for the dignity of each human person is the core of Catholic social and moral teaching. The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred, from conception to natural death, and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society,\u201d the bishop said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe focus on the common good, not our own personal interests. We ask, how can we make the world a better place, not how can I improve my own personal situation?\u201d<\/p>\n

While Bishop Deeley focused on the principles of voting for Catholics, some prominent Catholics have endorsed particular candidates in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

Sr. Deirdre\u00a0Byrne, a surgeon and retired army colonel, spoke at the Republican National Convention, where she called President Donald Trump\u00a0\u201cthe most pro-life president this nation has ever had,\u201d in an endorsement of the president.<\/p>\n

Also last week, two priests and two religious sisters were among several hundred religious leaders who signed the\u00a0Faith 2020 endorsement of Biden\u2019s campaign. One of those priests was Jesuit Fr. Greg Boyle,\u00a0head of Homeboy Industries, a Los Angeles gang rehabilitation initiative. Another signatory, retired Washington priest Fr. Peter Daly, is a columnist at the National Catholic Reporter, as is signatory Sr. Christine Schenk, a National Catholic Reporter board member.<\/p>\n

Canon law prohibits priests and members of religious orders from endorsing political candidates without the permission of their ecclesiastical superiors.<\/p>\n

In his remarks Saturday, Archbishop Paglia spoke also about \u201cgender ideology,\u201d which he called a \u201ccultural setback.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catholics must \u201ctell the promoters of this doctrine that they are going backwards, that they are going even against the evolution of Darwin. There are millions of years in which evolution shapes man and woman in different ways. Diversity and richness, that’s the theme. Unfortunately today, a secular culture cannot sustain the force of diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Archbishop Paglia also highlighted the importance of rediscovering “the alliance of man and woman,” as well as their “diversity that permeates and generates life” in marriage and the family.<\/p>\n

The Archbishop called Catholics to \u201creflect on the contents of our faith and transmit it to the school, university, economy, politics, art, literature,\u201d and other aspects of culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Church is much more expert than the others in humanity. We have the gift of the Spirit to offer wise reflections beyond those of others. The problem is waking up from the dream and abandoning the interiority that makes us play defense. Today we need to be able to show the height, the depth and the beauty of the Christian mystery,\u201d Archbishop Paglia added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n