Originally posted by Fightdirector:
Roman Catholic Bishop Anthony B. Taylor from his speech at the diocesan Respect Life Conference Aug. 29, 2009 at St. John Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.
"http://www.arkansas-catholic.org/article.php?id=1858"
quote:
Though abortion is by far the greatest moral evil we face today, Jesus' call to respect the sanctity of life and the intrinsic worth of the human person does not end the day a child exits from his mother's womb - and it is here that we run into opposition even within the Church. No Catholic has any reason to misunderstand the teaching of the Church regarding abortion; the matter is so clear-cut that the only people who still seem "not to get it" are those who, for their own reasons, knowingly reject the teaching of the Church, and of course - also for their own reasons - some of our so-called Catholic politicians.
But what about the other pro-life issues? You can be sure that if you teach what the Church teaches regarding any pro-life issue other than abortion, you will be subjected to a good deal of unpleasantness coming even from fellow Catholics, who - again, for their own reasons - reject Church teaching regarding the immorality of in vitro fertilization, embryonic stem-cell research, artificial contraception, sterilization, sexual morality, universal access to health care, economic justice, access to education, help for the poor and needy, euthanasia, and issues related to war, the rights of immigrants and capital punishment. These form a consistent ethic of life - break one thread and the protection for the sanctity of all life is diminished and soon the whole garment comes unraveled, including - as we know all too well - protection even for the child in the womb.
If you are a Catholic, are you a "al-la-carte Catholic" - for example, you support capital punishment and oppose universal health care but oppose abortion?
In short, do you pick and choose the Church teachings you like and follow them - and reject the Church teachings you dislike and do the opposite of what the Church teaches?
