VP Debate Follow Up:The Catholic Church, Abortion and Politics

The Vice Presidential Debate demonstrated a stark contrast in views of what the Catholic Church teaches about abortion and how that mixes with politics. Watch the video first and then review what the Catechism has to say about abortion.

This is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:
You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.
God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes. 

2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae," "by the very commission of the offense," and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society. 

2273 The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation [emphasis added]:
"The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death." 

"The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined. . . . As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child's rights."

Biden's "profession that he is personally opposed to abortion while supporting its legalization fails to acknowledge the life-taking reality of abortion." (CNA) This mindset either suggests that one is lying or  has a serious disconnect from reality. It would be like someone saying, I am opposed to enslaving people from Africa, but I would never think about imposing that view on anyone. How ridiculous does that sound? In this day and age, who would make such a statement and get away with it?

Ryan's answer about how his Catholic faith informs his precisely the approach Catholics should be taking. Now in all fairness, the Romney-Ryan position is not perfect. The Church teaches that abortion is wrong in all circumstance; there are no exceptions for rape, incest or health of the mother. This may seem like a harsh position, but it is consistent. To hold a contrary view is contradictory and undermines the dignity of all life. We cannot determine that one life is more valuable than another.

When I first heard Biden's comments, I was reminded of St. Josemaria's statement in The Way (#353) about living a duplicitous life:

Have you ever bothered to think how absurd it is to leave one's Catholicism aside on entering a university, or a professional association, or a scholarly meeting, or Congress, as if you were checking your hat at the door?