{"id":6327,"date":"2014-05-16T08:04:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-16T08:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/italian-bishops-abortion-clinic-remark-draws-criticism\/"},"modified":"2014-05-16T08:04:00","modified_gmt":"2014-05-16T08:04:00","slug":"italian-bishops-abortion-clinic-remark-draws-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/05\/italian-bishops-abortion-clinic-remark-draws-criticism\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian bishop’s abortion clinic remark draws criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Florence, Italy, May 16, 2014 \/ 02:04 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- An Italian bishop's comment that appeared to denigrate pro-life advocates who pray at abortion clinics drew criticism from a pro-life leader in the U.K., who said their witness helps save lives.<\/p>\n

\tBishop Nunzio Galantino of Cassano all'Jonio, who is also secretary-general of the Italian bishops' conference, told the Florentine newspaper La Nazione May 12 that \u201cI don\u2019t identify with the expressionless person who stands outside the abortion clinic reciting their rosary, but with young people, who are still against this practice, but are instead fighting for quality of life, their health, their right to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe remark drew a response from John Smeaton, director of the U.K.-based Society for the Protection of Unborn Children.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI thought I would let you know that I do identify with the person outside the abortion clinic praying their rosary, whether or not the person is expressionless,\u201d he said in an open letter to the bishop posted to Smeaton\u2019s blog May 13.<\/p>\n

\tThe pro-life leader noted that he constantly receives messages from a pro-life group that stands and prays outside of a west London abortion clinic. These messages recount the stories of young women who \u201cseeing the people outside the abortion clinics praying, change their minds and keep their baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tSmeaton also questioned Bishop Galantino\u2019s statement that Catholics in the past \u201chave concentrated too much on abortion and euthanasia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe pro-life leader replied: \u201cIt's probably fair to say that tens of thousands of unborn children, each one made in the image and likeness of God, are killed every day throughout the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cYour Excellency, if it were Catholic priests or Jews who were being killed, or threatened with being killed, by national laws in Britain or in other parts of the world \u2013 would we expect, any day of the week, ever to enter a Catholic Church for Mass without the matter being mentioned, or being prayed about at that Mass?\u201d he said in his letter to Bishop Galantino.<\/p>\n

\tSmeaton suggested that if laws allowed Catholic priests or Jews to be killed, the bishop would probably say \u201cWe can never do enough to denounce this grotesque evil.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tSmeaton, who voiced hope that the bishop\u2019s comment had been misreported, asked Bishop Galantino to reconsider his reported position.<\/p>\n

\tBishop Galantino has also been criticized for his statement, in the same interview, that \u201cmy hope for the Italian Church is that it is able to listen without any taboo to the arguments in favor of married priests, the Eucharist for the divorced, and homosexuality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Italian bishops\u2019 conference will hold its annual assembly May 19-23. Pope Francis will for the first time give its inaugural address.<\/p>\n

\tPope Francis has taken a multi-faceted approach to abortion. He has stressed that it must be discussed in the proper context of the Christian faith.<\/p>\n

\tAt the same time, he has also forcefully denounced abortion as an aspect of a \u201cthrowaway culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tEvery child \u201cunjustly condemned to be aborted\u201d has \u201cthe face of Jesus Christ,\u201d he told a group of doctors at the Vatican in September 2013.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Florence, Italy, May 16, 2014 \/ 02:04 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- An Italian bishop's comment that appeared to denigrate pro-life advocates who pray at abortion clinics drew criticism from a pro-life leader in the U.K., who said their witness helps save l…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe"],"yoast_head":"\nItalian bishop's abortion clinic remark draws criticism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Florence, Italy, May 16, 2014 \/ 02:04 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- An Italian bishop's comment that appeared to denigrate pro-life advocates who pray at abortion clinics drew criticism from a pro-life leader in the U.K., who said their witness helps save l...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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