{"id":16341,"date":"2014-02-14T17:55:58","date_gmt":"2014-02-14T22:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathyschiffer\/?p=16341"},"modified":"2016-09-30T15:53:36","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T20:53:36","slug":"what-did-cardinal-bernardins-seamless-garment-really-say-about-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathyschiffer\/2014\/02\/what-did-cardinal-bernardins-seamless-garment-really-say-about-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"What Did Cardinal Bernardin’s \u201cSeamless Garment\u201d REALLY Say About Abortion?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>
Cardinal Bernardin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Cardinal Bernardin was not, as some have alleged, soft on abortion. <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This week the cardinal\u2019s long-time assistant, Mary Hallan FioRito, made that point in a letter published in the Wall Street Journal<\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I have often heard from ardent pro-lifers<\/strong> that Cardinal Bernardin\u2019s \u201cSeamless Garment\u201d policy did great damage to the cause of the unborn. The \u201cSeamless Garment,\u201d they say, placed abortion on an even plain with poverty and unemployment and immigration\u2014other societal issues which are important but which, according to one friend, do not result in a dead human in a trash bucket.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A recent article by Nicholas Hahn<\/strong> in the Wall Street Journal <\/em>attempted to make that same point. He quoted Archbishop Michael Sheehan of Santa Fe, who said in an interview last October, <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe point that [Bernardin\u2019s] consistent ethic makes is exactly the same point that Pope Francis is making\u2014let\u2019s look at the whole picture and not just focus almost exclusively on three or so issues.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cCardinal Bernardin,\u201d <\/em>Hahn wrote,\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026who led the archdiocese from 1982 until his death in 1996, espoused a liberal line that has helped give pro-abortion Catholic supporters of the Obama administration theological cover.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mary Hallan FioRito strongly disagrees,<\/strong> and backs up her contention with quotes drawn from the Cardinal\u2019s own writings. Responding to Hahn\u2019s column, FioRito wrote:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

As the person who served as the pro-life spokesperson for Joseph Cardinal Bernardin from 1993 until his death, I write to correct Nicholas G. Hahn III\u2019s assertion that Bernardin \u201cmaintained that matters as varied as the death penalty, the minimum wage and how to wage war should be considered on the same moral plane as abortion\u201d (<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201cThe Pope\u2019s Chicago Cardinal,\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0 Houses of Worship, Feb. 7).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Hahn is right to be troubled that, especially in the political arena, the \u201cconsistent ethic of life\u201d has sometimes been employed to justify support for legal abortion. Yet in a 1988 interview, when he was directly asked about some Catholics who were \u201cless visible about right-to-life issues,\u201d Bernardin noted: \u201cI know that some people on the left, if I might use that label, have used the consistent ethic to give the impression that the abortion issue is not all that important anymore, that you should be against abortion in a general way, but that there are more important issues, so don\u2019t hold anybody\u2019s feet to the fire just on abortion. That\u2019s a misuse of the consistent ethic, and I deplore it.\u201d (National Catholic Register, June 12, 1988). Moreover, the Cardinal said, \u201cI\u2019ve made it very clear that at any given time, one issue may have to be given much higher priority than others. I\u2019ve never said they were all equal or required equal attention.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

As Cardinal Bernardin pointed out, \u201cwhatever diminishes life or destroys it is evil.\u201d It\u2019s true that some people have manipulated his words to suit their own agendas, but as the cardinal himself stated, \u201cthe misuse does not invalidate the argument.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Mary Hallan FioRito<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Archdiocese of Chicago<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cardinal Bernardin was not, as some have alleged, soft on abortion. This week the cardinal\u2019s long-time assistant, Mary Hallan FioRito, made that point in a letter published in the Wall Street Journal. I have often heard from ardent pro-lifers that Cardinal Bernardin\u2019s \u201cSeamless Garment\u201d policy did great damage to the cause of the unborn. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":556,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,49,871],"tags":[1543,1542,1544],"class_list":["post-16341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abortion","category-catholic","category-catholic-social-teaching","tag-cardinal-joseph-bernardin","tag-seamless-garment","tag-wall-street-journal"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Did Cardinal Bernardin's \u201cSeamless Garment\u201d REALLY Say About Abortion?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cardinal Bernardin was not, as some have alleged, soft on abortion. 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