Mark Shea has been very forthright of late in criticizing the co-option of the pro-life movement by the anti-life elements of the GOP (not being a regular reader, I don’t know if this is new or not). Here is a sample:
“In our focus on abortion, we are forgetting that larger cultural forces are *using* us and that prudence bids us to pay attention to that and not let our fight for the unborn get co-opted by people who only wish to use us, not help us or the unborn…the average pro-lifer (and with Catholics the stats are even higher) has tended to identify with and defend things nobody calling themselves “prolife” should ever have tried to defend: namely, practically everything the Bush Administration did, no matter how stupid or criminal…We may wish that the kidz at ND could see more clearly the intentions of prolifers in wanting to save babies. But the fact remains that they perceive prolifers largely as tools of a discredited political party.”
Well said. Of course, this point is pellucidly clear when you have a group of leading Catholic supposed pro-lifers (from Deal Hudson to Judie Brown to Jimmy Akin to Michael Novak to Sirico/ Arroyo to David Carlin) all defending, to some extent or other, torture by the United States (something we know is intrinsically evil). But this has been clear to me for many year, long before Dick Cheney and his waterboard arrived on the scene, as I watched Catholic discourse turn in a more evangelical direction, where Catholic strategists deliberately aligned themselves with the so-called “religious right”, the largely southern-based evangelical movement that now dominates the GOP.
The goal was to focus on abortion, and play down the stuff that didn’t sit well with the new allies. It was quite deliberate. In the process, they lost much of what was inherently Catholic teaching, and many Catholics today have fallen under the sway of other ideologies. Look at Weigel’s distortion of just war theory. Look at Novak’s embrace of laissez-faire liberalism and Reaganite policies. Whatever happened to once-core issues like reducing poverty and inequality, the right to health care, combating global warming, the importance of unions, the right to a just wage, the need to stand with immigrants, and ending the death penalty? Catholic social teaching is incredibly rich and beautiful, and yet remains largely unknown, even to Catholics.
And yet everybody knows that the Church stands in staunch opposition to abortion. They also think it stands with the Republican party on other issues, both in substance and tone. Think about this. The Republican party has never been more unpopular. Some polls show a mere 21 percent identifying with this party. This presents a grave problem. And let’s face it — that was the end result of the Notre Dame fiasco. Catholics were identified with this cohort, unfairly, yes, but understandably so. Our bishops have sadly been asleep at the wheel — unlike the Vatican, which treated in whole thing in a measured way, they either stayed quiet or jumped on the bandwagon.
Of course, the unborn are the losers in all of this. The secularists view opposition to abortion as intolerance – they claim it amounts to forcing our religious beliefs down the throats of women, the real victims. The only way to counter this misconception is to look to our own backyard and embrace the whole of Catholic social teaching, beginning with the uncompromising dignity of every human person, made in the image and likeness of God. How different would it be if Catholics were seen as unashamedly opposed to abortion, but equally opposed to torture and unjust war and in favor of the preferential option for the poor and solidarity? I would say very different.
Cardinal Bernardin was prophetic. He knew well that a true pro-life position meant adopting a consistent ethic of life, a seamless garment. He took this position not just because all issues are important, but because all issues are linked. And yet he was subject to ferocious attacks from the right at the time. It has never been more clear to me that Bernardin was right. Sadly, he died too early, weighed down by a great many undignified attacks, including from some of his brother bishops. Let’s hope our episcopal leaders learn from the mistakes of the recent past, and continue where Bernardin left off.
(And before I am besieged by the usual silly responses, no, a Catholic pro-life full-scale alliance with the Democratic party would be equally disastrous).
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