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No person who is truly Catholic can take a position of “pro-choice” or vote for a law supporting the so-called right to abortion, Bishop Samuel Aquila said in a Sept. 28 homily
Oct. 8, 2008
 

At a Sept. 28 Mass which preceded a Eucharistic procession of 1,000 people to the state of North Dakota’s only abortion facility, Bishop Samuel Aquila of the Catholic Diocese of Fargo said Catholics who are “pro-choice” are “pro-abortion and participating in an intrinsic evil and promoting an unjust law.”

Bishop Aquila referred to Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae in noting that abortion and other intrinsic evils can never be justified by human law. He quoted the encyclical:  “In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to ‘take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or vote for it’” (Evangelium Vitae 73). Bishop Aquila then expanded upon the quote. “In other words, if one is truly Catholic and truly faithful to the laws of God, to reason and to faith in Jesus Christ, he or she can never be pro-choice, because, if they are, they are pro-abortion and participating in an intrinsic evil and promoting an unjust law. No Catholic can take a position of pro-choice or vote for a law supporting a so-called right to abortion.”

Bishop Aquila countered three arguments that attempt to justify abortion. First, he said, the question of when life begins “is a matter of reason and science”, not faith or opinion. Life “begins at the moment of conception,” he said.
 


Bishop Samuel Aquila led an estimated 1,000 people in a Eucharistic procession to the state of North Dakota's only abortion facility Sept. 28.
(Photo by Ron Fischer for New Earth)

 

Second, the bishop said, some say that because we live in a pluralistic society that has many different points of view, people should be free to determine what they will believe and support. “Every human society recognizes that there are certain truths that can never be violated,” Bishop Aquila said. “We cannot use the lie of pluralism to justify intrinsic evils.” Read more.

A video of Bishop Aquila's homily can be found here. (Trouble with the video? Try the audio version, requires Windows Media Player.)

Bishop Samuel Aquila prays at abortion facility for 40 Days for Life North Dakota
Oct. 3, 2008


Bishop Samuel Aquila prayed outside the state of North Dakota's only abortion facility Oct. 1 as part of the 40 Days for Life North Dakota effort. To Bishop Aquila's right is Father Luke Meyer, chancellor for the Fargo Diocese. (Photo by Tanya Watterud)

Three days after leading an estimated 1,000 participants in a Eucharistic procession to the state of North Dakota’s only abortion facility, Bishop Samuel Aquila of the Catholic Diocese of Fargo fulfilled his scheduled hour of prayer for the 40 Days for Life North Dakota effort by praying Oct. 1 on the sidewalk outside the abortion facility.

Bishop Aquila was joined by Father Luke Meyer, diocesan chancellor, and others who were praying for an end to abortion. Bishop Aquila joined in praying the rosary, then prayed silently and interacted with people who stopped to talk.

Read the entire press release.

Bishop Samuel Aquila cites Sen. Joseph Biden’s “lack of knowledge and understanding of Catholic teaching on abortion”
Sept. 10, 2008

Two weeks after stating that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s Aug. 24 comments about Catholic teaching concerning when human life begins, made on NBC’s Meet the Press, were “misinformed” and “created confusion,” Bishop Samuel Aquila of the Catholic Diocese of Fargo cited Sen. Joseph Biden’s “lack of knowledge and understanding of Catholic teaching on abortion.”

During a Sept. 7 interview on Meet the Press, Biden said he accepted Catholic teaching that life begins at conception but would not “impose that judgment on everyone else.”


Bishop Samuel J. Aquila

Bishop Aquila, who has frequently cautioned Catholics about separating their faith from their public life, responded firmly to Biden’s statement, noting that both Pelosi and Biden, who are Catholics, misrepresented Church teaching and disregarded science.

“Senator Biden, and all others who mistakenly claim that the beginning of life is a matter of religious opinion confuse matters more by implying that the time of when life begins is a matter of faith, and not that of science, the natural law, or truth,” Bishop Aquila wrote in a Sept. 10 letter to priests which was posted on the diocesan Web site. “Any person who has studied biology, whether they are a Catholic, Jew, Muslim, Christian, agnostic or atheist, knows that human life begins at the moment of conception.”

Bishop Aquila asked priests to share with people in their parishes the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ fact sheet, “Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church’s Constant Teaching” which was written in response to Pelosi’s Aug. 24 comments and to “address this clarification of teaching from the pulpit.”

The bishop noted the responsibility of priests to “clearly articulate the truths of natural reason and the teaching of the Church and help all of our faithful understand the teaching.”

“We cannot be silent in the face of such a holocaust of innocent human life,” Bishop Aquila added.

Bishop Aquila: Nancy Pelosi's misinformed comments do not reflect the true teaching of the Catholic Church
Bishop Samuel Aquila, in an Aug. 26 letter to priests, deacons, seminarians and others, noted that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's comments on abortion and Catholic teaching, made Aug. 24 on "Meet the Press," were "misinformed. By her statement in a public manner she has created confusion in regard to Catholic teaching."

Those who have studied the Catechism of the Catholic Church, John Paul II's encyclical The Gospel of Life and have read the Church Fathers, the bishop wrote, "can easily recognize the flaws in her remarks on the teaching of the Church concerning when human life begins. The right to life from conception is the pre-eminent social justice and human rights issue of our time."

He continued, "As your bishop, I have the responsibility to present to you the authentic teaching of the Church, to correct the misinformation she has given, and finally to warn you that those who oppose the true teaching are not in good standing with the Church."

Bishop Aquila noted that he fully supports a statement issued by Archbishop Charles Chaput and Auxiliary Bishop James Conley which clarifies the Catholic teaching on abortion and addresses Pelosi's comments.

"The Christian teaching on abortion throughout history is unchanged," Bishop Aquila wrote. "Human life from the moment of conception is to always be respected, treated with dignity, and protected. Catholics who support so called abortion rights support a false right, promote a culture of death, and are guided by the “father of lies” rather than by the light and truth of Jesus Christ. Out of respect for the teaching of Jesus Christ and the Church, any Catholic who supports abortion rights has placed himself or herself outside of visible unity with the Church and thus should refrain from receiving Holy Communion. Catholics have a responsibility to study the teaching of the Church on human life and when life begins. This teaching is affirmed by revelation and is a basic truth of natural reason. I ask all of you in your presentations, teaching, or preaching to state the truth of this teaching in an unequivocal manner."

To help end confusion caused by recent misrepresentations of Catholic Church teaching on abortion, the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities has issued a two-page fact sheet called “Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church’s Constant Teaching.”


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