The misleading ad that distorts the noble Catholic social justice tradition.
September 12, 2016
A recent full-page advertisement in the Star Tribune, paid for by a national group calling themselves “Catholics for Choice,” woefully misrepresents the noble Catholic social justice tradition. By calling for public funding of abortion, “Catholics for Choice” disregards the need to defend vulnerable human life in all its stages—a principle at the core of authentic social justice.
If there is a desire to help a woman in need who is facing an unplanned pregnancy, the solution as a society is to provide her with the resources and support she needs to care for her child—not help her dispose of it. Pope Francis has repeatedly condemned such a mentality as part of the throwaway culture that attacks the dignity of the weak and vulnerable because they seem inconvenient and make a claim upon our care and resources.
Furthermore, the ad itself makes no effort to ground its claims in any authoritative source of the Catholic faith, which is rooted in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and is proclaimed by the Church. It fails to do so because the actual teachings of the Catholic faith embrace a consistent ethic of life from conception to natural death, and categorically condemn abortion as an act of violence against the most innocent and defenseless among us.
“Since the first century, the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion,” the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2271) tells us. “This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.” The “Catholics for Choice” ad fails to acknowledge this truth of our faith, and instead presents Catholicism as something purely subjective, which in turn can be twisted and distorted to defend any indefensible position. The ad also offers a false choice between caring for women and caring for the unborn. We must love them both.
In response to this misleading ad, Minnesota Catholics are encouraged to support one of the many pregnancy resource services in our state, which do incredible work to care for both mothers and children in a manner consistent with true social justice.
Here are just a few local services that you might consider supporting: