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The governor and legislative leaders have vowed to make California an “abortion sanctuary.”
The California Legislature put Proposition 1 on the November ballot — an extreme proposal to amend the State constitution that, if approved by voters, would over-ride current law and will permanently allow taxpayer-funded late-term abortions without limit.
Our bishops are asking us to Pray for the Defeat of Proposition 1 and to End Abortion. The bishops of California are inviting all Catholics to engage in prayer and fasting to end abortion and for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to form the minds and hearts of California citizens to defeat Prop 1.
The sad reality is that California already has some of the most accommodating abortion laws and services in the nation. And by providing extensive funding for abortion services without any corresponding equitable funding for pregnant women and mothers, the state exercises a destructive, coercive power in favor of ending innocent lives. Enshrining this amendment’s language into the constitution will extend the danger of coercive abortion to babies with unquestioned viability.
The California Catholic Conference will be actively engaged in opposing the upcoming ballot initiative and asking the state’s 12 million Catholics to work to raise awareness and vigorous opposition in our dioceses, parishes, and communities. (The above statements are taken from California Bishops).
I am aware that some of us may find this writing objectionable and state that church should stay out of politics. The issue of life from conception to natural death is one that we Catholics have no grounds to compromise. Catholics believe each person is unique because God made them. The creation of humans was unlike the rest of creation because they were made in the Image of God. The Latin term for in the Image of God is Imago Dei. The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred (sanctity of life) and that everyone has a right to life which should be protected and valued at every stage. The Catholic Church is against abortion in all circumstances. The Catholic Church teaches that life begins at conception. Abortion is therefore seen as murder, a great moral evil.
As a church we need to do more to support pregnant women and families. “I recognize there are people on both sides of the question in the Catholic Church,” said Baltimore Archbishop William Lori, who chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. “What we are finding though is that when people become more aware of what the church is doing to assist women in difficult pregnancies … hearts and minds begin to change.”
We must urge legislators to protect the unborn, and we must provide compassionate support to women that will help them choose life.
Fr. Paulson
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