Catholics Debate Abortion in Presidential Election

Though the American banking crisis and the effect it will have on the presidential campaign grabbed the media's attention this week, abortion has remained a flashpoint in Catholic circles.

Much of the focus has been on Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, who says he is a Catholic who believes pro-life teachings but that it's "inappropriate in a pluralistic society" to impose his views, given that Roe v. Wade established protections for women seeking abortion.

Bishop Francis Malooly, the new bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington, said in a statement Sept. 10 he intends to "build a supportive and trusting friendship" with Biden and other leaders to help them "understand how crucial the sanctity of human life is to a just society."

And on Friday the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic service organization with 1.28 million members, took out full-page ads in USA Today, the Washington Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and The News Journal that were critical of Biden.

The ads were an open letter from President Carl A. Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus. He wrote that Biden, as a Catholic and candidate, has a "unique responsibility" when he makes statements on Catholic teaching.

Anderson said Biden was wrong to suggest on Meet the Press on Sept. 7 that there has been church debate as to when life begins and was wrong to mention the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, a 13th century theologian, to illustrate the debate.

"Statements that suggest that our church has anything less than a consistent teaching on abortion are not merely incorrect; they may lead Catholic women facing crisis pregnancies to misunderstand the moral gravity of an abortion decision," Anderson said.

The abortion debate matters in the election because Catholics have made up more than a fourth of the electorate in several battleground states, including Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. And a New York Times-CBS Poll reported this summer that Catholics were evenly divided in their support of the candidates.

Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI have stressed the importance of opposing abortion, but "Catholics can find a home in either party, depending on how they focus on essential concerns," said Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United, a nonpartisan group promoting the message of social justice.

This week Catholics United posted a 30-second ad on its Web site critical of votes Sen. John McCain cast against programs for pregnant women and health care for children. Catholics United also is critical of his vote for the war in Iraq.

"Senator McCain, when will you start defending all human life, without exception?" the ad asks. The ad will run on cable television in heavily Catholic areas of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, said Korzen.

In Korzen's view, it's not productive for Biden to bring up fine points of theology related to Aquinas. Nor is it helpful for the Knights of Columbus to take out ads on Biden's abortion stance.

"People want to know his positions on policy, not his views on theology," Korzen said.

All of this is a distraction from broader pro-life issues, such as a "lack of health care, a crumbling economy, a war that has gone on far too long and solutions to the tragedy of abortion that offer results instead of rhetoric," he said.