This past Friday, some three-quarter of a million people took part in the March for Life in Washington, D.C. to voice their opposition to abortion.
Among those present at the march was a large contingent of Catholics; including, of course, Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life.
Without question, the voice of Fr. Pavone is among the most prominent in the global pro-life community, and yet, if he’s to be taken seriously, one would be justified in wondering if abortion is still a sin.
Now, don’t get me wrong; abortion will always be a very grave sin, but if Amoris Laetitia is everything that Fr. Pavone said that it is, then maybe God isn’t really offended by it after all, and activities like the March for Life are just a monumental waste of time.
As readers may recall, Fr. Pavone said that Amoris Laetitia is an “encouraging road map for families … a beautifully written pro-life affirmation of the Church’s wisdom,” and a “timely and loving exhortation for families towards genuine charity.”
Really?
Let us recall that this same document, Amoris Laetitia, presents Christian marriage as a mere “ideal” while also plainly stating that adultery – an act that, like abortion, is intrinsically evil – isn’t necessarily a mortal sin, and what’s more, it can even be the will of God!
If we were to apply that same approach to abortion (and if Amoris Laetitia is as praiseworthy as Fr. Pavone proposes, then why shouldn’t we?) we reasonably arrive at the following conclusions:
We often present pregnancy and delivering children into the world in such a way that its meaning, its call to grow in love and its ideal of parenthood is overshadowed by an almost exclusive insistence on the duty to reject abortion. (cf AL 36)
It is can no longer simply be said that all those who procure, perform, or assist in an abortion are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace. More is involved here than mere ignorance of the rule. (cf AL 301)
Conscience can recognize with sincerity and honesty that abortion is for now the most generous response which can be given to God, and come to see with a certain moral security that abortion is what God himself is asking amid the concrete complexity of one’s limits. (cf AL 303)
Yes, I can hear the Fr. Pavone Fan Club now:
But, but… abortion and adultery aren’t the same!
Of course they are not the same, literally, but they are the same in that both acts are always and everywhere a grave evil regardless of circumstance, thus depriving the soul of sanctifying grace and separating one from God; i.e., the very definition of mortal sin.
If one accepts that this “can no longer simply be said” of adultery even for those who “know full well the rule,” how can one continue to insist that it still applies to abortion?
Either we are discussing intrinsic evil, or we are not.
Fr. Pavone is right about one thing – Amoris Laetitia is a “road map” alright, but it doesn’t lead “towards genuine charity” as he imagines; it leads straight to Hell.
Along the way, for many, it will also lead to an abortion clinic.
The bottom line here is simple:
For those who accept Fr. Pavone’s glowing assessment of Amoris Laetitia as a “beautifully written and timely exhortation,” it’s just a hop, skip and a jump to the Joy of Abortion.
As such, Fr. Pavone’s credibility is on the line, both as a leader in the pro-life cause (which, for many, has become a false religion all its own), and more importantly, as a priest.
Are his supporters willing to join me in calling on him, not only to retract his public endorsement of Jorge Bergoglio’s love letter to Satan, but also to condemn Amoris Laetitia for the poisonous prose that it is?
You can contact Priests for Life via telephone at (888) 735-3448 or (718) 980-4400, via Fax at 718-980-2542, or by email: mail@priestsforlife.org
I have always admired his stance against abortion. If only priests and bishops took a similar stand against V2 and the NO.
Father Pavone demonstrates the sad reality that he is unable to think critically by not recognizing that Amoris Laetitia enshrines situational ethics and is a threat to the entire Catholic moral edifice. There is so little intellectual rigor among the pastoral. It’s all a squishy, enfeebled, ephemeral emotion-based approach that never gives God his due in having bequeathed us with brains.
I find it interesting that the Church has moved from presuming all baptisms of heretical sects invalid and are now presumed valid but has also moved in the opposite direction of presuming all marriages are invalid rather than valid. It seems that the hierarchy has dived into a sort of situational sacramental theology, not based on concrete situations as they pertain to the moment of each sacrament but instead the situation of today as to what benefits their agenda.
Someone said to me recently that the pro life cause on its own does not lead to traditional Catholicism. It tends to become the end in itself. Blasphemy and heresy are worse than abortion.
To win the battle against abortion, we must take the ax to the root!
Something to ponder about….
http://www.seattlecatholic.com/article_20020629_The_Problem_with_the_Prolife_Movement.html
Up is down. Down is up. A man like Jorge Bergoglio is considered a pope. Is anything right with the world anymore?
Fr. Pavone, like others who upon seeing a particular Goliath shrink back in terror. There are some fights they don’ty want to battle because it might hinder their cause. But even then, even if Fr. Pravone hypothetically knew Amoris was problematic and wanted to avoid friction so as to continue his pro-life work unimpeded. It would’ve been better if he had not said anything at all. Sometimes I wonder if any of these people even bothered to read it or commentary on it.
But I suspect that many priests are trained in corporate speak public relations thinking and political platitudes more so than they are about Truth and Logic. The point being that unless your expert committee from the top down has provided you with what you are to say, either provide a “no comment” or repeat what you are told to say.
Let me clarfy. At Priests for Life, we are laser focused on ending abortion. The only reason we spoke about this document was because it has some good sentences regarding pregnancy and childbirth and the right to life. But we do not in any way endorse ambiguity about Church teaching, or departure from it. We are quite aware of the confusion that this document has created. Father Frank worked for a time at the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Family, has been a member of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, and is regularly asked to teach classes in bioethics at Pontifical universities in Rome. Believe me, he knows the problem that has been created and shares the concern you are raising as much as you or anyone else does. It is ultimately the responsibility of the Pope, of course, to clear up this mess, and we hope he does. Meanwhile, we will spread the truth of Church teaching and ask you to join with us in doing so. Victoria Gisondi, Public Outreach Priests for Life