Prominent Catholic Professor Claims IRS Audited Her After Speaking Out Against Obama and Demanded to Know Who Was Paying Her

Catholic professor / writer audited after connecting the dots on Soros-funded fake Catholic groups, Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good:

... And the plot thickens. Among the organizations she targeted in her writings were progressive groups highly supportive of Democratic causes, including: Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, Catholics United, and Catholic Democrats.

 At the time, one of the founders of Catholics United, Chris Korzen, had become a target of her work, as she exposed, in her view, his true leftist agenda and some of the complicated theological stances the left-of-center organizations he associated with were taking. Plus, there were alleged financial ties with billionaire liberal George Soros. Here’s just two paragraphs from an article she wrote in March 2010, just months before her meeting with IRS officials:

On its website, Catholics United describes itself as a 501(c) (4) non-profit organization—eligible to accept donations. But, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good emerged in 2005 as a kind of sister organization to Catholics United. A 501(c) (3) organization, donors can claim a deduction against personal income tax when they donate money to Catholics in Alliance. Reviewing the 2007 IRS 990 forms for both Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United raises some questions, because Chris Korzen is listed as having received $84,821 in compensation for 40 hours per week from Catholics in Alliance on the group’s 990 Form—even though the Catholics United website claimed he was the director there during the same time period.

[...]

Despite their inability to engage in extensive lobbying, Catholics in Alliance has been extremely successful in attracting large donors. Never a friend to the Catholic Church, George Soros, one of the earliest donors, contributed $50,000 to Catholics in Alliance in 2005 and another $100,000 in 2006 through his Open Society Institute. Likewise, Smith Bagley, a major Democratic donor and fundraiser, whose wife, Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, is Chairman of the Board of Catholics in Alliance, came close to matching Soros with grants from his family’s Arca Foundation. With a long history of supporting progressive organizations like ACORN, the Gamaliel Foundation, People for the American Way, and Planned Parenthood, Arca contributed $50,000 to Catholics in Alliance in 2007 and another $75,000 in 2008.

Hendershott can’t help but wonder if her writings against progressive groups played a role in her audit. It’s obvious that before she was notified by the IRS she was commenting regularly about matters of faith and politics and, in particular, Obamacare. While she doesn’t have proof that the IRS investigation was political in nature, she has strong suspicions that it was.

“I started writing articles like crazy saying these are fake Catholic groups,” she said of the aforementioned organizations, noting that Korzen would often target her work and rail against her assertions.

Hendershott noted that the progressive leader once called into a radio show she appeared on to challenge her contention that he had accepted Soros money.

“I had the tax return in front of me and read off the amounts that Chris Korzen was getting paid from Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good — a Soros supported fake Catholic group,” she told TheBlaze, noting that, through Catholics in Alliance, he had received $85,000.

While Korzen denied this on the air, Hendershott read from the 990 form in an effort to prove he wasn’t telling the truth. This, she believes, may have sparked — or played a role — in spawning the IRS audit.

“He was getting paid by one organization and working for another,” the professor said of Korzen. ”The IRS should have gone after them.”

Her writings for the Catholic Advocate soon ceased because, Hendershott admits, the IRS audit silenced her. If her suspicions are true, this may have been its chilling intention.

“I haven’t written for them since the audit, because I was so scared,” she said (records show her last article for the organization was on July 10, 2010 — the same month the IRS audit unfolded)...

[Read the whole thing]

Scary.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Soros-Funded Pro-Obama Catholics to Launch News Service?

Catholic Key Blog Asks "Is Catholics in Alliance Kaput?"

Soros-Funded "Catholic" Groups Still Running Cover for Pro-Aborts (Of Course, That's the Sole Reason They Exist)

"Nonpartisan" Catholics United to “Set the Record Straight” by Trying to Convince Catholics That New Healthcare Law is "Pro-Life"

Archbishop Chaput: A Bad Bill and How We Got It

Archbishop Chaput: Those Confusing the Catholic Stance on Health Care Will Bear the Blame for Anti-Life Effects of Heath Care Bill

CatholicVote Takes on Soros-Funded Catholics in Alliance and Catholics United

Sebelius and Kmiec Catholicism - the Catholic Left Declares War on Pro-Lifers

Apologists for Abortion-Loving Catholics Attack Archbishop ... Again

Catholic News Agency: Catholics in Alliance "Abortion Reduction" Study Found to be Faulty - Social Welfare Policies Have Little Effect on Abortion

What Did Gov. Strickland Know, and When Did He Know It (re: Eric McFadden)? [UPDATED]

Breaking: Catholic Democrat Who Once Headed Up Ohio's Faith-Based Initiatives Arrested for Running Prostitution Ring [UPDATED]

"Seamless Garment Has Lost a Thread"

Catholics in Alliance Voter Survey of "Little Value," Archdiocese of Denver Says

"Nonpartisan" Catholics United Attacks the Knights of Columbus

"Nonpartisan" Catholics United Hits McCain with Ad Questioning His Pro-Life Credentials

"Non-Partisan" Group of Catholic Obama Supporters Calling Itself "Catholics United" Gets Divisive

The Catholic Left Meets in Philadelphia

Convention for the "Common Good"

Bill Donohue: "How the Catholic Left Is Boxed in by Abortion"

"Catholic Democrats" Attack "Registered Republican Archbishop of Kansas City" for "Using Communion" to "Take Down" Sebelius

I Missed the Seminar [UPDATED]

Deal Hudson: "Catholics Organize to Elect Barack Obama"

Democrat Front Group Posing as Catholic Org Calls for End to "Christmas Culture War"

Fidelis Dismisses Religious Left Media "Report"

Democrats Set Their Sights on Winning Back Catholics

Mark Shea in National Catholic Register: "Richard Rich Lives"

Edwards Blogger Flap Discomforts Religious Left

Mark Shea: "Whores for Edwards Swings into Action"

Catholics in Alliance Respond With Letter to Editor

Continue to Raise Our Voices on Issue of Voting

In January's Catholic Chronicle - "Vote Your Values" Revisited

Vote Your Values

"NOT An Approved Catholic Voter Guide"

What's Missing?

Toledo Blade: "Catholic Voting Guide Gives Church Perspective"

Catholics Find Voting Guides a Test of Allegiance

Weigel: "An Electoral Battle of the Booklets?

More From Amy Welborn on the "Dueling Catholic Voter Guides"

Columnist: "Christian Right Driving Wedge Into U.S."

More on Catholic Voter Guides

Dueling Catholic Voter Guides

Is There "Common Ground" on Abortion?

Last week, Fr. Robert Muhlenkamp wrote a piece on Facebook in which he asked and answered whether it was possible to achieve "common ground" on abortion.

Take a moment to read what he wrote.

The Catholic Vote and What Really Matters [UPDATED]

CatholicVote.org has a new video out in time for the elections:



Also just in time for the elections, Rich Leonardi links to Pope Benedict's ad limina address to the Brazilian Bishops and wonders "what is it about Brazil that brings out the best in Benedict?":

"First, the duty of direct action to ensure a just ordering of society falls to the lay faithful who, as free and responsible citizens, strive to contribute to the just configuration of social life, while respecting legitimate autonomy and natural moral law", the Holy Father explained. "Your duty as bishops, together with your clergy, is indirect because you must contribute to the purification of reason, and to the moral awakening of the forces necessary to build a just and fraternal society. Nonetheless, when required by the fundamental rights of the person or the salvation of souls, pastors have the binding duty to emit moral judgments, even on political themes".

"When forming these judgements, pastors must bear in mind the absolute value of those ... precepts which make it morally unacceptable to chose a particular action which is intrinsically evil and incompatible with human dignity. This decision cannot be justified by the merit of some specific goal, intention, consequence or circumstance, Thus it would be completely false and illusory to defend, political, economic or social rights which do not comprehend a vigorous defence of the right to life from conception to natural end. When it comes to defending the weakest, who is more defenceless than an unborn child or a patient in a vegetative or comatose state?"

"When political projects openly or covertly contemplate the depenalisation of abortion or euthanasia, the democratic ideal (which is truly democratic when it recognises and protects the dignity of all human beings) is betrayed at its very foundations. For this reason, dear brothers in the episcopate, when defending life we must not fear hostility or unpopularity, rejecting all compromise and ambiguity which would conform us to the mentality of this world".

In order to help lay people live their Christian, social and political commitments in a unified and coherent fashion it is necessary, said the Holy Father, to ensure appropriate "social catechesis and an adequate formulation of Church Social Doctrine. ... This also means that on some occasions, pastors must reminds all citizens of the right, which is also a duty, freely to use their vote to promote the common good".

(Hat tip: Don McClarey at The American Catholic)


UPDATE
From Creative Minority Report comes this story about Catholic voters turning to the GOP:

Are Catholics finally turning their back on the party of death? As we all know, a majority of self identified Catholics voted for Barack Obama for President.

But this past week a number of polls have shown a stunning turnaround; an exodus of sorts from the Democrat Party. The Telegraph reports:

The Democrats' 10-point lead among Catholic voters has been reversed into a 24-point Republican advantage.

That's pretty startling.

[Read the whole thing]

UPDATE #2
Michael Voris speaks out on "murky" electoral messages coming from Bishops:

U.S. Political Season Begins: "Morally Coherent" Catholics Can Change this Nation

Deacon Keith Fournier writes at CatholicOnline:

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - Along with the hint of fall in the air, the days after the American celebration of Labor Day mark the beginning of the election season. This midterm election in the United States of America could bring a massive sea change in governance. Political pundits troll the media making their prognostications. Polls are becoming as common as commercials in the political media landscape.

Given their numbers, U.S. Catholics could determine the outcome of this election. That is if they learn how to be, in the words of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, "morally coherent". That phrase was used in an instruction released in 2002 entitled a "Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life". It was directed to "the Bishops of the Catholic Church and, in a particular way, to Catholic politicians and all lay members of the faithful called to participate in the political life of democratic societies."

The teaching in the instruction informs the "Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church" sections pertaining to the political participation of Catholics. (See, e.g. #565-574) Anyone who thinks the teachers of the Church are not clear on the duty to vote in a manner which is morally coherent have not read Catholic teaching.

[...]

Sunday, September 12, 2010 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of John F Kennedy's address to the Houston Ministerial alliance. In that speech he opened the door to moral incoherence by "privatizing" the truths informed by faith and failing to acknowledge the existence of a Natural Law which can be known by all men and women through the exercise of reason. In the wake of his catastrophic mistake too many Catholics in public life, like Esau of the Old Testament, have sold their birthrights for a bowl of porridge and helped to construct the current culture of death. Morally coherent Catholics are the ones who must now expose their errors and replace them in office.

[...]

Catholics are not one more "interest group" which can be polled, pandered to and bought. Our social obligation is to promote the true common good, not just use the slogan to sound "catholic" as happened in the last political cycle. We need to promote the truth as taught by the Church no matter what it is labeled in the political parlance of the hour. Our political participation must be committed to human life and dignity, marriage and the family, authentic human freedom, and solidarity directed by the application of the principle of subsidiarity. The U.S. Political Season has begun in earnest. 'Morally Coherent' Catholics can change this Nation.

Read the whole thing.

Catholic Key Blog Asks "Is Catholics in Alliance Kaput?"

I, too, would not be surprised to find out that the Soros-funded Democrat front group known as Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good stuck around only long enough to help elect a bunch of pro-abortion Democrats in 2006 and 2008.

Besides, so-called Catholics United - the Soros-funded ugly twin sister of Catholics in Alliance - is still around to do the dirty work of not giving a damn about the unborn while trying to convince Catholics that the anti-life, pro-same-sex marriage Democrat platform is the embodiment of Catholic Social Teaching.

With dozens of posts on the topic, I've gone round and round with Catholics in Alliance since the run-up to the 2006 elections, including going toe-to-toe on occasion with a now-disgraced Ohio politico who was, at that time, on the Catholics in Alliance payroll.

If Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good has shut down their operations for good, it will indeed prove to be the only action the organization ever took that was truly in furtherance of the "common good".

(Hat tip: Opinionated Catholic)


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Soros-Funded "Catholic" Groups Still Running Cover for Pro-Aborts (Of Course, That's the Sole Reason They Exist)

"Nonpartisan" Catholics United to “Set the Record Straight” by Trying to Convince Catholics That New Healthcare Law is "Pro-Life"

Archbishop Chaput: A Bad Bill and How We Got It

Archbishop Chaput: Those Confusing the Catholic Stance on Health Care Will Bear the Blame for Anti-Life Effects of Heath Care Bill

CatholicVote Takes on Soros-Funded Catholics in Alliance and Catholics United

Sebelius and Kmiec Catholicism - the Catholic Left Declares War on Pro-Lifers

Apologists for Abortion-Loving Catholics Attack Archbishop ... Again

Catholic News Agency: Catholics in Alliance "Abortion Reduction" Study Found to be Faulty - Social Welfare Policies Have Little Effect on Abortion

What Did Gov. Strickland Know, and When Did He Know It (re: Eric McFadden)? [UPDATED]

Breaking: Catholic Democrat Who Once Headed Up Ohio's Faith-Based Initiatives Arrested for Running Prostitution Ring [UPDATED]

"Seamless Garment Has Lost a Thread"

Catholics in Alliance Voter Survey of "Little Value," Archdiocese of Denver Says

"Nonpartisan" Catholics United Attacks the Knights of Columbus

"Nonpartisan" Catholics United Hits McCain with Ad Questioning His Pro-Life Credentials

"Non-Partisan" Group of Catholic Obama Supporters Calling Itself "Catholics United" Gets Divisive

The Catholic Left Meets in Philadelphia

Convention for the "Common Good"

Bill Donohue: "How the Catholic Left Is Boxed in by Abortion"

"Catholic Democrats" Attack "Registered Republican Archbishop of Kansas City" for "Using Communion" to "Take Down" Sebelius

I Missed the Seminar [UPDATED]

Deal Hudson: "Catholics Organize to Elect Barack Obama"

Democrat Front Group Posing as Catholic Org Calls for End to "Christmas Culture War"

Fidelis Dismisses Religious Left Media "Report"

Democrats Set Their Sights on Winning Back Catholics

Mark Shea in National Catholic Register: "Richard Rich Lives"

Edwards Blogger Flap Discomforts Religious Left

Mark Shea: "Whores for Edwards Swings into Action"

Catholics in Alliance Respond With Letter to Editor

Continue to Raise Our Voices on Issue of Voting

In January's Catholic Chronicle - "Vote Your Values" Revisited

Vote Your Values

"NOT An Approved Catholic Voter Guide"

What's Missing?

Toledo Blade: "Catholic Voting Guide Gives Church Perspective"

Catholics Find Voting Guides a Test of Allegiance

Weigel: "An Electoral Battle of the Booklets?

More From Amy Welborn on the "Dueling Catholic Voter Guides"

Columnist: "Christian Right Driving Wedge Into U.S."

More on Catholic Voter Guides

Dueling Catholic Voter Guides

Catholics and Politics

Joe Hargrave writes on the political polarization of American Catholics at Evangelical Catholicism.

CatholicVote Takes on Soros-Funded Catholics in Alliance and Catholics United

From CatholicVote.com:

Have you heard of George Soros?

He's the billionaire investor that supports abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage. So it's no surprise that he supports groups like MoveOn and the ACLU.

But did you know that George Soros, a professed atheist, has also has provided critical seed money to so-called "Catholic" groups that intentionally blur the Church's teachings on human life?

Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good has received $200,000 from George Soros' Open Society Institute over the last few years. And according to its own IRS reports, Catholics United has a formal relationship with Catholics in Alliance.

Now why would these 'Catholic' organizations take money from an atheist who advocates legal abortion, euthanasia, and so-called same-sex 'marriages?'

Because these groups know that by using the word ‘Catholic’ while misrepresenting the Church, they will receive lavish attention from the media. And these groups will use this megaphone at every turn to undermine Church teaching on life in pursuit of their political agendas.

These groups are agents of division, causing confusion among the faithful, and hampering a united front in defense of the unborn.

Don't believe me?

Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United have been working overtime to support the Senate pro-abortion healthcare plan. The U.S. Bishops specifically said that the Senate bill was 'deficient' and 'should not move forward.'

So what did these groups say?

Chris Korzen, head of Catholics United said: "The wrong thing would be for anyone to be so firmly entrenched in their positions on federal funding of abortion that they're not willing to come to the table and talk about a compromise."

Excuse me? 'Wrong' for Catholics to oppose taxpayer funding for abortion? If there is anything to be “firmly entrenched” against --- this is it!

These groups are so radical and partisan that they refuse to even support a ban on partial-birth abortion.

That’s why Archbishop Chaput has criticized these groups for undermining the Church teaching:

“The work of Democratic-friendly groups like Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, have done a disservice to the Church, confused the natural priorities of Catholic social teaching, undermined the progress pro-lifers have made, and provided an excuse for some Catholics to abandon the abortion issue instead of fighting within their parties and at the ballot box to protect the unborn.”

[More]

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Sebelius and Kmiec Catholicism - the Catholic Left Declares War on Pro-Lifers

Apologists for Abortion-Loving Catholics Attack Archbishop ... Again

"Nonpartisan" Catholics United Attacks the Knights of Columbus

"Nonpartisan" Catholics United Hits McCain with Ad Questioning His Pro-Life Credentials

"Non-Partisan" Group of Catholic Obama Supporters Calling Itself "Catholics United" Gets Divisive

The Catholic Left Meets in Philadelphia

Convention for the "Common Good"

Bill Donohue: "How the Catholic Left Is Boxed in by Abortion"

"Catholic Democrats" Attack "Registered Republican Archbishop of Kansas City" for "Using Communion" to "Take Down" Sebelius"

Deal Hudson: "Catholics Organize to Elect Barack Obama"

US Bishops: Defense of Marriage "One of the Premier Social Justice Issues of Our Time"

(Hat tip: Catholic Online)

From LifeStiteNews:

WASHINGTON, January 13, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage, recently praised a January 7 New Jersey State Senate vote to preserve the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.

“On behalf of the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee, I am grateful for the courage of those New Jersey senators who stood for the truth of marriage as a bulwark of the common good,” he said.

The New Jersey Senate voted 20-14 to reject a same-sex “marriage” bill, just as the New York State Senate did when it rejected a similar measure December 2 by a 38-24 margin.

“Preserving marriage between one man and one woman is a matter of justice; indeed it is one of the premier social justice issues of our time. It does not deny but rather supports basic human rights — especially the rights of children,” Archbishop Kurtz said. “The recent New York Senate vote and the vote in New Jersey witness to this fact.”

[...]

“The good of the love between husband and wife, the vital responsibilities of mothers and fathers, and the rights of children all deserve unique protection under law — all of these are indispensable to a just society that serves the dignity of all people and the common good.”

(emphasis added)

Obama Advisor Axelrod: Catholic Bishops are Wrong

From CNSNews:

(CNSNews.com) - White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod on Wednesday night reiterated President Barack Obama’s claim that the health care bill before Congress does not fund abortion and said he hopes that the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops come to understand that the president’s assurances on this matter is “accurate.”

In his Wednesday night speech to Congress, Obama said he wanted to clear up the “misunderstanding” that the bill would allow federal funds to be used to pay for abortions. “Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place,” Obama said.

Axelrod reiterated that statement to CNSNews.com after the speech. “We’ve talked to the bishops, and the president made his position clear on this,” Axelrod told CNSNews.com. “Hopefully, they will come to see that the assertion he made tonight is accurate.

“This should not be turned into a debate about abortion,” [ED. We don't want to get "distracted".] Axelrod said. “It’s about making sure people don’t get thrown off their insurance if they get sick. It’s about making sure if people have preexisting conditions they can still get insurance. This is about people not going broke if they become seriously ill, and this is about people who don’t have insurance having the opportunity to get it. And we ought not to be diverted [ED.: In other words, let's not get "distracted" by abortion].”

“I think the church has been a great progressive force on issues like this,” said Axelrod. Hopefully, bishops will see a way to support this (health care reform legislation).”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has sent a letter to all members of Congress stating that the bill is unacceptable because it would provide federal funds to insurance carriers that provide abortions. The letter was signed by Cardinal Justin Rigali, the archbishop of Philadelphia, who is the chairman of the bishops committee on pro-life activities.

Axelrod said he does not believe the Catholic Church is intentionally spreading misinformation [ED.: Ya think?], as the White House says other opponents of the legislation are doing [ED.: Well, if the Bishops aren't "intentionally spreading misinformation", then maybe the rest of us aren't either.].

“I think that they are earnestly trying to work their way through this issue,” Axelrod told CNSNews.com shortly after Obama addressed a joint session of Congress.

In his letter to House members on Aug. 11, Cardinal Justin Rigali noted that federal funds under the House health care bill will not be subject to the Hyde Amendment--a law that prohibits federal funding of abortions through Medicaid.

“Federal funds will subsidize the public plan, as well as private health plans that include abortion on demand,” Rigali wrote. Noting that the bill will require people buying federally funded health insurance plans that include abortion to also pay at least $1.00 themselves for the premium, Cardinal Rigali said some will use this as a pretext for arguing that the federal funds paying for the remainder of the premiums do not support abortion.

“Thus some will claim that federal taxpayer funds do not support abortion under the Act,” he wrote. “But this is an illusion. Funds paid into these plans are fungible, and federal taxpayer funds will subsidize the operating budget and provider networks that expand access to abortions.”

Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.), who was elected in 2006 after running as a pro-life Democrat, believes the final version of a health care reform bill will explicitly prohibit abortion.

“In the end, I think the final bill we send the president will have language in it that is Hyde language or something very comparable to that. I think that’s what will happen,” Casey told CNSNews.com.

However, committees in both the House and Senate have already rejected amendments that explicitly prohibit federal money from going to health insurance plans that cover abortions.

[More]

(emphasis and editorial commentary added)

My Comments:
Unless and until Hyde Amendment language is included in any health care reform bill, that bill covers abortion. Period. Plain and simple.

Past experience confirms this is true, which is why the Hyde Amendment had to be passed in the first place. The simple solution is to maintain the status quo by including Hyde Amendment language in the reform bill. Just reach "common ground" and put it in. But it is quite telling that the Democrat leaders in Congress have defeated every effort thus far to do so.

On the one hand, we have the Bishops, who - to say the least - have been around the block a few times on this issue. They are not ignorant. They don't "misunderstand" the issue. They don't need to "work their way through" it. They don't need to be brought around to "seeing" things the President's way. They know exactly what's going on.

On the other hand, the President and his chief advisor, quite simply, are not being truthful in claiming that abortion will not be covered under the health care bills currently before Congress. They consider abortion to be a "distraction", but they know they have to convince Catholics to support their efforts, while at the same time not alienating their key abortion industry constituents. They have every incentive to lie and mislead on this issue; the Bishops do not.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Pro-Life Catholic Dem: Prevent Abortion Funding, Or I'll Block Healthcare

Fake Pro-Life Group Third Way Claims Health Care Bills Will Reduce Abortions

Bishop Doran: Take to Heart Concerns Over Federal-Government-Run Health Care

Deal Hudson: "The Problems with Government-Run Healthcare

Some Catholic Bishops Assail Health Plan

Archbishop Chaput Again: Health Care Reform That Funds Abortion Is Not Common Ground

Fr. Euteneuer's Response to Cecile Richards' Attack On Catholic Bishops

In Face of Planned Parenthood Attack, USCCB Official Insists Abortion is Not Health Care

Mainstream Media Spreads Untruths on Behalf of Obama: Newsday Claims Bishop Murphy Supports ObamaCare; Lies About Plan's Coverage of Abortion

Cecile Richards and Planned Parenthood Attack U.S. Catholic Bishops for Defending Life

House Democrats Will Likely Prevent Vote to Remove Abortion From Health Care

U.K. Catholic Rag Admonishes U.S. Bishops: Back Barack on Health Care, Stop Getting "Distracted" by Abortion

Archbishop Chaput: ‘Common Ground’ Claim Will Be Tested by Details of Health Care Reform

"Common Ground" on Abortion

Religious Left: Do Not be "Distracted" by Abortion Coverage in ObamaCare

USCCB Prolife Chief Draws 'Lines in the Sand' on Healthcare

American Papist: Follow the Money to Determine Why Catholic Orgs Support ObamaCare Despite Inclusion of Abortion Coverage

Knights of Columbus Pass "Fishy" Resolution Opposing Any Health Care Reform That Funds Abortion

New York Archbishop: Church Will Have No Part in "Health Care" That Destroys Life

Deal Hudson: "Why Catholics Will Not Get Abortion Out of the Health Care Bill" [UPDATED]

Cardinal Rigali "Distracts" from Health Care Debate

A "Loud Silence"

Obama's Nun: Ignore "Insignificant Details", Pass Health Care Bill Now

LA Times: Next Hurdle in Healthcare "Debate" is Abortion

Dem Says Language Expressly Prohibiting Abortion Funding a Must in Health Care Bill [UPDATED]

Congressman Smith Warns Against Phony ‘Compromise’ on Abortion Mandates in ObamaCare

John Boehner: "Taxpayer-Funded Abortion Is Not Health-Care Reform"

Stop the Abortion Mandate

Bishops Speak Out on ObamaCare

Deal Hudson: "The Problems with Government-Run Healthcare"

Deal Hudson writes at Inside Catholic:

As the White House backs away from the so-called public option in health-care reform, Catholic experts are hopeful that the proposed government control of the nation's medical care will be put aside. They argue that rejecting the public option will better serve a culture of life, maintain the present high quality of health care, serve economic sustainability, and respect the Catholic teaching on subsidiarity.

Though the bishops have spoken out collectively against abortion coverage, only a handful have issued specific warnings against government-run medical services. Two of those are Bishop Robert W. Finn and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, who wrote recently, "The right of every individual to access health care does not necessarily suppose an obligation on the part of the government to provide it." Bishop R. Walter Nickless of Sioux City, Iowa, stated, "The Church does not teach that government should directly provide health care."

The Catholic Medical Association (CMA) is on record arguing that, while health-care reform is needed, it should be "achieved by legislation that empowers people to own their health insurance policies (as contrasted with government, or employer controlled healthcare insurance) and using targeted measures to help people who cannot afford the entire cost of their insurance premium."

Dr. Steven White, a former president of the CMA, currently has a private practice in pulmonary medicine and is medical director of respiratory care and pulmonary rehabilitation services at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. He applauds the bishops for their outspoken defense of human dignity in health care, but said, "Informed members of the laity need to help devise a system based upon Catholic moral principles and apply them in the marketplace."

"The last thing we want in health care," White told me, "is for the government to impose a single ethic on us because they hold the purse strings -- we have to separate Catholic moral guidelines for health care from the question of financing it."

[More]

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Some Catholic Bishops Assail Health Plan

Archbishop Chaput Again: Health Care Reform That Funds Abortion Is Not Common Ground

Fr. Euteneuer's Response to Cecile Richards' Attack On Catholic Bishops

In Face of Planned Parenthood Attack, USCCB Official Insists Abortion is Not Health Care

Mainstream Media Spreads Untruths on Behalf of Obama: Newsday Claims Bishop Murphy Supports ObamaCare; Lies About Plan's Coverage of Abortion

Cecile Richards and Planned Parenthood Attack U.S. Catholic Bishops for Defending Life

U.K. Catholic Rag Admonishes U.S. Bishops: Back Barack on Health Care, Stop Getting "Distracted" by Abortion

Archbishop Chaput: ‘Common Ground’ Claim Will Be Tested by Details of Health Care Reform

Religious Left: Do Not be "Distracted" by Abortion Coverage in ObamaCare

USCCB Prolife Chief Draws 'Lines in the Sand' on Healthcare

American Papist: Follow the Money to Determine Why Catholic Orgs Support ObamaCare Despite Inclusion of Abortion Coverage

Knights of Columbus Pass "Fishy" Resolution Opposing Any Health Care Reform That Funds Abortion

New York Archbishop: Church Will Have No Part in "Health Care" That Destroys Life

Deal Hudson: "Why Catholics Will Not Get Abortion Out of the Health Care Bill" [UPDATED]

Cardinal Rigali "Distracts" from Health Care Debate

A "Loud Silence"

Obama's Nun: Ignore "Insignificant Details", Pass Health Care Bill Now

Bishops Speak Out on ObamaCare

Archbishop Chaput Again: Health Care Reform That Funds Abortion Is Not Common Ground

Archbishop Chaput agrees with me again:

Denver, Colo., Aug 24, 2009 / 02:08 pm (CNA).- "Common ground" is a phrase the President Obama and some of his supporters have been using to describe their efforts to work for health care reform. But Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver is taking them to task for abusing the Catholic concept, calling any labeling of the current reform proposals as common ground "a lie."

In his weekly column for the Denver Catholic Register—to be published online this afternoon—Archbishop Chaput tackles the health care debate by recalling an editorial in the British Catholic newspaper The Tablet that insisted the U.S. bishops must back Obama's reform effort.

The editorial also claims that America’s bishops "have so far concentrated on a specifically Catholic issue – making sure state-funded health care does not include abortion – rather than the more general principle of the common good."

This diatribe against the bishops raises some interesting observations, says Chaput.

"First, it proves once again that people don’t need to actually live in the United States to have unhelpful and badly informed opinions about our domestic issues. Second, some of the same pious voices that once criticized U.S. Catholics for supporting a previous president now sound very much like acolytes of a new president. Third, abortion is not, and has never been, a 'specifically Catholic issue,' and the editors know it. And fourth, the growing misuse of Catholic 'common ground' and 'common good' language in the current health-care debate can only stem from one of two sources: ignorance or cynicism."

"No system that allows or helps fund – no matter how subtly or indirectly -- the killing of unborn children, or discrimination against the elderly and persons with special needs, can bill itself as 'common ground,' Archbishop Chaput insists, adding that, "Doing so is a lie."

***
Archbishop Chaput's full column can be read at: http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/2420.

(emphasis added)


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
U.K. Catholic Rag Admonishes U.S. Bishops: Back Barack on Health Care, Stop Getting "Distracted" by Abortion

Archbishop Chaput: ‘Common Ground’ Claim Will Be Tested by Details of Health Care Reform

"Common Ground" on Abortion

No Common Ground to be Found

U.K. Catholic Rag Admonishes U.S. Bishops: Back Barack on Health Care, Stop Getting "Distracted" by Abortion

(Hat tip: PewSitter.com)

Damian Thompson reports:

... This is patronising even by the standards of the Bitter Pill, which often adopts a colonial sneeer when talking about red-state America. But this is the passage that made my jaw drop:

It is unfortunate that the one body that could turn out to be a decisive strategic force in his favour, the US Catholic bishops, have so far concentrated on a specifically Catholic issue – making sure state-funded health care does not include abortion – rather than the more general principle of the common good.

Are you serious? Abortion is “a specifically Catholic issue”, is it, to be distinguished from the all-embracing principle of the common good? That is the sort of misrepresentation of the Church’s position that I might expect from a teenage student union activist, not a venerable Catholic magazine. It suggests that the author of the editorial (a) is pig-ignorant of the Magisterium and (b) actually believes that the rights of the unborn child should be subordinate to, rather than an indispensible component of, “the common good”...

[More]

My Comments:
This is nothing new. The Catholic left has been leaving unborn life out of their "common good" formulation for decades.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Turning the Tables on a Catholic Left Ideologue

Religious Left: Do Not be "Distracted" by Abortion Coverage in ObamaCare

USCCB Prolife Chief Draws 'Lines in the Sand' on Healthcare

American Papist: Follow the Money to Determine Why Catholic Orgs Support ObamaCare Despite Inclusion of Abortion Coverage

Knights of Columbus Pass "Fishy" Resolution Opposing Any Health Care Reform That Funds Abortion

New York Archbishop: Church Will Have No Part in "Health Care" That Destroys Life

Deal Hudson: "Why Catholics Will Not Get Abortion Out of the Health Care Bill" [UPDATED]

Cardinal Rigali "Distracts" from Health Care Debate

A "Loud Silence"

Obama's Nun: Ignore "Insignificant Details", Pass Health Care Bill Now

Bishops Speak Out on ObamaCare

Phony "Pro-Life" Catholic from Charlottesville Sells Out on Funding Planned Parenthood

(Hat tip: Creative Minority Report)

The Catholic Key Blog has the story about the Catholic fraud, Tom Perriello:

Twenty Democrats in the House of Representatives joined all but 9 Republicans last week in voting to defund Planned Parenthood in an amendment offered by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) to the Labor / HHS Appropriations Bill. The Amendment failed, but I'd like to share some information about these prolife Democrats, as well as some info on two betrayers who should have been among their number.

***
Two Representatives not among the 20 are Reps. Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Tom Perriello (D-VA).

Ryan used to be pro-life and now has a 0 per cent score from NRLC. We've written about him before and about the disastrous patronage bill he is sponsoring for Planned Parenthood and NARAL ludicrously named the "Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act".

***
A second Democrat of interest not among the 20 voting to defund Planned Parenthood is Freshman Congressman Tom Perriello (D-VA). Perriello won his seat in one of the most surprising upsets in the November election, unseating longtime Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode. Goode had served in Congress as both a Democrat and Republican for five terms easily defeating adversaries in each contest. Perriello beat him out of a sixth term by only .24 percent of votes cast.

Perriello is an excellent campaigner and organizer and was an early adopter of the attractive "common ground" rhetoric. In fact, he was a co-founder of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and in 2006, Catholic News Service wrote of him, my emphases:

Tom Perriello, a co-founder of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, told CNS that efforts by the Democratic Party to reach out to Catholics, especially in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, states with close, key Senate races, seem to have succeeded.

The "life does not end at birth" campaign of 2004, organized by a coalition of Catholic groups led by Pax Christi USA, was the start of efforts aimed at persuading voters to choose candidates on a broader basis than abortion alone, Perriello said. Catholics in Alliance this year had a series of ads headlined "As simple as right and wrong," which picked up that theme and which have resonated with evangelicals and Catholics alike, he said.

Perriello is optimistic about that success meaning the end of the sense that Democratic candidates must support abortion "rights" to get anywhere within the party.

Perriello the candidate was coy about his position on abortion, but his record in Congress is unambiguous. He has earned a 0 per cent rating from National Right to Life Committee and is a co-sponsor of the Ryan-DeLauro Planned Parenthood bailout bill. In his actions, the "common ground" Catholic Democrat is indistinguishable from forthright supporters of the abortion industry.

[Read the whole thing]

(emphasis added)

My Comments:
Of course, it comes as no surprise to some of us that the ranks of the leadership of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good are filled with frauds.

And, like the Ohio-based fraud discussed in the links immediately above, this fraud, Perriello, hits somewhat close to home. Not only is he from Charlottesville, but the solidly pro-life Virgil Goode, who Perriello defeated to win his congressional seat, is a friend of mine. Finally, Perriello's father, a well-respected pediatrician who helped to found the pediatric practice that we took our kids to when we lived in Charlottesville, recently passed away and his funeral was held at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, which is the parish where Sarah and I were received into the Church.

Although Virgil Goode has decided to forego running against Perriello for his old seat, a stiff challenge is expected from the GOP. Now that my friend Virgil has decided not to run, if I were still living in the 5th District (and were still Mayor of Columbia), I would have probably run against Perriello, myself, in 2010.

Caritas in Veritate [UPDATED]

So, I go on vacation for a week and, while I'm gone, the Pope decides to finally release the most significant social encyclical in years.

Fortunately, my friend Chris Blosser has a comprehensive round-up on Caritas in Veritate at First Thoughts.


UPDATE
After I've had the opportunity to read (and digest) the Holy Father's latest encyclical, I'll contribute a post here with my own thoughts.


UPDATE #2
GOP House leaders speak on Caritas in Veritate.

Pope Greets "Hope"?

My friends at Darwin Catholic just forwarded me this sickening piece of propaganda from Catholic Democrats:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2009

Media Contacts:
media@catholicdemocrats.org
Ph: 617-817-8617


Catholic Democrats Announces "Pope Greets Hope" Campaign to Support July 10th Meeting Between President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI

Thousands of Catholics Signing Letter of Solidarity at http://www.popeandpresident.org/

Boston, Mass. - Catholic Democrats, a not-for-profit national organization advancing a public understanding of Catholic Social Teaching and its potential to help solve the challenges confronting out society, is announcing today a new Web site - http://www.popeandpresident.org/ - in support of the upcoming meeting between President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI on July 10th. The site invites Catholics to sign a Letter of Solidarity with the Pope and the President.

The letter outlines the mutual efforts of the pope and the president on a broad range of pressing issues, including:

building true understanding among nations

eliminating nuclear weapons

promoting economic justice and reducing the poverty that diminishes the dignity and potential of people across the globe

working toward the common ground of promoting the sanctity of all life [ED.: This would be laughably funny if it weren't such a pathetic misstatement of this President's intentions and if real lives weren't being lost due to his policy preferences]

encouraging the world's great religions to greater dialogue and understanding, thus promoting peace and tolerance

and supporting programs and policies that preserve God's creation

"As Catholics in America, we are gratified that you, our Pontiff, and you, our President, recognize the opportunity before you now to promote the common good. [ED.: What? The Vatican (under this Pope and previous Popes) and previous presidents didn't recognize previous opportunites to promote the common good? Only "now" this is happening? Spin, spin, spin.] You inspire our hope and call us to personal and social responsibility to help make the world a better place for our human family. We pledge to work with both of you in this effort and we pray that your meeting will lead to a new quest to establish peace, promote freedom, and enhance the dignity of all humanity," reads the Letter of Solidarity.

"By meeting in the early days of this new administration, President Obama and Pope Benedict have signaled their intent to embark on a productive collaboration," [ED.: That's a somewhat presumptuous statement regarding the Pope's intentions, is it not?] said Dr. Patrick Whelan, president of Catholic Democrats. "At a personal level, these two men share an expansive intellect and a love of learning. But the real story of this meeting is the extensive common ground shared by the Vatican and this White House [ED.: That's the "real story", huh? Or is that the spin you'd like to put on the story in order to gloss over the GLARING differences between the Church and the President on life issues?] on confronting issues ranging from the devastation of poverty due to the world economic crisis, to healing the planet and promoting peace."
The president and the pope will meet on the afternoon of July 10th at the Vatican, following the G8 Economic Summit in L'Aquila, Italy.

"When popes and presidents meet, great things can happen," said Steve Krueger, national director of Catholic Democrats. "Given the global issues before us today, arguably the most daunting in generations, as well as the anticipated papal encyclical on economic justice, this meeting takes on added significance. It presents an historic opportunity for these two pivotal leaders to provide a vision of the possibilities to address the world's challenges from the common ground they share, including the hope that shapes their lives. We urge people to join us in offering their prayers and support for the pope and the president."

//End



About Catholic Democrats
Catholic Democrats is an association of state based groups representing a Catholic voice within the Democratic Party, and advancing a public understanding of the rich tradition of Catholic Social Teaching and its potential to help solve the broad range of problems confronting all Americans. For more information about Catholic Democrats please go to www.catholicdemocrats.org

(emphasis and editorial commentary added)

My Comments:
And before the "tu quoque" games begin, I defy anyone to find a similar statement regarding the Pope's various meetings with the previous occumpant of the Oval Office (especially one equating George W. Bush with one of the cardinal/theological virtues ... much less designating him as the embodiment thereof) coming from a prominent group of Catholic conservatives.


UPDATE
The Cranky Conservative offers his take here: "Shameless".


UPDATE #2 (1 July 2009)
My post on the subject at First Thoughts:
President to Give Author of Spe Salvi Pointers on “Hope”
(hat tip to Christine for the idea)



Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
President Obama to Visit Vatican

Adopt a Catholic Member of Congress

National group launches prayer campaign for ‘conversion of Catholic politicians’:

MEDIA ADVISORY, June 22 /Christian Newswire -- In a spirit of hope and Christian charity, OneNationUnderGod is launching a yearlong prayer campaign specifically focused on the conversion of Catholic politicians to further foster a Culture of Life in our country.

This effort will commence June 22, 2009 -- the feast day of St. Thomas More, whom Pope John Paul II proclaimed the patron saint of statesmen and politicians. A 16th-century English chancellor who refused to accept King Henry VIII as the head of the Church of England, St. Thomas More held a passion for the truth that enlightened his conscience and led him to know that, just as man must be one with God, so politics must be with morality.

In the 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae, John Paul II reiterates what the Catholic Church has always taught: that lawmakers have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that contradicts humanity's fundamental right to life.

Months ago, we discovered that 50 percent of Catholic politicians serving in the 111th Congress have accepted large donations from pro-abortion lobby groups while reinforcing their support for abortion rights legislation. These elected officials are deeply confused about Catholic teaching on the morality of abortion.

Catholic legislators who support abortion rights fail to recognize that legitimate social policy must be guided by absolute truth. Many of these legislators cite "primacy of conscience" to justify their support for abortion rights, embryonic stem cell research and euthanasia. However, a properly formed conscience recognizes the essential truth of Catholic teaching --that human life is sacred and inviolable from the moment of conception until natural death.

Over the past few months, we contacted the bishops of these Catholic members of Congress, to shed light on their abortion rights voting records and the money they accepted from abortion lobbyists. We respectfully asked that they continue to minister to these lawmakers. Their spiritual direction gives invaluable insight to our Catholic legislators, reaffirming "that life is entrusted to man's responsibility."

Through the spiritual gifts of our Catholic faith we invite you to join our Prayer Campaign for the Conversion of our Catholic Politicians who hold such great influence over the lives of the innocent.

Specifically, we ask that you adopt a Catholic member of Congress and pledge a daily spiritual devotion for their enlightenment and for the continued inspiration of their bishop.

Please go to our website to support this effort: http://www.onenationundergod.org/.

Supreme Court Justices, Religion, & Anti-Catholicism

See John Henry's post at The American Catholic: "Supreme Court Justices and Religion":

To ask some questions is to answer them, and via Commonweal, I see that UCLA history professor emeritus Joyce Appleby has penned a lovely exercise in anti-Catholicism entitled, Should Catholic Justices Recuse Selves On Certain Cases?

***
In response, David Gibson at Commonweal notes that he, as well as all of the Catholic Justices on the Court, would argue that the teachings of the Church have no bearing on their rulings. Nevertheless, Ms. Appleby apparently believes the Justices cannot be taken at their word on this matter. Catholic justices, it seems, can’t be trusted.

What interests me about this line of argument is that both Mr. Gibson and Ms. Appleby implicitly assume there is something wrong with religious beliefs influencing Justices. And I am curious about what that something is. For instance, Judge Sotomayor is famously on the record for saying that a judge’s background (i.e. gender, ethnicity, life experience) influences their decision-making, as is Justice Ginsberg if I am not mistaken. Yet there have been no calls for the recusal of female (or male) judges from gender discrimination cases.

[More]

Catholic News Agency: Catholics in Alliance "Abortion Reduction" Study Found to be Faulty - Social Welfare Policies Have Little Effect on Abortion

Surprise, surprise:

Washington DC, Feb 11, 2009 / 04:09 am (CNA).- Until recently, a Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good study of abortion data claimed that increased spending on welfare programs results in substantial reductions in state abortion rates but many pro-life laws do not. However, the study’s results have been revised following the discovery that incorrect abortion data was used and after criticism from a professor that the group’s conclusions did not follow from the data.

In August 2008, the group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good announced the release of a study on the effects of public policy on abortion rates over a 20-year period. The group had commissioned Joseph Wright, who is a political science professor at Penn State University, and Michael Bailey, who is a professor of American government at Georgetown University, to conduct the study.

“The study of all U.S. states from 1982-2000 finds that benefits for pregnant women and mothers, employment, economic assistance to low-income families, quality child care for working mothers and removal of state caps on the number of children eligible for economic assistance in low-income families has reduced abortions,” the group reported in an August 28 press release. “In contrast, permitting Medicaid payments for abortions increased the abortion rate.”

The old version of the report was removed from the site in November 2008 after critics pointed out problems with the study.

***
The feedback of Michael J. New, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Alabama, was acknowledged in the new version of the report. Writing at the web site MoralAccountability.com, New said that the authors of the study discovered that they had used incorrect abortion data for the years following 1997.

***
“The new version provides evidence that welfare policy has no more than a marginal effect on the incidence of abortion,” he argued. “In fact, the new regression results indicate that none of the three welfare policies which the authors previously argued were effective tools for reducing the incidence of abortion have a substantial abortion reducing effect.”

***
He also criticized the report’s finding that parental involvement laws and other state laws restricting abortion have little impact on overall abortion rates.

“Since parental involvement laws only directly affect minors, Wright should have mentioned that analyzing their effects on the overall abortion rate is not a methodologically sound way to gauge their actual impact,” New wrote.

The argument that informed consent laws are ineffective, New claimed, fails to acknowledge the “substantial differences” in the effects of informed consent laws that have been enacted and those that have been nullified. By the report’s criteria, New argued, the results provide evidence that informed consent laws are effective.

***
However, Professor New also pointed out that events in the political arena were impacted by the first study.

In an essay at MoralAccountability.com, New accused Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good of misleading the public and referred to “plenty of peer reviewed studies” which find that public funding restrictions and parental involvement laws reduce the incident of abortion.

He claimed the study had a “substantial impact” on the pro-life debate in the 2008 Presidential election and gave “intellectual legitimacy” to those such as Doug Kmiec and Nicholas Cafardi who argued that pro-life voters should vote for Democrats to advance the pro-life cause.

In a Tuesday e-mail to CNA, Prof. New said that the research produced by Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good seems unwilling to acknowledge the “positive effect of pro-life laws such as parental involvement and informed consent laws.”

CNA asked New to speculate why welfare spending generally does not decrease the abortion rate.

He suggested that welfare “undermines societal mores against premarital sex” by enabling women to have more children out of wedlock. Welfare may result in more unplanned pregnancies and possibly more abortions, New said.

“Regardless of how generous welfare benefits are, women facing crisis pregnancies can find financial and medical resources at one of the thousands of crisis pregnancy centers across the country,” he added.

New noted the finding in both the current and previous versions of the group’s report that shows higher female employment is correlated with higher abortion rates.

***
New also mentioned a 2002 study which showed that Medicaid recipients have a higher incidence of abortion in states where Medicaid funds the procedure.

“In states that provide Medicaid funding for abortions, women with Medicaid coverage had an abortion rate more than four times as high as women without such coverage (89 vs. 21 per 1,000),” New summarized. “In contrast, in states that do not cover abortion services for women on Medicaid, the abortion rate among Medicaid recipients was only twice that of women without Medicaid coverage (35 vs. 16 per 1,000).”

While the Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good study reports an increase in abortion rates in states where abortions are funded by Medicaid, New charged: “they do not give this finding much attention in the write-up.”

“Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good continues to miss opportunities with their abortion research,” New told CNA.

“I think that they would be more effective if they would be more willing to publicly acknowledge the positive impact of pro-life legislation and try to constructively work with pro-life groups to promote social policies that will further reduce abortion rates. Instead Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good seems primarily interested in providing moral, political, and theological cover for supporters of Barack Obama and other Democrats who support ‘abortion rights.’”

[Read the whole thing]

(emphasis added)


UPDATED (12 February 2009)
Regular Guy Paul has something to say about the lies and those who chose to believe them:

It was a lie. The left told a convenient lie, and the Catholic left opted to accept it. As I said at the time, they knew it was a lie.

***
They would rather claim to believe lies than vote against abortion. And, having won, they offer nary a keystroke to argue against abortion. They claimed to believe this study. They claimed that Obama's pro-abortion promises were just pandering. They claim to be pro-life. They, like "Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good," are liars. They don't oppose abortion. They've made a negotiated peace on a non-negotiable issue. As I've called them before, they are turncoats in the culture war.

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Archbishop Chaput: "Abortion Reduction Strategies" Ignore Half of the Problem [UPDATED]

Catholic World Report: "Douglas Kmiec and His Misinformation Offensive for Barack Obama"

Prof. Robert George: Notion that Obama's Policies Will Reduce Abortion is "Delusional"

Catholics in Alliance Voter Survey of "Little Value," Archdiocese of Denver Says

National Catholic Register: "Pro-Life Candidates Save Lives" [UPDATED]

Archbishop Chaput: Kmiec Doing a "Disservice to the Church"

USCCB Sets Record Straight Re: Catholic Stance on Overturning Roe

Mainstream Media Compliant in Obama's "Faith Outreach" Pitch

Debate Over at Amy's: Should Catholics Work for Legal Restrictions on Abortion?

Bishop Blair Responds to Gaillardetz Opinion Regarding Roe v. Wade

Cardinal Rigali's Statement for Respect Life Sunday

Deacon Fournier Puts Smack Down on Prof. Kmiec

Abortion Rate Falls ... Again

Mark Stricherz: "Why the Democratic Abortion Strategy is Worse"

U.S. Catholic Bishops: "You Can't Reduce Abortions by Promoting Abortions"

Blackadder: "Would Overturning Roe Reduce the Abortion Rate?"

"Poverty and Abortion: A New Analysis"

Number of Abortions Lowest in Decades

National Review Online: Mainstream Media Continues to Distort on Abortion

Pro-Life Quote of the Day