Earlier this week, American Catholic bishops dealt leftism a serious blow when they rejected left-wing, social justice enthusiast Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich’s bid for chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. Instead, the group elected the staunchly pro-life Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann.
The significance of this vote cannot be understated, as it marks the first time in 40 years the USCCB did not select a Cardinal to chair the position.
Winning the vote by a majority of 96 to 82 (mysteriously, there were 34 absentees), Archbishop Naumann ascended to what is perhaps the most important position in the USCCB pertaining to pro-life causes. As noted by Church Militant, Naumann has the kind of outstanding record of battling against the culture of death that Christians of all denominations should take confidence in.
“Naumann has a spotless pro-life record,” reports CM. “He was among the few bishops who publicly declared that pro-abortion politicians — in his case, Catholic Kathleen Sebelius, former pro-abortion governor of Kansas and later Secretary of Health and Human Services, responsible for pushing through the contraceptive mandate forcing Catholic employers to provide birth control for staff — were disallowed from receiving Holy Communion in his archdiocese.”
For the past 50 years, American Catholic Bishops as a whole have shown trepidation in the face of denying stalwartly pro-abortion politicians the sacrament of Holy Communion in accordance with Canon Law. Naumann actually enforcing it shows he takes the evils of abortion seriously and will not cave to political correctness. In May, Naumann also ordered churches in his archdiocese to sever ties with the Girl Scouts over their relationship with Planned Parenthood.
By contrast, Cardinal Blase Cupich, while paying lip-service to the Church’s doctrine, has previously barred priests from praying outside of abortion clinics while serving as the bishop of Spokane, and has suggested that openly pro-abortion politicians should receive Communion, because denying them the Eucharist “politicizes” the Catholic celeration of Mass.
Cupich operates under what’s known as the “Seamless Garment” approach to the pro-life cause, a perverse theological quagmire promoted by the staunchly left-wing Cardinal Bernardin in the wicked 1960’s.
What the “Seamless Garment” theological position did was put abortion on the same pedestal as other causes like welfare, race relations, social justice, and pacificism. The move enabled liberal Catholics to avoid weighing the gravity of certain objectionable sins, like abortion, against to others that require more discernment before prudential action.
In short, liberal Catholics justified voting for pro-abortion politicians on the basis of issues like universal health care, affirmative action, and government-sponsored poverty programs under the false impression that failing to endorse such causes is just as grave as murdering an unborn child.
A true “Seamless Garment” theology, one untainted by leftism, simply means that pro-lifers cannot neglect other issues or believe that abortion is an excuse to avoid taking responsibility for those in need.
Cupich’s version of the “Seamless Garment” was defeated this week and the unborn will surely benefit because of it.