8mm
Posted on 10/18/2006 8:12:22 PM PDT by Coleus
CORNWALL, ON, October 18, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an interview with LifeSiteNews.com today, Bishop Ronald Fabbro of London, spoke about the deliberations of the Canadian bishops currently meeting in Cornwall for their annual plenary session. Bishop Fabbro, who is President of the Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) told LifeSiteNews.com that the Pope had encouraged the Canadian bishops, in their recent 'ad limina' visits with him, to speak out on issues of life and family, and to refuse to be silenced. "We as bishops have been encouraged in our ad limina visits not to be sidelined on this and that we need to be speaking up," he said.
The bishops addressed matters of life and family and Catholics in political life, but, said the bishop, it was a matter of pastoral discussion of issues rather than making resolutions. Asked if the Canadian Bishops would be taking action on Rome's direction to refuse communion to obstinately pro-abortion Catholic politicians, Bishop Fabbro said "no, we haven't made a decision to do that." He explained that in the area of life and family and politics, "we didn't have any specific resolutions, it was to deepen our understanding and have an opportunity as bishops to talk pastorally about the issues that we have been facing."
"What we discussed as bishops was the role that we have in formation of conscience," he said. Asked about some Catholic politicians and lay people who try to justify support for abortion by appeals to conscience, the Bishop dismissed these as not being intellectually honest. "The pope talks about how reason becomes blind, and I think we experience that in our society," said Bishop Fabbro. "People are taking a very secular mentality, they're formed by the culture and that's how their opinions about different ethical issues. That is not what the Church talks about when she talks about formation of conscience - genuinely searching the depths of our being to see how God is enlightening us about those authentically human values."
"I think the role of our church is to help people truly form their conscience correctly," said the COLF President. "I think we have to be careful when forming conscience," he concluded. LifeSiteNews.com asked about distinctions some Catholics make with regard to election issues suggesting that concerns such as engagement in war and the death penalty are on par with abortion and euthanasia, in terms of priority in political decision making. The Bishop disagreed with such an approach saying, when it comes to "abortion and euthanasia, we have to see those as fundamental human rights that need to take precedence in our formation of conscience - because all of our other rights are based on the right to life. So I think we do have to be careful about indicating a priority there - a priority when voting."
The bishop's comments in that regard echo the sentiments of now-Pope Benedict XVI. Prior to his election, then-Cardinal Ratzinger intervened into the US Bishops Conference task force on Catholics in political life with a document saying: "There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia." (see the full documents here: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/apr/050419a.html ) Bishop Fabbro concluded the interview stressing the need for close relationships between bishops and the pro-life movement. "We do have important partners in the pro-life movement we need to be working with," he said.
Yes, abortion is far more a concern than war.
If the US were even to suffer a terrorist attack everyday in which 100 Americans lost their lives, that would only amount to 36 500 deaths per year. This is hardly comparable to the 1 million deaths by abortion annually.
Over and above any moral or ethical issues (which I am not discarding at all!), this makes the most absolute kind of sense.
Modern government is a numbers game. He with the most numbers (people) wins. Abortion and euthanasia reduce the number of people on the side of the West and Christianity. Something like that has far more impact than a simple war or the occasional death sentence.
You just picked a random number "out of a hat". In one day they killed about 3,000 people. They are committed to kill ALL infidels, as in non-muslims.
On the other hand, non-muslims, meaning U.S. citizens, are the ones who are destroying the unborn children.
There is a comparison...the murder of the innocents.
The Catholic bishops and I stand together on the evil of abortion, yet they have lost credibility with me in the cover-up of pedophile priests.
Who can we trust?
Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Catholic Discussion Ping List.
Catholic Action Ping!
Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Catholic Action Ping List.
I agree.
The slope is already slipping to euthanasia for the disabled and elderly.
We just insist to be taken to a Catholic Hosp miles for even routine tests....they don't abort babies and have a great deal of compassion.
Good bishop. Hard to believe priests refuse to well no it isn't. And there is such a shortage already. Maybe one day Catholics will save the country or what's left of the flock of the dispersion. One can hope.
I'm with Bishop Fabbro!
Abortion and euthanasia reduce the number of people on the side of the West and Christianity. Something like that has far more impact than a simple war or the occasional death sentence.
**
Well said!
True, and stunning.
But there's more to it than even that. With war, your direct aim is not killing, and certainly you're not targetting the innocent.
That first claim may seem counterintuitive, but it's true: you're not directly intending to kill enemy combatants, but to stop them. This can be proven by the fact that after a battle, enemy combatants who have been stopped (but not killed) are given medical care, hospitalized, and held under humane conditions as prisoners, thus proving that the cental intention of warfare is not to kill --- not even to kill aggressors--- but to stop them.
However, abortion is the directly intended killing of the innocent. And not just "innocent" --- it's your own child.
That's why it's always, intrinsically and grievously wrong; whereas a justly-waged war can be honorable, and truly in the service of justice and peace.
Very true.
An Army that simply focuses on killing enemy combatants will not necessarily win. In WWI Germany had a far higher kill rate than any other nation and a much lower cost per enemy soldier killed, but it still lost the war.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.