(This article, which originally appeared in the Detroit News, courtesy of Steven Ertelt and the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email infonet@prolifeinfo.org.)
Detroit, MI — As the Michigan governor's race approaches its final month,
Cardinal Adam Maida on Sunday will tell parishioners that Catholic public
officials have “a special moral obligation” on the abortion issue that
supersedes the laws of the land.
“Ultimately, there is a higher law, the law of God,” the Detroit archbishop
says in an unprecedented statement to be read at all Masses.
The advice to Catholic voters follows protests by pro-life advocates aimed at
pro-abortion Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, the Democratic candidate for governor, who is Catholic and supports abortion.
Elected leaders who are Catholic, Maida believes, must work actively against
laws that allow abortions. Such officeholders can not “justify inaction with
regard to the dignity of human life simply on the grounds that abortion is
the law of the land,” Maida says in his statement, obtained by The Detroit
News.
The seven-paragraph message will be shared during the annual Respect Life
Sunday, which begins a month-long observance of the church's moral opposition to abortion and other issues that threaten life.
Maida does not mention Granholm in the letter, but Metro Detroit Catholics
for months have urged him to make a statement about her position, which they say distorts church teachings. Some have called for her excommunication, a punishment in cannon law for church disobedience that rarely occurs and most experts say has never been used to discipline a pro-abortion public leader.
Michigan has 2 million Catholics, including 1.1 million in Maida's archdiocese.
Granholm and her Republican opponent, pro-life Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus, both
reacted to Maida's statement in writing.
“Because of my Catholic faith,” Granholm said, “I believe that life begins at
conception and am personally opposed to abortion. However, different faiths
believe differently about when life begins and in a pluralistic society,
government should respect those differences. This matter should be a private
decision that a woman makes in consultation with her faith, her family and
her physician.”
Posthumus, a member of the Church of the Brethren, a Protestant branch, who is pro-life, said his rival can't have it both ways.
“It troubles me when elected officials try to position themselves on both
sides of this debate by claiming to be 'personally pro-life,' while promoting
a culture which destroys life,” he said. “I am proud to stand with Cardinal
Maida and leaders of faith across this state in defense of life.”
Ned McGrath, archdiocese spokesman, confirmed this is the cardinal's
strongest statement yet about politicians' stance on abortion — but denied
it's aimed at Granholm
“It's not a statement on any particular candidate, it is a statement on the
issue,” the aide said. “There's something in there for everybody, the
candidates and the voters.”
Monica Migliorino Miller of South Lyon, a leader of the group that has held
events at Our Lady of Good Counsel — where Granholm worships — on Sundays since early June, welcomed the cardinal's action. “It is reasonable to
conclude that his remarks are made with Jennifer Granholm in mind,” she said,
“and that he seeks to blunt the effects of a scandal that she has caused
within the diocese.”
Other Catholics said they respect the archbishop, but noted that a
significant percentage of Catholics — including many priests and nuns —
disagree with the church's teaching on abortion.
“Catholicism is a fundamental tenet of how I live my life and why I am who I
am,” said Colleen Pobur of Plymouth, who attends Granholm's church. “This one small issue is a point where I differ from the teachings of the church. I do not believe this difference makes me less of a Catholic.”
So far, the archdiocese has stayed out of the fray, pointing instead to the
Michigan Catholic Conference's election guide, which calls abortion “the
preeminent threat to human dignity because it directly attacks life itself.”
But Maida speaks out pointedly in a few sentences of his 25-sentence letter,
which will be read 30 days before Election Day.
“When it is impossible to overturn or prevent passage of a law which allows
or promotes abortion, an elected official should always seek to limit the
harm done by such laws,” said Maida. “Nor can Catholic political leaders
justify inaction with regard to the dignity of human life simply on the
grounds that abortion is the law of the land, because ultimately, there is a
higher law, the law of God.”
Frances Kissling, president of a national group so-called Catholics for a
Free Choice, said from Washington, D.C., that the cardinal shouldn't issue
his statements so close to the election.
The cardinal, however, outspokenly opposed a past referendum that would have legalized assisted suicide — a measure that failed. “The cardinal really sees this as a teachable moment on the life issues,” McGrath said.
