Catholic Officeholders Must Oppose Abortion--Mahony

In his first anti-abortion appeal to politicians, Roman Catholic Archbishop Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles declared Thursday that all Catholic officeholders in government “have a positive moral obligation” to work for the repeal of laws permitting abortion.

“We expect them to support legislation which guarantees, supports and safeguards (the) right to life” from the moment of conception, Mahony said in a policy statement issued through the public affairs office for the Los Angeles archdiocese, the nation’s most populous at 3 million members.

This moral obligation, he said, applies to “Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives.”

No Sanctions Threatened

In an interview, Mahony emphasized that for church members “there is no other legitimate position. There is no such thing as a Catholic, ‘pro-choice’ elected or appointed official.”

“You cannot have it both ways,” Mahony said.

Consistent with the less-authoritarian style of the Catholic Church since the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, Mahony did not threaten ecclesiastical sanctions for recalcitrant elected or appointed officials.

The archbishop, who has presided over the archdiocese since 1985, said he plans to mail copies of his eight-page statement to all lawmakers and officials based within the archdiocese covering Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Told of Mahony’s statement by telephone, Rep. Matthew G. Martinez (D-Monterey Park) said that the archbishop was entitled to his position, but added: “He is just a man. My responsibility is to God, not to a man of the cloth.”

An Earlier Uproar

A father of five who describes himself as a “free-thinking Catholic” who would personally oppose abortion within his family, Martinez said: “Abortion is for the individual to decide. If people want to follow church teaching, then they should, but if people decide to have an abortion because of rape or danger to the health of the mother, then it’s their decision. And the worst thing in the world is an abused child.”

Because Mahony’s statement does not come during the heat of an election campaign, his reiteration of Catholic teaching may not produce the kind of uproar that greeted Cardinal John O’Connor and like-minded eastern U.S. bishops in 1984 when they took issue with Catholic candidates who defended laws allowing the right to choose abortions.

American Catholic bishops have asserted “in season and out of season” that public officials have a moral obligation to oppose abortion, said Richard Doerflinger, associate director for the U.S. bishops’ Office for Prolife Activity in Washington.

Nevertheless, lawmakers who call themselves Catholics are on both sides of the abortion issue.

The National Catholic Register, a newspaper published in Los Angeles, said in its May 28 issue that Catholic lawmakers in Washington were sending mixed signals to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is considering whether to modify the 1973 ruling liberalizing abortion laws. The newspaper said 21 Catholic members of Congress signed their names to friend-of-the-court briefs supporting abortion as a fundamental right and 32 Catholic lawmakers joined briefs urging that the 1973 decision be overturned.

“While many Catholics take pride in their pro-life Catholic congressmen, others take offense at Catholic congressmen who seek to maintain abortion as a fundamental right,” wrote Register analyst David Shaneyfelt. “Aside from the voting booth, only church leadership can address the latter concern.”

Expected Ruling

Mahony tied his statement to the expected Supreme Court ruling this summer on Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services, a case from Missouri. If the 1973 abortion ruling is modified, the abortion debate will probably multiply in state legislatures, Mahony said.

“Instead of one great national abortion debate, there will likely be 50 such debates,” he wrote. The archbishop said he hoped his statement would “clarify the church’s teaching on the responsibilities of Catholics who serve as elected or appointed public officials.”

State Sen. David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles), an active Catholic and the Senate president pro tem, declined comment on Mahony’s statement. Roberti has consistently voted for legislation to tighten restrictions on abortions, but also has supported state funds for family planning, which may include abortion services, according to Donna Brown, a legislative consultant to Roberti.

In one part of the statement seemingly designed to appeal to liberal legislators who tend to favor abortion rights, Mahony asserted that the 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court “was not a ‘liberal’ decision” but a “reactionary” one.

“Americans fought a civil war, adopted a more inclusive right to vote, generously funded Social Security, and made our public buildings and streets accessible to the handicapped--all in the name of expanding . . . mutual responsibility,” he wrote. The 1973 abortion ruling was “the first decisive break with this pattern of enlarging the community of the commonly protected,” Mahony said.

Ready to Help

The prelate also said the archdiocese stands ready with social and health services for women faced with unplanned or unwanted pregnancies.

Anticipating allegations that his declaration violates the principle of church-state separation, Mahony said “the Constitution did not rule religiously based values out of the public debate.”

Mahony chided liberals who applaud U.S. bishops for taking stands on some political issues but claim that the hierarchy is interfering when it comes to abortion. Activists who welcome the church’s condemnation of the nuclear arms race and the Central American policies of Republican administrations should not “deny that same (Catholic) hierarchy its legitimate and constitutionally protected voice on matters of abortion policy,” he said.