flight of the bumblebee

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Oct 20, 2008

 The Delaware News Journal has persuaded Senator Joe Biden to speak directly about how he reconciles his Catholic faith with his support for legal abortion. (Hat tip to American Papist for bringing the exchange to our notice.)  You can read the full interview if you like, but don't try to follow Biden's logic without professional help:

How do you reconcile your Catholic faith with your position on Roe v. Wade?

It's very difficult.

Got that right, Joe. If you'd stopped there, we'd all have gained something.  

It's always a very, very, very difficult, difficult decision. I know that, my church has wrestled with this for 2,000 years.

What church is that, pray tell? My own Church, which is the Catholic Church, got the answer right 2,000 years ago and hasn't looked back. 

 We've always believed from the outset that abortion is wrong.

Aha! Right again.

But throughout the years, debated the degree to which it is wrong.

 Sorry; you lost me again. It's killing but we'll not sure how wrong it is; which church is this?

It is always viewed as a dire decision.

OK; back on track. So it's a dire wrong. 

But throughout the church's history, we've argued between whether or not it is wrong in every circumstance and the degree of wrong. Catholics have this notion, it's almost a gradation.

Almost. The law recognizes different sorts of homicide. They're all homicide-- all felonies, all  punishable by law-- but the legal penalties are different. Is that a gradation? 

One of my avocations is theology. I actually have a real interest in this, I always have, having nothing to do with politics....

Really? It doesn't show. Who are your favorite contemporary theologians? Congar? Grisez? Curran? Pelosi?