Mario Cuomo dead at 82
January 02, 2015
Mario Cuomo, who served as governor of New York from 1983 to 1994, died at the age of 82 on January 1, as his son Andrew began his second term as the state’s governor.
Described by his Associated Press obituary as “the nation’s most famous Roman Catholic supporter of abortion rights,” Cuomo is perhaps most often remembered in Catholic circles for “Religious Belief and Public Morality,” a 1984 address at the University of Notre Dame in which he defended his position on abortion legislation.
“In the end, Cuomo argued that ‘approval or rejection of legal restrictions on abortion should not be the exclusive litmus test of Catholic loyalty,’” Archbishop Charles Chaput wrote two decades later. “With those words, he wrote the alibi for every ‘pro-choice’ Catholic who has held public office since.”
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Further information:
- Ex-NY Gov. Cuomo Dies on Day Son Begins 2nd Term (AP)
- "Religious Belief and Public Morality: A Catholic Governor's Perspective" (University of Notre Dame)
- Archbishop Chaput: Let’s Make a Deal: Catholic Conscience and Compromise (2004)
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Posted by: jeremiahjj -
Jan. 02, 2015 4:45 PM ET USA
God will judge Mr. Cuomo according to the Creator's mercy. I will adopt the pope's position on this -- who am I to judge Mario Cuomo? I will say emphatically that a person cannot at once be a good Catholic and a supporter of abortion. Abortion isn't about a natural right (meaning ordained from birth, God-given). It's about the killing of an unborn baby. People who hide this fact by calling abortion a "right" or "woman's right to choose" do so at their peril.
