semper fi

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Feb 17, 2006

In spite of sizable political and cultural obstacles, Australia has a Minister of Health who is a Catholic, and whose Catholic convictions gave him the gumption to block approval of the abortion pill RU486. According to the NCR's John Allen, it looked like the good guys had their act together for a change.

Then along came a Jesuit ...

None of this means, however, that Catholic opinion on the issue is entirely uniform. At a panel discussion hosted by the brand-new Notre Dame University of Sydney on Thursday night, Feb. 16, the eminent Australian Jesuit Fr. Frank Brennan said he believed Catholics of good conscience could have voted either way on the RU486 bill.

Ironically, Pell was sitting in the audience. Brennan candidly acknowledged, "I know Cardinal Pell would disagree with me on this."