New York, Chicago archbishops weigh in on Planned Parenthood videos
August 06, 2015
Discussing the series of undercover videos of conversations with Planned Parenthood officials, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York wrote that “for once we can actually take Planned Parenthood at their word, because in these videos they don’t use euphemisms, but instead they openly acknowledge the humanity of the babies they have aborted and are now dissecting.”
He continued:
The importance of this is made particularly stark in a horrifying moment in one of the videos. A technician is exchanging small talk with the interviewer, all the while as she coldly describes her handling of the various organs of one of the aborted babies.
She is then heard to exclaim, “Another boy!”
The pathos of that scene is almost beyond human comprehension. But the acknowledgement of the truth is a pivotal moment. Nobody can hide from it any longer. It comes right out of their own mouths. It’s not a thing. It’s not just some tissue. “It’s a boy!” It’s a human, baby, boy.
Commenting on the videos in an op-ed published by the Chicago Tribune, Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago said that “the widespread revulsion over the tapes arose because they unmasked the fact that, in our public conversation about abortion, we have so muted the humanity of the unborn child that some consider it quite acceptable to speak freely of crushing a child's skull to preserve valuable body parts and to have that discussion over lunch.”
“This newest evidence about the disregard for the value of human life also offers the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment as a nation to a consistent ethic of life,” he added. “While commerce in the remains of defenseless children is particularly repulsive, we should be no less appalled by the indifference toward the thousands of people who die daily for lack of decent medical care; who are denied rights by a broken immigration system and by racism; who suffer in hunger, joblessness and want; who pay the price of violence in gun-saturated neighborhoods; or who are executed by the state in the name of justice.”
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Further information:
- Cardinal Dolan: Another Boy, Another Question (CardinalDolan.org)
- Blase Cupich op-ed: Planned Parenthood and the muted humanity of the unborn child (Chicago Tribune)
- New Planned Parenthood video: official discusses delivery of 'intact fetal cadavers' (CWN, 8/4)
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Posted by: unum -
Aug. 07, 2015 7:46 PM ET USA
Sorry Cardinal Dolan, there is no equivalence between PP barbarity for financial gain and social ills. Scripture that tells us "the poor you shall always have with you" (MT 26:11) is a call to the ongoing mission of the Church to care for the less fortunate. The murder of innocents for money deserves the focused attention of all elements of the Body of Christ and civil law enforcement. The Cardinal needs to make statements that teach more clearly.
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Posted by: Nuage -
Aug. 06, 2015 10:47 PM ET USA
Praise God that Cdl Dolan FINALLY took a public stand on this horrific evil. Now he needs to take just as firm a stand on defunding Planned Parenthood. If the Church had stood with the pro-life movement from the beginning we would not be in the position we are in as a society, and a nation, today. Bps. Austin Vaughan and Edward Lynch were treated like pariahs by their fellow bishops. Courageous and heroic, they brought great solace to Our Lord. Cdl. Dolan would do well to follow their example.
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Posted by: JimKcda -
Aug. 06, 2015 8:37 PM ET USA
Sure, Bishop Cupich, change the subject. This is the same Bishop who forbid his priests in Spokane from participating in 40 Days for Life. He just doesn't understand that abortion is the major evil of our times. Perhaps he has never read Pope John Paul II's "Gospel of Life." Or perhaps he just doesn't get it! However, he is supposed to be a great "money guy." Maybe he thinks he can take it with him. This Spokane Pro-Lifer was happy to see him leave. Good luck, Chicago!
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Posted by: pateradam3 -
Aug. 06, 2015 8:16 PM ET USA
I am sorry but Archbishop Cupich must have missed some basic classes in moral theology if he can equate abortion and infanticide with immigration reform and poverty.
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Posted by: MatJohn -
Aug. 06, 2015 6:33 PM ET USA
Ah yes, leave it to the bishops of the left to downplay the barbarous acts toward the unborn by equaling them with those issues far more near and dear to them.
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Posted by: garedawg -
Aug. 06, 2015 2:49 PM ET USA
Yes, I actually am "less appalled" by indifference toward those who undergo capital punishment.
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Posted by: feedback -
Aug. 06, 2015 9:28 AM ET USA
I disagree with Abp Cupich on this, legal abortion and founded by taxpayers' dollars is MUCH more appalling to me than joblessness or hunger in Chicago. Abortion can be stopped immediately when good people are elected to the office, while all the other "evils" always make great campaign slogans for any politician. Also, "broken immigration system" means totally different thing to different politicians, the same goes for "racism."
