Both Pelosi and Biden who were chastised by Catholic Archbishops for their prolife stances show no signs of contrition, and continue to insist their positions are not controversial.

First, Biden, who claims that his beliefs may not be in line, but it is OK, because the church doesn’t really care ¹:

Joe Biden supposedly will attract Catholics to the Democratic ticket, but not if he follows Pope Nancy Pelosi for doctrinal guidance.  In a profile of Biden for the Christian Science Monitor, Biden credits his Catholicism for his focus on “abuse of power”, but shrugs off the abortion debate as a minor controversy.  He even goes on to tell Gail Russell Chaddock that his views on social issues fall completely within Catholic doctrine:

“The animating principle of my faith, as taught to me by church and home, was that the cardinal sin was abuse of power,” he said in an interview with the Monitor. “It was not only required as a good Catholic to abhor and avoid abuse of power, but to do something to end that abuse.”

The issues that have most engaged Biden in public life draw on those teachings, from halting violence against women to genocide. At a personal level, his faith provides him peace, he says. “I get comfort from carrying my rosary, going to mass every Sunday. It’s my time alone,” he says.

But the interface of faith and policy has long been problematic for Catholic presidential hopefuls. Governor Smith faced withering criticism over whether Catholic politicians are obliged by their church to take policy orders from Rome. John F. Kennedy famously disavowed “outside religious pressures or dictates,” swept the Catholic vote, and won the presidency. By the time another J.F.K. from Massachusetts ran for president in 2004, the ground had shifted. Sen. John F. Kerry lost the Catholic vote because many of his faith questioned whether he was Catholic enough, given his strong support for abortion rights.

But Biden believes he can bridge much of that divide. “My views are totally consistent with Catholic social doctrine,” says Biden, a six-term Democratic senator from Delaware. “There are elements within the church who say that if you are at odds with any of the teachings of the church, you are at odds with the church. I think the church is bigger than that.”

Once again, Biden can indulge himself in whatever self-deception he desires, but he should check with his priest before essentially lying about the doctrine of the Church.  Joe Biden is a self-professed pro-choice politician, and his record demonstrates it.  He received a 100% rating from NARAL in 2006, 2005, 2004, and a 75% in 2007.  He got zeroes from the National Right to Life committee in 2005-6 and 2001-2, getting a 17% in 2003.

In Pelosi’s case, her spokesmen has a strange defense:  Everyone does it ²:

Pelosi Spokeswoman About-face: Catholic Church “Clear” on Life Teaching After All - But Catholics Need Not Listen

A spokeswoman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the speaker’s position as a “pro-abortion Catholic”, not because the Church is unclear on when life begins, as earlier stated, but because Catholics routinely contravene “clear Catholic teaching” against abortion.

In a statement praising Pelosi’s appreciation for “the sanctity of the family,” Brenda Daly, speaking for Pelosi, said, “While Catholic teaching is clear that life begins at conception, many Catholics do not ascribe to that view.”

In the controversial interview on NBC’s Meet The Press that spawned Daly’s statement, Pelosi had said, “The Doctors of the Church have not been able to make that definition [of when life begins],” and called it “an issue of controversy” throughout the history of the Church. “St. Augustine said at three months. We don’t know,” said Pelosi.

Brenda Daly’s statement says that Pelosi is not justified in her pro-abortion stance due to vague Church teaching, but on the basis that many other “Catholics” also violate Church teaching.

So the rule is, if everyone else violates the teaching of the Catholic church, it must be OK.

Of course, real Catholics tend to disagree….

Susan A. Fani, Director of Communications at the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, questioned the strength of Pelosi’s newest argument: “So what?” she said.

“There are plenty of Catholics living a life rife with sin that seek to justify their behavior by saying they disagree with the Church on the source of their delinquency.

“Maybe that’s the source of Pelosi’s confusion - she really doesn’t understand the difference between the teaching authority of the Catholic Church and the DNC.”

Doh!.  That may be the real issue.  When the democrats treat their party platform as their religious doctrine, the party becomes their church.  At that point, is she still a Catholic if she bows to the alter of Howard Dean?

Hot Air closes us out with some clarity:

The Catholic Church is very, very clear about the issue of abortion, and it rises to the level of doctrine, not just opinion.  In fact, a reading of paragraph 2272 of the catechism will demonstrate just how fundamental the issue of abortion is for the Catholic Church:

Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. “A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,” “by the very commission of the offense,” and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

This means that anyone who formally cooperates in abortion places themselves in a state of excommunication with the church, not the other way around.  The Catholic Church considers the sacred nature of human life and its relationship with the Creator so basic that one cannot facilitate abortions (ie, through legalizing and subsidizing them) and remain in communion with the Church.

Seems pretty clear to me.  Maybe someone needs to ask the many democrat politicians who profess to being Catholic whether they are clear on what being a Catholic means….

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1.   http://hotair.com/archives/2008/08/27/biden-follows-pelosi-in-mangling-catholic-doctrine-on-abortion/ [back]
2.   http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08082706.html [back]

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