The US Catholic Conference of Bishops(USCCB) staff has just sent out a letter defending one of its own, as a result of pressure from right-wing Catholic organizing. It is essentially an attack on Kathy Saile, the Domestic Policy Director. It unfortunately claims that the Democratic Party embraces abortion and has a litmus test. The letter, while well intentioned, distorts the Democratic Party's positions, and should be with drawn. This entry will give the details of the letter, the refutation points, and a call to action.
John Carr, Executive Director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development at the USCCB has sent out a letter pleading for understanding from right-wing groups over a meeting attended by Saile. In it he says:
Last week we shared with you the good news that Kathy Saile is joining
our leadership team. You may be aware that on the web there are some
unfounded accusations. Here are the facts.
The new Director, Kathy Saile, is a faithful Catholic who is pro-life
and fully committed to the Catholic Church and its moral and social
teaching, beginning with the right to life. These matters were fully
explored and confirmed in the hiring process and in reference checks.
These charges apparently originated in blogs suggesting that Kathy
Saile is pro-choice because she spoke at a dinner sponsored by a
pro-choice women’s group.
He goes on to say that:
- It was a small, information dinner
- It was one of a series of dinners, and less than 10 people attended.
- Kathy made the case that progressives can and should be pro-life and that the Democratic Party should welcome pro-life candidates and positions
He also make the following claim:
Kathy used the occasion to make the case that the Democratic Party’s embrace of abortion and its pro-choice litmus [test] is wrong both morally and politically.
This letter raises a whole passelof issues, but the ones that I would like to make clear are:
- There are Pro-Life Democrats in Congress
- Pro-Life and Pro-Choice Democrats working to reduce the number of abortions (See Tim Ryan and Rose DeLauro's work from July)
- There is no embrace of abortion by the Democratic Party; the platform calls for rights for women to choose and against criminalization
- There is no litmus test
It is also wholly inappropriate (and against the spirit of Deus Caritas Est) for the USCCB to state the Democratic Party is morally or politically wrong.
This leads me to point ask the USCCB how they reconcile their action with the following statement from Deus Caritas Est:
The Church can not and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible...a just society must be the achievement of politics, not the Church.
Please call John Carr of the USCCB at (202) 541-3181, and ask him for an immediate retraction of his letter.