Archbishop Levada: 'Abortion holds a unique place' in politics

Published: 2004-06-23

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In a talk to the U.S. bishops released June 23, Archbishop William J. Levada of San Francisco said there is a special problem when a Catholic politician takes stands contrary to church teaching on abortion because "abortion holds a unique place" in Catholic social teaching. "Catholic social teaching covers a broad range of important issues," he said, but "not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. ... Paramount among these moral principles is the sanctity of human life." "There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not with regard to abortion and euthanasia," he said. He strongly urged the bishops to engage in a real dialogue with Catholic politicians on the relation between public policy and moral and ethical principles. He acknowledged the possibility of a situation in which a bishop might feel constrained to deny Communion to a Catholic who publicly advocates abortion on demand, but he also reminded the bishops that "we are called to shepherd the unity of the church, in all its diversity. Thus the application of restrictive practices regarding the reception of holy Communion in one diocese necessarily has implications for all." Archbishop Levada, chairman of the bishops' Committee on Doctrine and a member of their Task Force on Catholic Bishops and Catholic Politicians, was one of three task force members who gave presentations to the bishops June 15 in an interim report on the work of the task force.

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