Pro-life Democrat calls for faith in action for all life

Published: 2005-03-15

SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- Though still smarting from his recent defeat as a candidate for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, former U.S. Rep. Timothy Roemer of Indiana said the related debate about the place pro-life Democrats have in the party has led to "more progress in the last 30 days on the issue of abortion than in the last 30 years." In a March 12 address at the Jesuit-run University of San Francisco, Roemer, a Catholic, also said the time has come for a new doctrine of faith and public service to guide Catholic politicians, setting aside those set by President Kennedy in the 1960s and former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo in the 1980s. In last year's presidential campaign, the Democratic nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, a Catholic, was repeatedly challenged for supporting legal abortion and saying that although he accepted church teaching that abortion is immoral, he could not let his faith dictate his political actions.

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