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Catholic Diocese of Little Rock Flip Flops - Now Okays Funding Group which Supports Planned Parenthood

FRONT ROYAL, VA, March 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On February 7, 2008, the Respect Life Apostolate of the Diocese of Little Rock issued a statement saying that it "neither supports nor encourages participation in activities that benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure." Now, less than a month later, the Diocese has reversed its position. The decision was made after Komen assured the Diocese that local fund-raising will not benefit Planned Parenthood.

"Despite the efforts of some to make this issue sound complicated, the facts are clear," said Douglas R. Scott, Jr., president of Life Decisions International (LDI). "The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation allows its chapters to fund Planned Parenthood and several of them do so. The Diocese of Little Rock has essentially said it is acceptable to be associated with a group that funds an abortion-committing goliath so long as local dollars are not going to the group. This kind of disconnect is exactly what Komen officials were hoping to achieve and they clearly succeeded."

"I had been assured that 25% of the money given here in Arkansas goes to the national Komen foundation, which provided grants to Planned Parenthood, a major provider of abortions," wrote Diocesan Administration Rev. J. Gaston Hebert in explaining the new position. "If that were true, money donated in Arkansas could have indirectly funded abortions. Regardless of the exceptional work done by Komen...the good accomplished would not have been a legitimate reason to participate in the death of unborn children...However, the reality is that the national Komen foundation does NOT give grants to Planned Parenthood - and, therefore, money given to Komen in Arkansas does NOT, even indirectly, fund abortion. Thus, my major reason for releasing the position statement was NOT valid."

"In other words," Scott said, "as long as my specific dollar is not going to Planned Parenthood, it is morally acceptable to be associated with an organization that allows its chapters to support an enterprise that killed 264,943 preborn human beings in 2005 alone. "Scripture calls on Christians to have nothing to do with evil. If a Komen chapter in California was actually committing abortions with money raised locally, would Rev. Hebert use the same logic? If the answer is 'no,' I would sure like to hear his rationale."

Scott said that other than the obvious connection between any parent organization and their affiliated chapters, the issue is not whether the parent directly funds Planned Parenthood, but whether the parent directly supports a chapter that directly funds Planned Parenthood. "The parent could prohibit funding of Planned Parenthood by its chapters but Komen has steadfastly refused to do."

"I would note that there is [sic] a relatively small number of affiliates of Komen that do give grants to Planned Parenthood..." Rev. Hebert wrote. Scott wondered if the Diocese would have come to a different conclusion if every Komen affiliate, with the exception of those based in Arkansas, supported Planned Parenthood. "Based on the logic used to defend the new position, the answer is that it would not have mattered." "Even this partnering...unintentionally gives credence and acceptability to Planned Parenthood due to Komen's excellent reputation," Rev. Herbert continued. "Exactly!" Scott responded. "The partnering, which is actually quite intentional since it certainly did not happen by accident, does give credence and acceptability to Planned Parenthood."

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