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Arnold Schwarzenegger's Wife: I'm "a Catholic in Good Standing" But Also Pro-abortion and Pro-Homosexual

By Kathleen Gilbert

LONG BEACH, California, November 19, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – California’s first lady, Maria Shriver, recently told Sally Quinn of the Washington Post that she considers herself "a Catholic in good standing" despite the fact that she openly advocates abortion.

"I find I don't spend a lot of time trying to square my own daily life with the institutional Church," said Shriver.  "I pick and choose."

Shriver called herself a "cafeteria Catholic," a term that is most often used in a derogatory manner, referring to individuals who only selectively submit to Church teaching and authority while still calling themselves Catholic.

On the disparity between Church teaching and her belief on abortion, Shriver told Quinn, "I often talk to my daughters at the dinner table about the difference between being pro-abortion and being pro-choice."  She explained that she believes supporting the right to choose an abortion is different from supporting abortion.

Shriver also pointed out her disagreement with the Church on the issue of homosexuality.  She said she does not believe that "people who are gay shouldn't be accepted into the church."  However, while the Catholic Church teaches that all sexual activity outside of marriage, including homosexual activity, is sinful, there is no prohibition against people with homosexual inclinations being welcomed into the Church. The Church strongly recommends loving acceptance of such persons and spiritual direction and other assistance to help them live celebate, faithful Catholic lives. 

The office of Cardinal Mahoney, Shriver's bishop, did not respond to repeated calls from LifeSiteNews.com yestereday and today up to press time.

Both Shriver and her husband, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, claim a Catholic identity despite public disavowal of Church teaching on the sanctity of life.

"I always said that you should not have your religion interfere with government policies or with the policies of the people," Schwarzenegger said at a Toronto press conference last year, as he advocated research on human embryos. 

"I am a Catholic and a very dedicated Catholic, but that does not interfere with my decision-making because I know that stem-cell research, the way we are doing it in California ... is the right way to go," he said as quoted by the Toronto Star.

More recently, Gov. Schwarzenegger put aside his professed faith when he publicly joined homosexualists in the fight against Proposition 8, California's amendment protecting legal marriage as between a man and a woman.

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