By Patrick B. Craine
OTTAWA, Ontario, October 6, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Dr. Richard R. Gaillardetz, scheduled to speak at the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops' annual plenary in Cornwall from October 19-23, last year addressed a dissident 'Catholic' group condemned by the Vatican for its opposition to Church teaching.
In addition to previous evidence documenting Dr. Gaillardetz's public dissent from Church teaching and strong support for radically pro-abortion President Barack Obama, he was also a featured speaker at an event run by the group Call to Action, which the Vatican has denounced as “causing damage to the Church of Christ.”
In April 2008, Dr. Gaillardetz delivered the main address at a conference hosted by Call to Action-Minnesota, speaking on the topic 'Rethinking Hierarchy: Becoming a Community of Conversation.'
Call to Action calls itself “a Catholic movement working for equality and justice in the Church and society,” which “believes that the Spirit of God is at work in the whole church, not just in its appointed leaders.” The group, boasting over 25,000 members, works against Church teaching, promoting a variety of causes such as women's ordination and an end to mandatory priestly celibacy.
Membership of CTA draws heavily from former clergy, feminist nuns, and homosexuals. CTA has aligned itself with other dissident groups, such as the pro-abortion Catholics for a Free Choice and the pro-homosexuality New Ways Ministry.
In March 1996, Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska announced the automatic excommunication of Call to Action members in his diocese should they not withdraw their membership. He included several other groups as well, all of which, he said, were “totally incompatible with the Catholic faith.”
Nebraska Call to Action appealed to the Vatican, and, in 2006, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, upheld Bishop Bruskewitz's decision. According to Cardinal Re, “the judgment of the Holy See is that the activities of Call to Action in the course of these years are in contrast with the Catholic faith due to views and positions held which are unacceptable from a doctrinal and disciplinary standpoint.”
“Thus to be a member of this association or to support it is irreconcilable with a coherent living of the Catholic faith,” he said.
Additionally, Dr. Gaillardetz is a prominent member of the organization Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG), which advocates the 'seamless garment' or 'consistent life ethic' approach to Catholic social teaching which has been criticized as undermining the importance of life issues.
He is listed on the CACG website as one of their 'Catholic commentators' who are available to media to “speak with authority on different aspects of Catholic Teaching and its proper role in public life on such issues as health care, immigration reform and the environment.”
CACG maintains that Catholics should focus on reducing abortions through causes such as healthcare and poverty alleviation, rather than working to implement pro-life legislation, a position that Gaillardetz shares. Numerous bishops and pro-life commentators have accused CACG of distorting Catholic teaching by downplaying of abortion.
Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver said in October 2008 that “the work of Democratic-friendly groups like Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good … have done a disservice to the Church, confused the natural priorities of Catholic social teaching, undermined the progress prolifers have made, and provided an excuse for some Catholics to abandon the abortion issue instead of fighting within their parties and at the ballot box to protect the unborn.”
The same month, Bishop Joseph Martino, then bishop of Scranton, released a video condemning Catholic groups who use Catholic teaching to advocate pro-abortion politicians. “Some individuals and groups are arriving at their own interpretations regarding the demands of Catholic social teachings,” says the video's narrator. “Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good are two such groups. They claim to be concerned about Catholic teaching and the common good – but that is not the case.”
Referring to the United States bishops' document 'Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,' the narrator says, “These groups give the impression that their reading of the bishops' statement is authentic Church teaching. It is not.” The video indicates that the document allows a Catholic to vote for a pro-abortion candidate “only for truly grave moral reasons.” “Such reasons constitute a very high standard because they must be proportionate to the evil of abortion,” explains the narrator.
Beyond his affiliations with Call to Action and CACG, Gaillardetz signed a letter earlier this year supporting the nomination of pro-abortion Catholic Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services. According to the letter, Sebelius “has worked to reduce the number of abortions,” and during her time as governor in Kansas, the signatories say, abortions dropped by 10%.
However, Sebelius has aggressively supported abortion rights, vetoing numerous pieces of common-sense pro-life legislation. For example, in 2003, she vetoed the Abortion Clinic Licensing bill that would have required minimal safety standards at abortuaries. Three years later she vetoed Bill 528, which sought to require documentation to justify the performance of late-term abortions.
Calling her “a woman of deep faith,” the letter admits that “the governor has had disagreements over public policy with leaders in her Church. Yet their disagreement has never been over the morality of abortion, but over what prudential policy is best in dealing with abortion in Kansas.”
Sebelius' bishop disagreed. In spring 2008, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City publicly directed Sebelius not to present herself for Communion until she takes “the necessary steps for amendment of her life which would include a public repudiation of her previous efforts and actions in support of laws and policies sanctioning abortion.”
“The spiritually lethal message, communicated by our governor, as well as many other high profile Catholics in public life,” he said, “has been in effect: 'The church's teaching on abortion is optional!'”
The Vatican's Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, called Sebelius' appointment a “source of the greatest embarrassment,” stating that “her position on the question of procured abortion is the source of the greatest scandal to Catholics and to all who uphold the natural moral law.”
In May, Gaillardetz signed another letter supporting the University of Notre Dame's decision to honor President Barack Obama at their Commencement ceremonies. According to the letter, “Notre Dame has a long tradition of honoring presidents from both political parties.”
“Catholic teaching warns about the threats to human dignity posed by abortion, the death penalty, torture, unjust military engagement and the nuclear arms race,” it reads. “The honoring of George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan did not detract from Notre Dame's commitment to the fullness of faith.”
“The same standard should apply for President Obama,” the letter goes on, “a Christian with deep respect for the role of faith in public life and whose commitment to universal health care, comprehensive immigration reform, environmental stewardship and an economy that works for all Americans reflect core Catholic values.”
The letter, put forward by “Catholic leaders and theologians,” contradicted Notre Dame's own ordinary, Bishop John D'Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend, who strongly protested and boycotted the event. Bishop D'Arcy's protest was joined by over 80 U.S. bishops and 367,000 petitioners.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Canadian Bishops' Conference and Pro-Obama Plenary Speaker Respond to Criticism Over Invitation
CCCB Plenary Presenter Advocated Obama as the 'Pro-Life Candidate,' Was Criticized by His Bishop
Canadian Bishops' Plenary to be Addressed on the Priesthood by Women Priests Advocate
Co-Founders of Radical Catholic Dissident Call to Action Group to Retire
CTA to continue promoting abortion, contraception and homosexuality in Catholic Church
To contact any Canadian bishop