April 21, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — Editor’s note: Bishop Athanasius Schneider, the auxiliary bishop in Astana, Kazakhstan, commended the goal of seven Italian pro-life organizations to build a new pro-life movement that rejects all use of cells derived from body parts of aborted babies. The following is Schneider’s response:
Nur-Sultan, April 21, 2021
To Presidents Mirco Agerde, Gianfranco Amato, Antonio Brandi, Giorgio Celsi, Francesco Fontana, Giovanni Formicola, and Massimo Viglione
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Dear Sirs,
The moral chaos that now seems to be imposing itself on the world, the drift toward transhumanism that is becoming increasingly explicit, and the culture of death that dominates the legislation of present-day States, must vigorously and resolutely be opposed with the integrity of truth and the unwillingness to compromise on the good.
Hence the need for a new pro-life movement without compromise, without inferiority complexes vis-a-vis the world, and that is never subordinate to the ideologies of modernity. A pro-life movement that courageously and steadfastly affirms the absolute unlawfulness of any attack on innocent human life from conception to natural death.
This new pro-life movement cannot remain silent about that monstrous and global structure of sin that is crying out to God for vengeance: the routine use by pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries of human cell lines from aborted embryos and fetuses.
The exploitation of human embryos and fetuses as a reservoir of biological material, is an abomination that every reasonable man and woman of good will should oppose by denouncing its perverse and diabolical nature.
I would like to thank you, dear Sirs — Mirco Agerde, Gianfranco Amato, Antonio Brandi, Giorgio Celsi, Francesco Fontana, Giovanni Formicola and Massimo Viglione — for the open letter you addressed to me. I thank the associations you lead: the Queen of Love Marian Movement, the Association of Jurists for Life, the Association Pro Vita & Famiglia, the Association Ora et labora in defense of life, the Association Iustitia in Veritate, the Benedict Option Community, and the Confederation of Triarii. I thank you for your commitment to building that new pro-life movement in Italy which is so sorely needed. I also thank the letter’s signatories: doctors, jurists, and men of culture and science.
The head of the U.S. Bishops' Pro-Life office, Archbishop Joseph Naumann, is under attack for consistently calling out Joe Biden for the serious sin of publicly promoting abortion.
A petition has been launched against Archbishop Naumann because he continues to preach the truth that "Catholic" politicians who promote abortion are endangering their souls and causing grave scandal to the faithful.
We must now come to Archbishop Naumann's defense.
Please SIGN and SHARE WIDELY this petition which urges the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops not to demote or remove Archbishop Naumann from head of the Pro-Life Committee, but rather, to follow his lead in urging Joe Biden to repent of the terrible sin of promoting the murder the unborn human beings.
Archbishop Naumann has come under fire, from people who plainly know or care little about Catholic moral teaching, for stating the obvious in a recent interview with LifeSiteNews:
It is the responsibility of the Bishops of the United States to defend the most fundamental of all human rights, the right to life, and to protect the integrity of Catholic moral teaching. We cannot abdicate either of these responsibilities, even as we are eager to work with everyone to promote the common good...
We must continue to speak to President Biden, as well as all Catholics, and even all Americans, about the truth of what abortion is. Abortion is not something to be celebrated, and it is not healthcare. It is the intentional killing of a child. To participate in abortion or to promote abortion is a grave evil.
And, in an even more pointed statement made in an interview with Catholic World Report, Archbishop Naumann defended the Holy Eucharist against Biden's attack on human life, suggesting that Biden should not present himself for Holy Communion:
When Catholics receive the Eucharist, they are acknowledging the Real Presence of Jesus, and also belief in the teachings of the Church. President Biden doesn’t believe in the Church’s teachings on the Sanctity of Human Life, and he should not put the priest in the situation where he has to decide whether or not to allow him to receive the Eucharist. He should know that after 78 years as a Catholic.
But, again, by calling out Joe Biden for his public promotion of abortion, Archbishop Naumann is not doing anything out-of-the-ordinary.
He is only saying what the bishops should have all been saying, with a unified voice, since Biden won the nomination during the election campaign.
Indeed, in an open letter published on inauguration day, Archbishop José Gomez, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), warned that Biden’s pledge to pursue anti-life and anti-family policies would advance “moral evils” in the areas of “abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender."
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops not to demote or replace Archbishop Naumann as head of the Pro-Life Committee, but rather, to follow his lead in urging Joe Biden to repent of the horrific sin of promoting the murder of the preborn.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
'EXCLUSIVE: Bishop Naumann – US bishops must address scandal of ‘Catholic’ Biden championing abortion' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/exclusive-bishop-naumann-us-bishops-must-address-scandal-of-catholic-biden-championing-abortion
'Bishops need to ‘correct’ pro-abortion Biden for ‘acting contrary’ to Catholic faith: Abp. Naumann' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/bishops-need-to-correct-pro-abortion-biden-for-acting-contrary-to-catholic-faith-abp-naumann
I hope that your noble and courageous initiative in Italy may inspire similar initiatives in other countries.
I invoke the Divine blessing on all those who support this initiative.
+ Athanasius Schneider