November 8, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – The responses of Cardinal Blase Cupich, one of U.S. prelates who has risen to prominence during the current pontificate, to two different tragedies show the fervor with which he defends liberal political causes and the dispassion with which he speaks on abortion.
Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, is in the running to become the pro-life chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The group will vote on the new head of their pro-life committee at their annual November meeting in Baltimore next week.
In his statement on the recent Sutherland Springs, Texas, shooting, Cupich seemed to join the crowd of celebrities and left-wing politicians in taking a swipe at those who offer “thoughts and prayers” after such a tragedy.
“Once again we must extend our condolences to families suffering the horrific loss of loved ones to an act of madness,” said Cupich. “It would dishonor those lost and those who mourn to simply participate in the routine exchange of sympathies underpinned by the sense of futility and hopelessness that has befallen our country.”
We must recognize that the factors that produce these tragedies will not change unless we take direct action to change them.
Comprehensive national gun control policies will not prevent every shooting but it will prevent some.
Access to mental health care — in legislation founded on the principle that health care is a right not a privilege — will not prevent every shooting but it will prevent some and will mean we will have fewer podium speeches about our thoughts and prayers.
Let it be our firm resolve to act and to advocate and to end this hideous blot upon our nation.
Honor the memories of the many thousands of gun violence victims by holding accountable those who could have done something and did not, who called for study instead of steps toward progress, and who gave those Pope Francis has called merchants of death more regard than the dead children, the dead men and women we mourn today.
The time to demand action is now.
No mention of Jesus, salvation, hope, or even “mercy.” Just pure political talking points about gun control.
Compare that with what Cupich said after the Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, promised to veto a bill mandating taxpayer-funded abortions (Rauner didn’t keep his promise, but this statement was released before that).
Last Friday, Governor Rauner promised to veto House Bill 40. This legislation, which is pending in the General Assembly, would use public dollars, through Illinois’ Medicaid and employee health insurance programs, to fund elective abortions at any stage of pregnancy for any reason. I thank him for this principled stand. Abortion is a controversial issue in this country, but using public money to provide abortions should not be. The federal government prohibits the practice, and polls show a substantial segment of the American public reject it.
I pray that this divisive issue will be put behind us and our government officials will now concentrate on the many difficult challenges facing Illinois. Most importantly, our political leaders must find a way to cooperate and craft a budget that serves all our people. It is essential that we unite in this effort, and I stand ready to help in any way.
Got that? Abortion is a “controversial issue.” It needs to be “put behind us” so the government can focus on its budget.
The statement suggests taxpayer-funded abortion is wrong because “the federal government prohibits the practice” and most Americans don’t like it.
Your Eminence, abortion is immoral because it kills a whole, distinct, living human being and therefore violates the Church’s prohibition on murder. Even if abortion wasn’t “controversial,” and everyone in the country thought it was an acceptable solution to an inconvenient baby, it still wouldn’t be morally OK.
No matter how concerned you are about the “budget” and political leaders “cooperating” to craft that budget to your liking, what you consider bad economics may be a social ill, but abortion will always remain an intrinsic evil.
St. John the Baptist didn’t talk to Herod about his tax policies or whether he was giving enough government benefits to the shepherds.
No, Jesus’ cousin told him the truth, that Herod was committing adultery. And he lost his life for it.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer didn’t fret about train ticket prices in Nazi Germany. He spoke truth to power about the genocide of Jews and eventually lost his life for it.
May the angels and saints inspire all U.S. bishops, especially the ones whose priorities are so confused, to fight the evils of our age with clarity, tenacity, and courage.
And may the angels and saints guide the U.S. bishops as they prepare to vote on whether to make Cupich their point-man on abortion.