‘Being Catholic not a game,’ priest tells pro-abortion group

Jul 20, 2005 / 22:00 pm

The national director of Priests for Life has taken on the director of Catholics for a Free Choice, Frances Kissling, after she suggested in a recent press release that Catholics don’t have to adhere to Church teaching and that abortion can be justified.

"Nobody is forced to be a Catholic,” said Fr. Frank Pavone. “But if you don't subscribe to Catholic teaching, have the honesty and integrity to say that you are no longer Catholic. But don't try to have it both ways. That's a game children play, not adults.

He pointed out that over the last few years the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated several times that Catholics for a Free Choice is not a Catholic organization and it does not represent the Church.

Fr. Pavone said Kissling’s comments on abortion could be addressed even without discussions on the Catholic faith.

“We don't even have to enter the question of Catholic faith,” he said. “We just have to read the descriptions of the procedure and look at the pictures. It is an act of killing. Neither a private citizen nor a Supreme Court nominee can justify this act of violence.

“Those who claim that killing children has any place under our Constitution, or in any civilized society, have more than a problem with Catholic faith,” Fr. Pavone stated. “They have a problem with fundamental human rights.”