Freedom Writer - May 1995
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Catholic politicians face Pope's wrath
Catholic politicians who back abortion, even reluctantly, bear a greater
responsibility before God than do women who undergo the procedure,
Vatican leaders said. The question of whether they should be excommunicated
is open to debate, they suggested.
The leaders made their comments at a news conference in Rome after
the release of Pope John Paul II's new encyclical, _Evangelium_Vitae_
(The Gospel of Life). The 194-page document brands abortion and euthanasia
as evils that no law can justify. It called for active nonviolent
opposition to both. It also condemned contraception and the death
penalty.
The encyclical dismissed claims by politicians who say they oppose
abortion but are compelled by their position to uphold laws allowing
it. Politicians cannot renounce their consciences when they take on
legislative duties, the Pope said. Critics accused the Pope of encouraging
widespread civil disobedience, in contradiction of biblical teachings.
_Reprinted_by_permission_from_National_and_International_Religion_
Report._
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