Brownback – Turncoat
by Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President, Human Life International
[Catholicism is the solution to this culture of death. If only Catholics ourselves would fully live up to our doctrine and put it into practice, there would be no “Tiller the Killers” in Kansas, no partial birth abortions, no immoral sex education in the schools or Planned Parenthoods dominating our public life.]
I am not a politician, I am a priest. So I would like to give my priestly perspective about the recent endorsement of Senator Sam Brownback for the candidacy of Kathleen Sebelius for Secretary of Health and Human Services: Senator Brownback’s cowardly betrayal of his Catholic faith is even more damaging than his political permission for this renegade to take office.
The situation is atrocious. An extremist abortion hack (called the most pro-abortion governor in the nation by many), who falsely calls herself “Catholic,” is given the opportunity to preside over the nation’s healthcare system and normalize abortion even further; this radical is then endorsed by a US senator who also calls himself “Catholic” and who, many believe, wants her job back home when she becomes the abortion queen in DC.
With pro-lifers like Senator Sam Brownback, who needs pro-aborts?
Moral theologians can work out what level of cooperation in evil the Senator’s endorsement represents – he is, after all, an influential senator whose opposition, if he had given it, may very well have stopped her nomination. Yet, those of us who do not breathe the rarified air of Washington DC and who have dedicated our lives to defending the sanctity of human life understand one thing: any covenant with the abortion industry or its promoters is consent to the killing.
As a convert to the Catholic Faith, Senator Brownback seems not to understand the Church’s profoundly wounded heart with regard to the slaughter of the innocents. The Church tells us never to participate in that slaughter, no matter what the cost; we do not give aid and comfort to the enemies of human life, we do not stand by while the innocent are being dragged off to a violent murder, and under no circumstances do we endorse the political aspirations of their executioners. Politicians who sell the lives of babies for political gains are the worst kind of turncoats.
Yet, this Catholic Senator’s decision constitutes, I think, a watershed moment for all of us who want to see an end to the immoral industry of baby-killing in our country. We will never be served by the compromise of our principles in any form. Catholicism is the solution to this culture of death. If only Catholics ourselves would fully live up to our doctrine and put it into practice, there would be no “Tiller the Killers” in Kansas, no partial birth abortions, no immoral sex education in the schools or Planned Parenthoods dominating our public life.
Self-described “Catholics” like Brownback (in politics), Doug Kmiec (in academia), Hannity, Matthews and O’Reilly (in media) and others are not the solution to the problem – they are enablers of the problem. Despite their high-sounding lip service to the culture of life, they are compromisers. They will never end abortion because they don’t want to end abortion.
I have often said that false Catholics, whether they be Cardinals, politicians or janitors, are the ones who have the most to account for on the Day of Judgment when they will have to account for ignoring Christ in His “least brethren,” the unborn. Whether through advocacy of the evil (like Sebelius) or negligence in stopping it (like Brownback), they have blood on their hands. They’ve been given everything the Church has to offer: the teaching, the sacraments, the example of the saints and the grace to stand against Satan and all his works and all his empty promises. In other words, they know better, and the Biblical warning applies to them: “To whom much has been given, much will be required.” Cowards and turncoats beware.
What Happened to Our Pro-life Leaders? – Part I
Archbishop Naumann on the Sebelius Nomination:
“Offensive” Sebelius Nomination “Makes our Job as Bishops More Challenging”
By Kathleen Gilbert
KANSAS CITY, March 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City weighed in on the nomination of abortion “champion” Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a member of his flock, to head the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department.
In an interview Wednesday with Our Sunday Visitor (OSV), the archbishop said of the nomination: “From the Church’s point of view, it’s sad because it places another high-profile, pro-abortion Catholic into national leadership along with Vice President [Joe] Biden and Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and a raft of others that are in the Congress.” He also said, “I personally find it offensive” that President Obama would choose a pro-legalized-abortion Catholic to head the HHS.
“It makes our job as bishops more challenging, because we have to be even more clear that this is not acceptable for a person in public service to say that they are Catholic and then to support these policies that … go against the most fundamental of all human rights, the preservation of innocent life,” said Naumann.
Last May, Archbishop Naumann publically admonished Sebelius to refrain from receiving Holy Communion until she took “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 archbishop told OSV that he resorted to a public rebuke after Sebelius disobeyed his private injunction in August 2007.
Naumann said he acted out of a desire to “provoke, in a good sense, Gov. Sebelius to reconsider her position and to have a change of heart.” “I have asked the people here in the archdiocese to pray for her and I pray for her regularly too because I am concerned about her own spiritual welfare and … her involvement with this intrinsic evil,” he said.
Additionally, Naumann says he acted “to protect others from being misled by her actions.”
“I think as a Church, those of us responsible for teaching in the Church, we have to continue to make that clear to our people that this just isn’t acceptable. It’s not a morally coherent position to say I’m personally opposed but publicly I’m going to do all of these things that support abortion.”
On the ramifications of Sebelius receiving Communion outside the archbishop’s jurisdiction, Naumann remarked, “Whether a bishop tells a Catholic politician, they shouldn’t go to Communion or not, the sacrilege remains.”
Referring to his fellow bishops, Naumann said, “Together – regardless what we may do in terms of instructing politicians whether they should present themselves to Communion or not – we have to be clear in our teaching how their conduct is simply inconsistent with our Catholic belief and we have to make sure our people understand that.”
Naumann confirmed that Sebelius’ steadily pro-abortion track record puts her in full opposition to fundamental Church teaching on the sanctity of life.
The archbishop said the appointment of such a pro-abortion figure was “particularly troubling because of the importance of that position and particularly the influence the secretary there will have on conscience rights as well as the health care reform.” Naumann referred to “the inclusion of abortion as a fundamental right as part of the health care package,” which would put Catholic healthcare providers “in a real bind.”
“So it’s not helpful to have someone with her record and history as the head of HHS,” he concluded.
Remarking on the endorsement of Sebelius by Catholics United, a controversial organization of high-profile Catholics, the archbishop said that their favorable assessment of Sebelius’ Catholicity was “very, very dishonest and not at all accurate.”
“It’s true that abortion dropped during her term as governor but I don’t think she really had anything to do with it, although she likes to take credit for it,” he noted. “[Catholics United] are either not very honest or they’re not very competent in the research that they do.”
Sebelius, as the archbishop noted, has identified herself as a leader in protecting women’s “right” to abortion, and voted down several initiatives to restrict late-term abortions. Also, the governor maintained an affiliation with George Tiller, a notorious late-term abortionist, who has funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to Sebelius campaigns. Planned Parenthood, after hosting a party celebrating the governor’s birthday, referred to Sebelius as a “champion” of their cause.
To see the full OSV interview, go to:
http://www.osvdailytake.com/2009/03/archbishop-naumann-on-sebelius.html
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Obama Nominates Extreme Pro-Abortion Gov. Sebelius as Health Secretary
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09030203.html
ALL’s Judie Brown on Sen. Brownback: “I’ll never use ‘pro-life’ to describe him again”
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09030303.html
Pro-Life Outrage over Sebelius Pick Mounts as Brownback Reaffirms Support
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09030405.html
Source: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09030508.html
