Catholics need to abide by all Catholic teachings

In a Jan. 22 letter titled “Politicians, church diverge on abortion,” the author uses the oxymoron “pro-choice Catholics.” That term suggests that a Catholic can reject the teachings of the Catholic Church and still be a bona fide Catholic. People can call themselves anything they want but that does not make it true. Catholics need to be faithful to all of the Catholic Church teachings or they should quit pretending they are Catholic.

At the recent March for Life, LifeSiteNews interviewed Joliet Bishop Peter Sartain. Asked about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi being in favor of abortion (rights) while calling herself Catholic, Bishop Sartain replied, “Any Catholic who is going to understand our faith and live by our faith seriously must be pro-life.”

I believe Catholics are expected to form their conscience based on Natural Moral Law, Sacred Scripture and Catholic Church teachings. The Catholic Church teaches that human life and the right-to-life begin at conception. Just as a race begins at the start, not after the start, life begins at the instant of fertilization - not at implantation in the uterus, not at viability outside the womb and not at birth.

The Catholic Church condemns the sin, not the sinner. The Catholic Church offers the healing power of Jesus Christ to abortionists, mothers and fathers who regret their abortions and anyone who supports the killing of unborn human beings. The end game of human life is heaven or hell, which is the eternal choice.

Bill Brennan

Cedar Rapids