Tuesday, December 02, 2008
BISHOP WOULD DEFY THE LAW
Bishop Paul Loverde of the Arlington, Va., diocese
(CNSNews.com) - Bishop Paul Loverde of the Roman Catholic diocese of Arlington, Va., said last week that if the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) should become law and a Catholic hospital in his diocese is forced to provide abortions, he would refuse to let the hospital comply, but he would also not close the institution.
Though there are no Catholic hospitals in his diocese, the bishop nevertheless was defiant: “I would say, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to close the hospital, you’re going to arrest me, go right ahead. You’ll have to drag me out, go right ahead. I’m not closing this hospital, we will not perform abortions, and you can go take a flying leap.’ ”
According to the catechism – or official teachings -- of the Catholic Church, Catholics are “obliged in conscience not to follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or the teachings of the Gospel.”
Catholics may refuse to obey civil authorities, “when their demands are contrary to those of an upright conscience.”
Loverde addressed the crowd of mostly young adults at a diocesan event last Monday about the proposed Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).
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