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Thursday, November 15, 2001
By Ann Rodgers-Melnick, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
WASHINGTON -- In two actions that they viewed as closely related pleas for life, the nation's Catholic bishops adopted a new plan for pro-life activities and called on the U.S. government to help end the violence, poverty, disease and corruption that has ravaged many nations of Africa.
"While the strategic rationale for intervention has diminished with the end of the Cold War, the ethical imperatives for engagement with Africa remain stronger than ever. The United States must not write off Africa as having little relevance to our strategic priorities, but rather must embrace a broader vision of our nation's interest in, and obligation to, the world's poorest continent," the bishops said.
"A Call to Solidarity With Africa" was years in the making, and many bishops expressed deep concern that its impact may be lost in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The document, which was drafted well before the attacks, states that Africa already suffers from the indifference of the developed world.
It points out that Christians now account for nearly half of the African population of 800 million, and that 116 million are Catholic. About 17 percent of all health systems in sub-Saharan Africa are Catholic and the church carries out relief work in war zones such as southern Sudan, eastern Congo and Sierra Leone.
Nearly 300 million Africans live on less than $1 per day, while their nations spend a quarter of all income on debt service. Echoing Pope John Paul II, the document calls for forgiveness of the debt of nations that are too poor to repay it. The bishops insist that the United States must increase its foreign aid, which is currently the least of all developed nations when measured as a percentage of gross national product. They called on the country to increase opportunities for trade, especially with African nations that support human rights.
Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua rose to ask the bishops to hound the Bush administration about these points. After Sept. 11, raising concerns about Africa "is like shouting into the wind," Bevilacqua said. "Keep reminding them ... and emphasizing that this is a desperate situation."
"A Campaign in Support of Life" updates a plan that the bishops first adopted in 1975 and revised in 1985. It is not a teaching document but a structure for organizing opposition to abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment and other related issues. It describes a committee system that extends from the bishops' headquarters in Washington, D.C., through each diocese and into every parish. This structure is used to address both public policy issues and to support and provide social services.
The new version puts more emphasis on opposition to capital punishment, addresses the difference between abortion and contraception, condemns all violence committed in the name of opposition to abortion and adds new sections addressing assisted suicide, research that destroys human embryos and cloning.
When he introduced the document, Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore responded to the complaints of Catholics who argue that the previous plan failed because abortion is still legal. Polls and other evidence show that young people are increasingly opposed to abortion and that the public has shifted from a clear majority who considered themselves pro-choice to an even split between those who consider themselves pro-choice and those who consider themselves pro-life, he said. While Supreme Court decisions have prevented much effective action against abortion on a federal level, nearly every state has adopted some limits on its practice, Keeler said.
While the Catholic church cannot take sole credit for those changes, it has certainly been a leading voice in the public debate, he said.
The plan emphasizes the need to provide social services and pastoral care for women with crisis pregnancies, single mothers and women who have had abortions. The Diocese of Pittsburgh has an extensive network of such services, said Bishop Donald Wuerl.
Years ago, "The diocese made a commitment that we would see any woman who was carrying a child through to the safe and healthy birth of her child," Wuerl said.
If a woman fears that she cannot cope with a pregnancy or care for a child, "The easiest thing for her to do is to ring the doorbell at the nearest Catholic rectory and say, 'I need help.' The people at the church would take it from there," he said.