As I read reports over various Catholic bishops and church organizations fomenting protest over President Obama’s invitation to the give the commencement address at Notre Dame University, I couldn’t help but think of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin’s plea for a consistent ethic of life ie. a “seamless garment” as he called it. The protests over the Notre Dame invitation concern President Obama’s stance on abortion and stem cell research.
This post has no intention of delving into the abortion/stem cell debate or President Obama’s postitions on either issue. However, I would like to take a moment and reflect on why the Catholic Church has been so vocal on these issues when another “life” issue ie. the treatment of those who’ve suffered sexual abuse continues to receive scant attention from the Church and the bishops. Some will say that the bishops have “fixed” the problem that resulted in the sexual abuse scandal. Others will say the church has made great strides to address the issue.
Yet, the manner in which these life issues, including the sexual abuse of children, is qualitatively different. However, if you re-examine Cardinal Bernardin’s theory of a consistent ethic of life, the sexual abuse of children should be no less worthy of church attention and action than say abortion or stem cells. How is it pro-life to protect a fetus while not doing the same for a young child? How is it pro-life to deny justice to those who’ve suffered due to the sexual abuse of a priest?
It seems to me that an aggressive implementation of this consistent ethic of life teaching would go a long way in restoring credibility to the bishops as well as the teaching authority of the church.