Papal Reasoning: Abortion OK, Death Penalty Not So Much

In May, I wrote an article about the newly elected Pope titled, “The New Pope Is American; Will He Be Catholic?” The inference was that, after Pope Francis’ leftist leanings, many Catholics were praying that the new Pope would reestablish more conservative values.

In that article, I noted that 135 cardinals under the age of 80 were eligible to vote in the papal election. 108 of the cardinals whom Francis appointed are currently eligible to vote. This means that 80 percent of those who voted and ultimately chose Prevost as the next pope were appointed by Francis.

That fact raised concerns for those who were praying for that conservative Pope. While the jury is still out on Pope Leo XIV, he is raising some concerns with his contradictory statements.

Yesterday, a journalist with EWTN asked Leo his thoughts on Cardinal Blasé Cupich honoring Senator Dick Durbin with a lifetime achievement award, even though Durbin supports abortion. Leo's answer skirted the issue, but eventually, he answered in the affirmative.

“I think that it is very important to look at the overall work that a senator has done during … 40 years of service in the United States Senate. I understand the difficulty and the tensions but I think, as I myself have spoken to in the past, it is important to look at many issues that are related to what is the teaching of the Church.”

“Someone who says I’m against abortion but says I’m in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life. Someone who says I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if that’s pro-life.”

“So, they are very complex issues, I don’t know if anyone has all the truth on them, but I would ask first and foremost that there would be greater respect for one another and that we search together both as humans beings, in that case as American citizens or citizens of the state of Illinois, as well as Catholics to say we really need to look closely at all these ethical issues and to find the way forward as Church.”

“The Church's teaching on each one of these issues is very clear.”

Really, because your answer sure as hell wasn’t, what you proved with that dissertation is that you may be more of a politician than a Supreme Pontiff.

Dissecting that answer, Leo is saying that punishing someone who has committed a grievous crime is the same as slaughtering millions of innocent unborn children who are blameless. He is also saying that disregarding law and order is acceptable and that enforcing those laws is inhuman treatment.

This answer will not satisfy conservative Catholics. Hearing Leo’s remarks, Catholic philosophy professor Edward Feser, who co-authored a book defending the traditional Catholic teaching on the liceity of the death penalty, wrote that the Pope’s remarks are “manifestly false.”

“To cite just a few names among many, sainted doctors of the Church such as Thomas Aquinas, Alphonsus Liguori, and John Henry Newman were against abortion and for the death penalty, as were sainted popes such as Innocent I, Pius V, and Pius X. I imagine Leo would not dare to suggest these great heroes of the Catholic faith were ‘not really pro-life.”

On the same day that Leo defended Senator Durbin's receipt of a lifetime achievement award from Cupich, the politician with the pro-abortion stance announced that he would decline the award from the Archdiocese of Chicago. This decision followed significant criticism from several U.S. bishops.

Pro-life conservatives absolutely know the difference between the death penalty and abortion. Unfortunately, the current pope appears to be clouded on those issues, which brings into question his judgment of right and wrong.