In a lengthy and candid magazine interview, the Pope said he has been “reprimanded” for his reluctance to address abortion, gay marriage and contraception, and added: “It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.”
“I think we’re right on the mark,” said Campaign Life Coalition national president Jim Hughes. “When we stop talking about abortion as the killing of an innocent human being then we would be doing a disservice. In fact, we would not be telling the truth.”
“If anything, our position and our approach is very much vindicated by the Holy Father,” said Peter Murphy, assistant director of the Catholic Organization for Life and Family. “In the past we have been criticized for what some people have thought was a somewhat soft approach. We have made a herculean effort to have our message presented in such a way that it is consistent with the Gospel.”
Nor do Canada’s bishops believe the Pope is asking them for a change in direction, said Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ president Archbishop Richard Smith.
“If you look at the preaching of the Church in Canada and elsewhere, we’ve been very, very conscious to preach the whole of the Gospel,” said Smith as he prepared to open the CCCB’s annual plenary meeting in Saint- Adéle, Que., Sept. 23. “We have embraced and really taken to heart the call of the new evangelization, the need today to preach Christ anew in the light of which all these other teachings become clear.”
Smith blames the media for distorting and distilling the Church’s message down to a three-note samba on abortion, contraception and homosexuality. Less than 500 words of the Pope’s 12,000-word interview were dedicated to the topics of abortion and homosexuality. Mostly, Pope Francis spoke about his own Christian identity, his life as a Jesuit, his understanding of the Church and how the Church is governed.
“Many, many of our people today receive any news that they have about the Church from what they read in the secular media. That in itself can be creating the impression that this is all we say,” he said.
The image of the Church as obsessed with sex, abortion and rule-bound morality clearly bothers Pope Francis.
“We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible,” the Pope told the editor of La Civilta Cattolica in the interview. “I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the Church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the Church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.”
The context is Christ, said Smith.
“So what comes first? Preaching Christ and healing of wounds,” said Edmonton’s archbishop. “And as we all know there are so many wounds that need healing today.”
Murphy concedes that the pro-life message has not been a raging success in Canada, the only developed country in the world with no law governing abortion.
“I’m not going to point the finger at any particular individual or any particular group, but I do think sometimes the message has come off seeming heavy handed,” he said. “Sometimes I think we take a lot for granted in that we speak to these issues without being concerned or appropriately concerned about the ability of the hearer to contextualize what we’re saying.”
The ultimate goal is still laws to protect the unborn, according to Murphy.
“The pro-life movement must act to advance legislative initiatives. At the same time it has to be done in concert with evangelization. Because, ultimately, it is not sufficient to restrain the heartless.”
Hughes has been hearing from Campaign Life Coalition supporters concerned about the Pope’s words on abortion.
“I’ve had all kinds of calls about that, people freaking out and what not,” Hughes said. “I just said, ‘Listen, this is quite simple stuff. The Church hasn’t changed its teaching. What Pope Francis is trying to tell everybody is that you have to be properly disposed on all these things.’ ”
Hughes rejects any accusation that Campaign Life’s sorting of political candidates into “pro-life” and “pro-death” categories has been divisive or inappropriate.
“If we want to get the word out, most people tell us they never hear a word about abortion in their churches. It’s quite appropriate,” he said. “We re-examine our tactics and our strategies all the time. We question whether or not they’ve been effective or whether we’ve strayed from the original message — and I don’t believe that we have.”