Party of Death

It is a tragedy that one of the great political parties in the United States has so closely aligned itself with the promotion of abortion, and the Catholic Church has recently, and somewhat reluctantly, begun to address it directly, and that is a very good thing.

In this interview with Archbishop Raymond Burke, formerly of St. Louis but now in Rome working with the Holy Father, that is noted.

An excerpt.

“With a heavy heart, Archbishop Raymond Burke acknowledges that the U.S. Democratic Party is quickly moving to become the "party of death."

“The new head of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature said this in an interview published Saturday by the Italian episcopal conference's daily newspaper Avvenire…

“Q: It is a fact that you had some problems in St. Louis.

“Archbishop Burke: Indeed, there was the issue of a parish, that of St. Stanislaw Kotska, which in practice had become Protestant.

“Then the fact that, in a fundraising event, the Catholic Pediatric Hospital invited as the guest star singer Sheryl Crow, known for being a tenacious advocate of the right of procured abortion. And finally, the question of the so-called priestly ordination of two women, which even witnessed a nun among the promoters.

“In all these cases I was compelled to intervene FF — reluctantly, but I had to do it — with disciplinary procedures to avoid scandalizing the faithful.

“Q: But is St. Louis a particularly unfortunate diocese, or are these phenomena spread elsewhere?

“Archbishop Burke: The issue of the parish to one side, which is a local one, the other issues are also spread elsewhere. For example, it should be noted that other so-called ordinations of women are planned in 50 other dioceses of the United States.

“However, I must underline that at St. Louis I was not always struggling against the difficulties that were there. But I lived my episcopate with joy, seeking to favor the relationship with the clergy and seminarians. Because I think that the first duty of a good bishop is that of being close, to comfort and counsel his priests. The bishop cannot do anything without the priests. And I must say that this care was compensated by a good number of new vocations, thank God.

“Q: You mentioned singer Sheryl Crow. You must have noted that she was invited to sing at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

“Archbishop Burke: To tell the truth, I paid no attention, but I must say that the news does not much surprise me.

“At this point, the Democratic Party risks transforming itself definitively into a "party of death" due to its choices on bioethical issues, as Ramesh Ponnuru wrote in his book "The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts and the Disregard for Human Life."

“And I say this with a heavy heart, because we all know that the Democrats were the party that helped our Catholic immigrant parents and grandparents to better integrate into and prosper in American society. But it's not the same anymore.

“Nonetheless, there are among Democrats some pro-lifers, but they are, unfortunately, rare.”