The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter: Georgia Catholic Bishops Won't Work for State "Human Life" Constitutional Amendment
The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter
Blog to discuss the book "The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter: A Literary Analysis of the Book of Revelation" and current events that point to the events described therein.
Note: Sometimes you just can't believe what you read about the leadership of the Catholic Church, especially in America. Here we have a case where the bishops are not backing an amendment to a state constitution that would make abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research and cloning illegal because they think there is a better approach. Their circular reasoning is unfortunately common these days. If one more conservative Supreme Court Justice were to somehow be appointed, and a challenge case to Roe vs. Wade winds its way to them, then a reversal of Roe would return to the states the power to decide abortion laws for themselves. So the Georgia constitutional amendment looks forward to that day. The bishops are not only displaying an arrogance about the means to outlaw abortion, but also a lack of leadership and courage. Do you really want to wait and see what they decide if a constitutional amendment is in the works? They'd probably tell you it should not be supported because of some obscure language they don't like. Georgia Catholic Bishops Won't Work for State "Human Life" Constitutional Amendment
By Hilary White
ATLANTA, Georgia, January 23, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The two Catholic bishops of the state of Georgia have refused to support efforts to implement a "human life" amendment to the state constitution. Supporters of the effort, however, say that a constitutional amendment would protect the unborn, the disabled, the elderly and vulnerable patients and "guarantee their constitutional right to life" and offer a step towards overturning Roe v. Wade.
"We do not support the passage of [House Resolution] 536" said a written statement signed by Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory, Archdiocese of Atlanta and Bishop J. Kevin Boland, Diocese of Savannah. The bishops continue, "We have come to the conclusion that the approach taken by HR 536 to amend the state constitution does not provide a realistic opportunity for ending or reducing abortion in Georgia."
A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Atlanta told LifeSiteNews.com that after consultation with constitutional legal experts, the bishops decided that only an amendment to the federal constitution would succeed in "saving lives."
"We will be monitoring the legislation during the session to see if there are any changes, but the bishops have done a great deal of legal research and the decision is that this isn't going to be a bill we’re going to support, although we're not opposed to it in any way," she said.
Richard Thompson President & Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center disagreed with the bishops, saying HR 536 provides Georgia with the legal means of "overturning the central holding of Roe v Wade."
"For too long the pro-life movement has been dominated by a strategy of 'wait' - too fearful of losing to risk winning".
Rep. Martin Scott is sponsoring the bill that has the support of Democrats and Republicans in the Georgia Legislature. "The Human Life Amendment is the next logical step for defenders of liberty," said Scott. "With advances in science such as cloning to our society's movement toward a culture of death including euthanasia and endless abortions, Georgia is the place to enact this policy."
The text of HR 536 reads, "The rights of every person shall be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent human being to life. The right to life is the paramount and most fundamental right of a person."
"With respect to the fundamental and inalienable rights of all persons guaranteed in this Constitution, the word 'person' applies to all human beings, irrespective of age, race, sex, health, function, or condition of dependency, including unborn children at every state of their biological development, including fertilization."
HR 536 requires a two-thirds vote of the Georgia House and the state Senate to appear on the ballot in the November 2008 election.
