Bishop Barron: True dialogue impossible if Catholic Dems won’t protect babies who survive abortion

CNA Staff   By CNA Staff

Bishop Robert Barron responds to a question at a press conference. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Denver Newsroom, Jun 29, 2021 / 13:20 pm (CNA).

Bishop Robert Barron, auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles and head of Word on Fire ministries, called out Catholic Democratic lawmakers and others for claiming that dialogue with the U.S. bishops over abortion and the reception of Communion is the best way forward in the Eucharist controversy. He cited a reticence on the part of Democrats to modify even the most extreme pro-abortion positions.

The article, titled “Bishop: Will Catholic Dems support protections for babies who survive abortion?”, was published in the New York Post on June 28, 2021.

The bishop noted that despite his family’s deep Democratic political background, he struggles “with abortion policy, where the party has lately staked out an especially extreme position.”

The bishop asked Catholic Democratic legislators to show good faith dialoguing about abortion and reception of the Holy Eucharist by supporting, at the very least, legislation that protects babies born after an attempted abortion – tantamount to asking for a ban on infanticide.

When last considered as part of a budget resolution on Feb. 5, 2021, Sen. Ben Sasse’s (R-Neb.) Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act was filibustered by Democrats in the Senate. The bill would have required requisite care be given to babies surviving botched abortion attempts.

Bishop Barron noted that his attempt to dialogue with Democratic members of Congress two years ago was met with intransigence. “Would they, I asked, consider the banning of third-trimester abortions? Absolutely not, came the reply.  Would they, I pressed, be open to restricting partial-birth abortion, the procedure by which a pair of scissors is inserted into the brain of a baby already in the birth canal? No way, they said.”

“All right, I wondered, would they be agreeable to supporting born-alive legislation, designed to protect the life of a baby who has miraculously managed to survive an abortion? No, they said.”

The Word on Fire founder said he then issued a challenge: if Democratic legislators want true dialogue, they should move toward common ground by protecting a child that has already survived the traumatic attempt on its life.

“[A]uthentic dialogue,” he opined, “involves some willingness to give and take.”

“We’re willing to reach out. But if protecting the life of a baby struggling to breathe, after surviving a brutal attack on his life, is a bridge too far for pro-abortion-rights politicians, then I ask again, what are we dialoguing about?”  he wrote.


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2 Comments

  1. “[A]uthentic dialogue,” Bishop Barron opined, “involves some willingness to give and take.” The “willingness to give and take?” From whence, this overworn appeal to authentic dialogue—by now just another ideology thrown into the dumpster of a lost civilization?

    Solzhenitsyn, survivor of years in another Gulag, saw through this twilight mathematics: “We have lost the clarity of spirit which was ours when the concepts of Good and Evil had yet to become a subject of ridicule, shoved aside by the principle of fifty-fifty [the willingness to give and take].”

    Might as well try to shame Aztec executioners Biden and Pelosi into having a heart (!), or maybe into a coffee break. Latte, anyone?

  2. Please, Bishop Barron don’t dialogue with the Devil. Little increments don’t get it. All or nothing — that’s all there’s to it. Evil is what evil does. Are we going to dialogue around for another half century? Another 65 million babies later we’ll still be in the dialogue mode. Instead of dialoguing with the politicians to score points, gather your people, get on your knees and pray, suggest fasting on a regular bases and attend pro-life events WITH your people.
    It worked for Moses. While Joshua fought physically against Amalek, Moses fought on the hill imploring God, while Aaron and Hur supported his arms. You know the story. This battle will be won when the action people take up the sword fight and the bishops, priests and their people take up the spiritual fight. Is that too difficult for our prelates to implement? Get busy and do the right thing—be a leader, quit lollygagging around. I’m justly angry because prelates have lost the manly determination to give all for the Kingdom of God and the salvation of souls! Now I said it! We don’t need dialoguing negotiators for leaders. Fish or cut bait!

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