Blogs4Life / Holycoast

Click cartoon above to view larger image. Super size me.

For Rick Moore at Holycoast. Thanks, Rick!

I hope to have both Lennie's toon for Cross Blogging and Natalie's for Natalie Jost completed and posted late this evening/Thursday morning.

I received this question last week from David-

Is support for abortion heresy? I am being told by my friend that support is not heresy, and that it is not taught in the Magisterium. He wants "proof" that the Magisterium teaches support for abortion as heresy. I have tried to give him many things like "The Twelve Step Program" by Bishop Rene Henry Gracida, but my friend's response was that the Bishop was just one Bishop, that Rome had not ratified the letter and it was not enough to "change the teaching of the Magisterium". So are there any other Bishops that agree with Bishop Gracida? Are there any other Bishops that have written or said that support for abortion is indeed heresy? What are some good things I could give him to show that indeed support for abortion is heresy? Was it right for my friend to say Bishop Gracida was trying to change the teaching of the Magisterium?

Peace in Christ God save the Unborn!
David Messick

Here's my reply-

Thanks for the question, David.

Support for abortion is most certainly heresy. Heresy is refutation or denial of an essential point of faith. The Magisterium as I understand it is simply the living church, which I suppose can be said to be the the total of current authority embodying the tradition of the church. I know that there were Bulls by certain Popes against abortion in the past, and more recently (in the past fifty years) there's been a series of writings from Papal authority specifically condemning abortion. There isn't any need to declare abortion specifically as being heretical (although that might already be true, sorry I don't know the answer to that question) ...it just is. Whatever one or another Bishop might declare about abortion is nonsense if the statement is at odds with established church teaching.
I've discovered a very good site recently by a Catholic clinical laboratory tech in molecular biology called 'Mary Meet Dolly'. Under 'Catholic Teaching' on her site she has a list of relevant writings on the subject of abortion and links back to the original documents on the Vatican site. You may also be interested in this page at New Advent on abortion- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01046b.htm

My answer is far from definitive. If you the more knowledgeable visitor have any additional information or corrections to my answer please feel free to leave your comments.

I highly recommend Rebecca Taylor's Mary Meets Dolly (A Catholic's Guide to Genetics, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology). If you wish to speak knowledgeably on this essential though highly intimidating field of research, Rebecca's site is a great resource. I'm flattered that she chose to add my link to her site; which I take as God's way of sowing a seed for future cartoons on the subject. Of particular relevant is Rebecca's Clone The Truth campaign. Please, check it out!

Thanks to Alexa in Singapore for posting the recent Pro Life Blogs toon on her always relevant Birth Story (must be because she's more than half a day ahead of the rest of us). Eaglet has helped to propagate the Blogs4Life message by posting the original promo toon on his Adam's Thoughts. Good work, and thanks!