Catholics for Obama Back to Hide President’s Abortion Record

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Aug 15, 2012   |   4:13PM   |   Washington, DC

During the 2008 presidential election, a Catholics for Obama effort led by Pepperdine law professor Douglas Kmiec apologized for then candidate Barack Obama’s pro-abortion record. Now, a new group of Catholics professors are leading a new effort to get the pro-abortion activist re-elected.

Kmiec, the former Malta ambassador who resigned from his position after he was found to be derelict in his duties, will not be leading the charge.

This time, left-leaning academics at Catholic colleges and universities are heading up the campaign’s outreach to Catholics, according to Matthew Archbold:

Among those leading the group are several pro-abortion rights politicians along with faculty members at Catholic colleges including Sister Jamie Phelps, director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University in New Orleans; Nicholas Cafardi, a canon and civil lawyer who teaches at the Duquesne Law School in Pittsburgh; Thomas Groome of Boston College, a theologian; and Stephen Schneck, director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at Catholic University of America.

Cafardi just last week took to the pages of the National Catholic Reporter to convince readers that Obama was more pro-life than Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. He didn’t mention in that piece that he would soon be publicly affiliated with the Catholics for Obama group. Presumably, that affiliation will be pointed out in future writings.

Schneck is on the board of directors of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, which was co-founded by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ director of faith-based programs, Alexia Kelley, to generate Catholic support for President Obama’s policies. Last year Schneck led a faculty effort to embarrass Republican House Speaker John Boehner, when he delivered the commencement address at The Catholic University of America. In February Schneck joined with other politically liberal Catholics in an open letter “celebrating” the “accommodation” proposed by President Obama with regard to the HHS contraceptive mandate — a compromise that the U.S. bishops have explained is entirely unacceptable to Catholics, and which has still not been written into the regulations.

Also involved in the group are pro-abortionj politicians — including Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro of Connecticut, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland. DeLauro is a former head of a state affiliate of NARAL, a leading national pro-abortion group.

One Catholic professor has already accused Romney of not being fully pro-life, never mind that his criticism has already been thoroughly refuted.

WANT TO DEFEAT OBAMA?

 

The outreach page for the new pro-Obama group says nothing of his pro-abortion record.

In 2008, Catholics from all walks of life and backgrounds came together to help elect Barack Obama as President of the United States. Today, we join together as Catholics who are committed to our faith and our country to endorse President Obama for re-election.

As Catholics, we believe that every human being is made in the image of God. From this we discern that, individually and as a nation, we share a moral obligation to care for one another. As the President has so passionately affirmed throughout his career. President Obama understands Catholics and our values, because he understands the importance of an active faith in pursuit of the common good.

He understands everything except abortion.