As UK Marks 40 Years of Abortion, Catholic Official Warns Politicians 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 30, 2007
London, England (LifeNews.com) — As the United Kingdom marks 40 years of abortions, a leading Cathodic official in Scotland followed up on recent comments the Pope made by saying that pro-abortion Catholic politicians need to be careful. He warned that their abortion advocacy creates an obstacle to their receiving communion.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien, archbishop of Edinburgh and St. Andrews, decried the killing of millions of unborn children via abortion since it was legalized in the UK in 1967.
O’Brien delivered a special pro-life homily today saying that “Around 7 million lives have been ended as a consequence of that one piece of legislation."
In the speech, he said that Catholic elected officials have a special obligation to advance the pro-life perspective because of their unique ability to affect public policy.
Ultimate, he said Catholic politicians "must answer whether they will “protect the right to life of all persons in our society from conception until natural death." He urged pro-life voters to hold accountable those elected officials who waver from that commitment.
”I urge politicians to have no truck with the evil trade of abortion,” Cardinal O’Brien says. “Peace cannot be built in the shadow of the abortion rooms.”
Politicians, especially “those who claim to be Catholic,” must examine their consciences and determine whether they are helping in any way sustain “this social evil,” he said.
”I urge politicians to have no truck with the evil trade of abortion,” Cardinal O’Brien says. “Peace cannot be built in the shadow of the abortion rooms.”
Politicians, especially “those who claim to be Catholic,” must examine their consciences and determine whether they are helping in any way sustain “this social evil,” he said.
“I remind them to avoid cooperating in the unspeakable crime of abortion and the barrier such cooperation erects to receiving holy Communion,” the cardinal said in the homily, which was posted on the web site of the Scotland Catholic Conference. “I would be failing as a pastor not to highlight the gravity of this situation not just to lawmakers but to anyone – mother, father, boyfriend, counselor who in any way leads a mother to abortion."
The strong comments follow on the heels of remarks Pope Benedict XVI made on his way to Brazil recently in which he said pro-abortion politicians have officially excommunicated themselves and should not be allowed to receive communion.
