Barack Obama May Have Dissolved Pro-Abortion Catholic Outreach Group
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 10, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Presidential candidate Barack Obama came under fire in May for setting up an outreach group to Catholics led by abortion advocates. Following significant national criticism, it appears the group no longer exists or, at minimum, has been de-emphasized by Obama’s campaign.
Catholic League President Bill Donahue was the first to point out the contradiction of pro-abortion activists leading Catholic outreach efforts for Obama.
He called on Obama to dissolve his National Advisory Council because of evidence showing the majority of the members of the council had received 100 percent voting marks from extreme pro-abortion group NARAL.
“It is more than embarrassing — it is shocking — to read how these Catholics view abortion," he said at the time. "The Catholic Church regards abortion, as well as embryonic stem cell research, as ‘intrinsically evil.’"
Now, Donahue says his initial recommendation to dissolve the group may have been accepted.
He pointed out, in a statement to LifeNews.com, that there is no mention of the Catholic National Advisory Council anywhere on the Obama campaign web site.
Donahue told LifeNews.com he investigated further to find out what happened but never received a response from the campaign after several phone calls and emails.
“It would appear, then, that the group no longer exists. It is not hard to understand why," he said.
He said council member Kathleen Sebelius, the Kansas governor, came under fire from Archbishop Joseph Naumann and told not to take communion. Later, radical Chicago priest Rev. Michael Pfleger bailed on Obama by withdrawing his name from the Advisory Council.
"Now we find that there is no listing for the group on the Obama web site," Donahue said. “Looks like the Obama campaign’s decision to quietly drop its Advisory Council didn’t work. We found out, and we’ve never been accused of being quiet.”
