Catholic Bishop Troubled by Obama’s Nomination of Pro-Abortion Kathleen Sebelius
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 5, 2009
Kansas City, KS (LifeNews.com) — Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City has quarreled with pro-abortion Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius before. Last year he asked her to no longer receive communion because of her radical pro-abortion views and record and now he’s disappointed she may become the next Health Secretary.
Obama recently nominated Sebelius to become the nation’s top health official and pro-life advocates are concerned that, in that role, she will advance abortion.
In a new interview with Our Sunday Visitor, Naumann talked about his opposition to her nomination.
He says that groups like Catholic United, that are distorting Sebelius’ record to make it appear she is pro-life, are misleading people.
"I think that’s very, very dishonest and not at all accurate. It’s true that abortion dropped during her term as governor but I don’t think she really had anything to do with it, although she likes to take credit for it," the Catholic archbishop said.
"And in fact, during that time she vetoed measures that could have helped prevent abortion," Naumann explained. "Only when the legislature passed it by such an overwhelming margin that it was highly probable she would have been overridden, she allowed it to stay in the budget."
Naumann told Our Sunday Visitor that Sebelius is a member of Emily’s List, which is a pro-abortion group that favors taxpayer funded abortions and partial-birth abortions.
"During her last campaign she identified herself as one whose always been a leader in protecting a woman’s right [to abortion]," he said.
"We’re kind of a center for late-term abortions because those laws are generally not enforced," he added. "And as the legislature has tried to do things to try to make them be enforced, again she has blocked those with vetoes."
"So I really think they may support Gov. Sebelius for this appointment, but they certainly can’t support her because she’s faithful in living the teaching of the Church on the life issues," he said.
Naumann told OSV he is upset with President Obama that he would appoint someone like Sebelius to lead America’s health agencies.
"I personally find it offensive that he would choose a pro-legalized-abortion Catholic to head this office," he said. "I think from the Church’s point of view, it’s sad because it places another high-profile, pro-abortion Catholic into national leadership along with Vice President [Joe] Biden and Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and a raft of others that are in the Congress."
"And so I think it makes our job as bishops more challenging, because we have to be even more clear that this is not acceptable for a person in public service to say that they are Catholic and then to support these policies that are anti-life, you know go against the most fundamental of all human rights, the preservation of innocent life," he said.
Ultimately, he said he thinks most Catholics can and should disregard fake groups such as Catholics United.
"I don’t think they have much impact and I don’t pay much attention to them personally. And I think from what you just read, they’re either not very honest or they’re not very competent in the research that they do," he said.
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