Catholic Bishop on Trump: “I’m Grateful We Will Have a President Who Has Promised Pro-Life Judges”

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Nov 15, 2016   |   5:27PM   |   Washington, DC

An Arkansas Catholic bishop penned an encouraging letter to his diocese on Friday in response to the presidential election.

In the letter, Bishop Anthony Basil Taylor of the Diocese of Little Rock expressed hope that President-elect Donald Trump will work to protect unborn babies through his high office, KARK 4 News reports.

Taylor wrote:

I am grateful that we will soon have a president who has promised to name Supreme Court justices who are opposed to abortion. Let us support President-elect Trump in this matter and other areas where his efforts promise to benefit the common good. And let us be the voice of the voiceless in areas where our advocacy can make a difference, especially in the lives of the poor and vulnerable among us.

However, Taylor also called the election results a “mixed blessing” because of Trump’s disgusting past statements about women. He distanced himself and his fellow Catholics from Trump’s crude statements, saying that many “might have voted differently except for the issue of abortion.”

Trump was not many pro-lifers’ ideal candidate, but his primary opponent Hillary Clinton’s pro-abortion policies were so radical that many pro-lifers feared what would happen if she won the White House. Clinton openly supported abortion on demand, including the barbaric partial-birth abortion method, which involves partially delivering and then removing the brain of a viable, late-term baby. She also vowed to repeal the Hyde Amendment and force taxpayers to fund abortions. In contrast, Trump promised to support protections for unborn babies, nominate pro-life justices to the Supreme Court and sign a bill to defund the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood.

Taylor’s letter continued:

Many of us have experienced the recent presidential election as a mixed blessing. We are relieved that President-elect Trump opposes abortion and plans to nominate anti-abortion justices to the Supreme Court. Indeed, many people voted for him for that very reason. But we are also dismayed by his divisive rhetoric.

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The purpose of this letter is to remind all of us that this election has not changed the mission of the Church in Arkansas. We believe in the right to life and the dignity of the human person from conception to natural death and at every stage in between.

As Taylor implied, Trump’s offensive comments did not represent the people who voted for him. The bishop noted that “most Americans harbor no ill will against” women and minorities.

He concluded by urging Catholics to “redouble our efforts to make our parishes a place of welcome, where all of God’s children feel safe and valued.”

It’s good advice for all pro-lifers, religious or not, as they continue to reach out to moms and babies in their local communities.

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