An Activist In the Bishops' Conference

CRISIS Magazine - e-Letter

February 23, 2004

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Dear Friend,

I know I just wrote to you on Friday, but I have an important
follow-up to my last e-letter that I need to share with you right
away.

First, a little history...

In the February issue of CRISIS, we ran an article on the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) titled "Playing
Politics: Inside the Bishops' Conference, Part II." In it, the author
explained that, when it comes to political issues, the conference as
a whole acts like a group of pro-life Democrats. (If you haven't read
the article yet, you can find it here: 
http://www.crisismagazine.com/february2004/feature2.htm)

Amazingly enough, some people at the conference took objection to
that characterization. Certainly not everyone there fits this
description, they said. Well, I have to admit, they're right. Not
everyone in the Conference is a pro-life Democrat.

Some are just plain Democrats.

A case in point is Ono Ekeh, the administrator of the "Catholics For
Kerry" internet newsgroup. You see, when he's not working to get
pro-abortion Democrat John Kerry elected president, he can be found
at his other job: program coordinator for the Secretariat for
African-American Catholics at the USCCB.

As you probably know, the USCCB itself takes a strong pro-life
stance, saying that "the well-informed Christian conscience does not
permit one to vote for a political policy or an individual law which
contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals," especially
in regards to abortion.

So, how can an employee of the conference go directly against this
clear mandate and publicly support a politician who has said
repeatedly that he will approve only pro-abortion judges for the
Supreme Court?

Journalist Tim Drake tipped me off to Ekeh and his position at the
conference. While writing a story on John Kerry, Drake interviewed
Ekeh about his support for the senator. When Drake asked about Ekeh's
profession, Ekeh simply responded that he was "a small business
owner." He made no mention of being employed by the bishops'
conference.

It's no wonder -- on the "Catholics for Kerry" site, Ekeh has made
several comments that directly challenge the Vatican, the bishops'
conference, and even the president of the conference, Bishop Wilton
Gregory himself. Not what you'd expect from someone in Gregory's
employ.

Predictably, Ekeh goes to great (sometimes downright comical)
lengths to justify support for a politician who blatantly rejects the
Church's teaching on life issues. Ekeh explains that, instead of
opposing abortion, Kerry will target poverty and thus help eliminate
the dire financial circumstances that often drive women to abortion.
In this way, Ekeh claims, "John Kerry's vision for America is a
pro-life vision that will ultimately reduce the frequency of and need
for abortions."

I wonder if John Kerry knows that his vision is "pro-life." After
all, in my last e-letter I quoted Kerry saying that he wants to
EXPAND abortion and make it MORE available, not eliminate poverty to
reduce abortion rates. The "vision" Ekeh describes seems to be one
he's invented himself.

But Ekeh doesn't end there. He even goes so far as to defend Kerry
against the explicit directives from the Vatican and the USCCB that
condemn political support for abortion and gay marriage.

With regards to the Vatican's comments on a politician's
responsibility to support pro-life legislation, Ekeh boasts that
"John Kerry has recently made it clear that he will not be taking
orders from the Vatican and rightly so...  Senator Kerry made a
prudent decision in rejecting the Vatican's demands. Such a rejection
does not mean a lack of respect for the Vatican or the Church's
teachings. Rather, it highlights that the man understands that his
obligations are primarily to the people his [sic] serves and not the
Vatican."

He goes on to claim that the pope has never specifically commented
on a politician's duty in this regard. Even the "Doctrinal Note on
Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political
Life" won't convince him, since it was written by the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith and not the pope himself. (Never mind
that the pope gave the Note his complete support and clearly stands
behind its message.)

Ekeh gets a bit personal when it comes to his boss, Bishop Gregory.
He's especially offended by Gregory's comments regarding gay
marriage, where the bishop rightly points out that a Catholic
legislator is in "formal cooperation" with sin if he "does not
oppose" legislation in favor of gay unions. Ekeh sniffs that "This is
getting as close to excommunication as they would dare in our day and
age... This is no less then than a tool of manipulation or control.
This is commensurate with how the Holy See controlled politics in the
Middle Ages, they had the ultimate threat, the threat of
excommunication."

Oh brother.

Look, it's one thing for a Catholic to be a pro-life Democrat --
that in itself is a perfectly legitimate position and consistent with
our Catholic Faith. However, it's completely unacceptable to follow
Ekeh and trade away our pro-life responsibilities.

As Kerry advances down the presidential campaign trail, and as other
Catholics equivocate on his blatantly pro-abortion record, it will
become more and more vital for the bishops to speak out. And for the
members of the conference itself, the issue is getting a bit close to
home.

Talk to you later this week,

Deal

P.S. Thursday evening, I'll be at the Center For Jewish History in
NYC, on a panel discussing The Passion. I'll be joined by Rabbi
Eugene Korn, formerly of the Anti-Defamation League; Mary Boys of
Union Theological Seminary; Paula Fredrickson of Boston University;
and Peter Boyer, a writer for the New Yorker. Please pray for the
success of the evening -- I'll let you know how it goes.


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