The Abortion Cardinal gets his dog to bark

The Austrian abortionists can rely on the Archbishop of Vienna. They receive from him discreet and reliable backing. Has his Eminence excommunicated himself? A commentary from the ever-excellent Kreuz.net .

The Kiss of the Betrayer of Life

For years, the same story has been repeating itself, like the Amen in the Church. If Austrian pro-lifers stand up for the unborn child, then they can be sure that the Viennese Cardinal, Cardinal Schoenborn. 250 children are killed every day by abortions in Austria, but the Viennese Cardinal will never provide anything more than general or ambiguous statements.

The Cardinal takes cover.

If however, somebody protests against the bloodbath of our children, his anger is awakened.

Then he positions his knife like a reflex. Do you want to hear the latest example?

The Auxiliary Bishop of Salzburg, Monsignor Andreas Laun

does not spare himself to go out in the street for the pro-life cause. On Thursday, he stood in front of the biggest slaughterhouse in Vienna, Lugner City – here abortion is a business. In an interview afterwards, the Auxiliary Bishop said that the person who could have prevented such a place of shame should be excommunicated. The one who felt himself accused started to sweat heavily. He was attacked by anger, began to slander the Church and threatened to sue in front of the court.

Cardinal Schönborn who had been silent as usual during this big demonstration in this town was suddenly cured of speechlessness. He sent his press officer, Erich Leitenberger to denigrate the Auxiliary Bishop. The press officer said it was “counter-productive” to say that the people who assist in abortions are ipso-facto excommunicated. One shouldn’t expose one’s activity against abortion to ridicule.

What activity Herr Cardinal?

The press officer also said that academic discussions on excommunication would certainly not save the life of a single child. Was the Cardinal sitting in the wrong film? Where were the academic discussions? The accused Auxiliary Bishop stood exactly in the place which should have been occupied by the Archbishop of Vienna. In addition, the press officer added that for decades the Archdiocese has defended the right to life.

Face the reality, Herr Cardinal.

In the past, you have repeatedly, without being asked rejected pro-lifers.

The same organisation, Youth for Life who demonstrated in front of the Vienna Shopping Centre on Thursday had organised a mail shot against the erection of an abortion slaughterhouse in December 2004. These young people came back home with an Archiepiscopal knife in the back.

Cardinal Schönborn, cold and detached declared in Vienna that actionismus and polemic do not lead anywhere in the abortion debate.

What does this mean? What are the goals of the Archbishop of Vienna? A journalist asked the Archbishop of Vienna, last December an exact question. Would you also go that far that there should be a change of law on the time limit for abortion? What was the Cardinal’s answer? “We don’t lobby for punishing women in distress”.

This means that the Cardinal is backing the Austrian law on the time limit for abortion.

Does the Cardinal not do anything at all against abortion? Anything at all would be too much. After all he presented the General Secretary of Aktion- Leben (Action for Life) – Austria with the Pope’s Medal of St Gregory.

The Action for Life Austria promotes artificial means of contraception and emergency morning-after “contraception”.

He is also for retaining the time limit for abortion and open ended termination of pregnancy.

Herr Professor Doctor Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert Cardinal Count Schönborn is your own name holier to you than the life of small children?

END OF TEXT

The Cardinal needs to remember what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about abortion. Even it is a modern document, not much temporising here. Just in case he has forgotten Cathcon can help him.

Para 2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:
You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.
God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.

Para 2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae," "by the very commission of the offense," and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

Para 2322 From its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a "criminal" practice (GS 27 § 3), gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication for this crime against human life.

Para 2274 Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being. Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, "if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safe guarding or healing as an individual. . . . It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence."

But the Cardinal chooses to forget this as he should not have too much trouble remembering the text. He was the General Editor and co-authored an Introduction to the Catechism with the the head of the Bishops Commission for the implementation of the Catechism, one Joseph Ratzinger. The Pope clearly needed to help him out on some moral issues.

Cardinal Schönborn then went on to author four volumes on "Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church".

Strange that the man who was rioting on the streets of Paris in the 1960s, then denies others the right to protest.

He lets others be his messenger boys, hating confrontation. A former spokesman, a priest was sacked via a letter under his door.

More background in English here. Really not much to choose between the Cardinal Archishops of Malines and Vienna. They will never realise that compromise leads to betrayal as night follows day.