The last few weeks the Bishops of the U.S. have displayed a refreshing and somewhat astounding amount of backbone in confronting prominent pro-abort Catholic politicians over their clear efforts to obfuscate clear logic and teaching on abortion.

It seems that this maybe the beginning of a blessed trend. The Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said the full body of U.S. bishops will discuss the practical and pastoral implications of political support for abortion during their annual assembly, November 10-13, in Baltimore.

At the conclusion of its September 9-10 meeting in Washington, the Administrative Committee, which is the highest authority of the USCCB outside the conference’s plenary assemblies in November and June, cited concern for recent misleading remarks about Catholic teaching by Catholic politicians. The statement follows.
In light of recent comments by Catholic politicians misrepresenting Catholic teaching, the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops affirms the statements that have been issued by Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William E. Lori, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine. We confirm the Catholic Church’s constant teaching about the sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception and the intrinsic evil of abortion. As the teachers of the faith, we also point out the connectedness between the evil of abortion and political support for abortion. We plan to discuss the practical and pastoral implications of these serious matters at the U.S. bishops’ November 10-13, 2008 general meeting in Baltimore.

I suppose I can be forgiven if I harbor a tiny amount of skepticism that the full body of Bishops will take any decisive action at their November meeting. With that said, I have been surprised and encouraged by the sheer number of Bishops that have spoken up in the past weeks so I am praying to be surprised again.

This is the moment to put to death the lie that you can be pro-abortion and Catholic. I am praying that this November meeting will produce a few more nails for the coffin.

Kudos to the Bishops for taking up this issue. May God bless you.