How low can they go?

I've blogged in the past about my pro-life stance. I have the distinct feeling that I've won no one over, but at least I can show that there are intelligent, principled, consistent pro-lifers: those of us who support alternatives to abortion; support adoption, fostering, and caring for children, mothers, and fathers in general; oppose the death penalty, war, and all forms of violence. In return, I've been very grateful to find both people who agree with me and people who disagree respectfully—and that most of us can agree on a lot of positive steps, despite our differences.

Wow, do I need that kind of reassurance today. I was cruising through the US Conference of Catholic Bishops website to get the readings for this Sunday, and the top headline on the page gave me pause: "Bishop Morin calls claims against CCHD's work 'outrageous'". I thought, "What claims?" and clicked. I found out what claims; I did a Google search and found that these claims are indeed out there on the Internet, they're ugly, and some of them come up pretty high on the Google list. ( A little ranting and a little more detail )

CCHD are the good guys. Their goal is to help people escape poverty; many of the groups with whom they work help the very women who without this help might feel they had no choice but abortion, and the children who are born to parents in difficult circumstances who chose to have a baby even when it was hard. They don't limit themselves to families, however. Here's what their brochure says: "The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) is the Gospel at work and Catholic social teaching in action. CCHD practices the principles the Church teaches: the option for the poor, solidarity, subsidiarity, and participation. CCHD defends human life and dignity every day, in countless ways, all across our nation." They've been doing it for many years. That's why I give: they're my kind of pro-life.

My choice is clear. I'm doubling my annual contribution to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development this weekend.

How low can they go?

I've blogged in the past about my pro-life stance. I have the distinct feeling that I've won no one over, but at least I can show that there are intelligent, principled, consistent pro-lifers: those of us who support alternatives to abortion; support adoption, fostering, and caring for children, mothers, and fathers in general; oppose the death penalty, war, and all forms of violence. In return, I've been very grateful to find both people who agree with me and people who disagree respectfully—and that most of us can agree on a lot of positive steps, despite our differences.

Wow, do I need that kind of reassurance today. I was cruising through the US Conference of Catholic Bishops website to get the readings for this Sunday, and the top headline on the page gave me pause: "Bishop Morin calls claims against CCHD's work 'outrageous'". I thought, "What claims?" and clicked. I found out what claims; I did a Google search and found that these claims are indeed out there on the Internet, they're ugly, and some of them come up pretty high on the Google list. ( A little ranting and a little more detail )

CCHD are the good guys. Their goal is to help people escape poverty; many of the groups with whom they work help the very women who without this help might feel they had no choice but abortion, and the children who are born to parents in difficult circumstances who chose to have a baby even when it was hard. They don't limit themselves to families, however. Here's what their brochure says: "The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) is the Gospel at work and Catholic social teaching in action. CCHD practices the principles the Church teaches: the option for the poor, solidarity, subsidiarity, and participation. CCHD defends human life and dignity every day, in countless ways, all across our nation." They've been doing it for many years. That's why I give: they're my kind of pro-life.

My choice is clear. I'm doubling my annual contribution to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development this weekend.