Catholics? cardinal and abortion?

Question

over the last few days we in the UK have heard one of the cathoilic cardinals bleating on about abortion. Preaching to one and all that abortion is murder and a sin etc etc. abortion is killing innocent babies. well my question is, why do catholics on one hand say abortion is killing innocent babies but on the other hand say we are all born sinners?
bit of double standards? hypocricy? contradiction? or just plain old shite?

Answer 1

Plain old shite. I'm more concerned with Cardinal Winning thinking it's right to apply what amounts to blackmail against the Scottish Parliament.
For those who didn't see his speech, he basically said that any Catholic involved with abortion legislation within the Scottish Parliament would be barred from receiving the Eucharist. Since I'm not a Catholic myself I don't know exactly what that is but I assume it's fairly important to them and to lose that would be devastating.
This concerns me, as it's the Church attempting to alter legislation using not political means but blatant blackmail. Religion, be it Catholic, Protestant, Islamic or anything else, has got no right to threaten members of Parliament.
Distasteful in the extreme.

And David... the particular Cardinal who came out with that is the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland.
He might sound like a crazy Yank but sadly he's one of ours.

Answer 2

You misunderstand Catholic beliefs. Because of mankind's fallen nature, which goes back to Adam and Eve, we are all born with the inclination to sin.

Having said that, an individual human being is not held morally responsible for sins until one has reached the "Age of Reason"; age 7-9.

Once human beings have reached the age of reason, they can process right from wrong and freely choose whether or not to listen to their conscience.

It is only a matter of time before one chooses to sin on account of our fallen nature.

Infants, given the fact they are not yet capable of processing right from wrong, cannot be held morally responsible for sin - thus their absolute innocence.

We are born with the inclination to sin, and it's only a matter of time until one does sin. Until that time comes, the individual is absolutely innocent.

So, you see, there are no double standards, hypocrisies, contradictions, or just plain shite - it's all a (deliberate?) misunderstanding on your part.

I hope to have helped clarify things.

Answer 3

If it's a question about Catholicism, my belief is that the answer ultimately is. . . plain old shite.

The Cathloic church is infested with hypocrisy and double standards, you go back to your Protestantism and ignore us crazy Americans (not to say all Americans are Catholic. . ).