This article at HuffPost is making the rounds. Steve Krueger, head of Catholic Democrats, charges Cardinal Sean O'Malley with "moral relativism" because of his decision not to attend Boston College's graduation ceremony yesterday. I do not think Cardinal Sean needs any lectures on caring for the poor from anybody. And, since when does caring for the poor justify looking the other way on our need to protect the unborn? Krueger is right that the legal situation in Ireland is complicated, that a prior court order in 1992 demanded the kind of legislation Prime Minister Enda Kenny is proposing. But, note that date - 1992. Successive governments have avoided putting Ireland on the path to becoming a country that no longer protects both its mothers and its children. Kenny's has used a tragedy to create a new avenue to display his hostility to the Church. More importantly, he is seeking to make it legal to intentionally kill another person, yes a very small person, but a person nonetheless. Cardinal O'Malley owes no one an apology and the charge of moral relativism is absurd. Abortion is not, as Krueger suggests, among " a narrow range of partisan political issues." It is a foundational moral concern. To suggest that O'Malley is motivated by partisan political considerations, not pastoral sensitivity, is offensive.
