HLI President Denounces Endorsement of Sebelius by 'Prominent Catholics'

Contact: Stephen Phelan, Communications Manager, Human Life International (HLI), 540-551-2547, SPhelan@hli.org

FRONT ROYAL, VA, Mar. 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- Father Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, today denounced the endorsement of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as President Barack Obama's choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) by a group of 'prominent Catholics'.

"Not only are there several troubling issues with the choice of Governor Sebelius for this important position, from her repeated vetoes of bipartisan-supported restrictions on late-term abortions, to her problematic relationship with the abortionist George Tiller, who currently faces 19 criminal charges," said Fr. Euteneuer. "But faithful Catholics everywhere are scandalized both by Sebelius's repeated and disingenuous invocation of her faith as justifying her pro-abortion record, and by this endorsement from supposedly prominent 'Catholics' that shows extreme ignorance of Church teaching on abortion."

"There's another prominent Catholic they may have heard of, and his name is Pope Benedict XVI," said Fr. Euteneuer. "And he has clearly taught that endorsing, and even worse, signing into law, legislation that directly results in the destruction of innocent human life, as Governor Sebelius has done, is a formal cooperation with evil, and therefore itself a grave evil."

"One wonders what the word 'integrity' means to these self-proclaimed 'faithful Catholics,'" said Fr. Euteneuer. "In the same document that they elevate their identity as 'faithful Catholics' as the reason for their endorsement of this anti-life choice, they accuse others of 'politicizing' the Catholic faith in opposition to the choice."

The March 1 statement was coordinated by "Catholics United", a Washington-based non-profit whose "post-partisan" rhetoric began during the 2004 Presidential campaign, often justifying its misleading position based on the USCCB's "Faithful Citizenship" document released during the same year (see http://www.catholics-united.org/?q=node/18).

"The American bishops should know that a group which uses the bishops' reasoning to justify their existence is endorsing a radically anti-life candidate for a key position in the battle to defend human life," said Fr. Euteneuer. "We implore our bishops to rebuke this group, making clear that their teaching is not to be misused to forward the anti-life agenda."