Breaking: USCCB releases 2-page responding to Pelosi

The USCCB Press Release:

CHURCH TEACHING AGAINST ABORTION CONSTANT THROUGH CENTURIES, SAYS NEW RESOURCE

WASHINGTON— To help end confusion caused by recent misrepresentations of Catholic Church teaching on abortion, the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities has issued a two-page fact sheet called “Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church’s Constant Teaching.” [Here as PDF]

Public debate on the topic was prompted by misleading remarks by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, August 24 in an interview on Meet the Press. On August 26, Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William Lori, chairman of their Committee on Doctrine, issued a statement to correct her remarks. Other Catholic bishops released similar statements.

“This well documented fact sheet will help Catholics and others form their consciences in accordance with the Church’s unchanging teaching in defense of unborn human life,” said Deirdre McQuade, Assistant Director for Policy and Communications at the USCCB’s Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities.

Among other points, the fact sheet states that “modern science has not changed the Church’s constant teaching against abortion, but has underscored how important and reasonable it is, by confirming that the life of each individual of the human species begins with the earliest embryo.”

The full text of “Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church’s Constant Teaching” is available online at wwwusccb.org/prolife/constantchurchteaching.shtml.

update: my analysis...

It's good that Pelosi is directly named as the proximate cause for this response.

I like that the 2-page is described as a "fact sheet." This is not a matter of opinion.

At its beginning, the document responds to "those who say this teaching [on the moral evil of every procured abortion] has changed or is of recent origin." Therefore it follows that one cannot hold as a Catholic that this teaching has changed or is of recent origin. Clear enough, I hope.

Points 1-9 provide an accurate, succinct summary of the historical account.

Point 10 is a conclusion about relatively-recent scientific findings:

Thus modern science has not changed the Church’s constant teaching against abortion, but has underscored how important and reasonable it is, by confirming that the life of each individual of the human species begins with the earliest embryo.

Point 11 makes clear the moral ramifications of Point 10 (underlining original to the document):

Given the scientific fact that a human life begins at conception, the only moral norm needed to understand the Church’s opposition to abortion is the principle that each and every human life has inherent dignity, and thus must be treated with the respect due to a human person.

This is the foundation for the Church’s social doctrine, including its teachings on war, the use of capital punishment, euthanasia, health care, poverty and immigration.

Conversely, to claim that some live human beings do not deserve respect or should not be treated as “persons” (based on changeable factors such as age, condition, location, or lack of mental or physical abilities) is to deny the very idea of inherent human rights.

Such a claim undermines respect for the lives of many vulnerable people before and after birth.

Exactly: the USCCB teaches that the scientific evidence can reveal to public officials when they ought to treat a new human life with the respect due to a human person, namely, when it is "the earliest embryo."

More clear, timely teaching from the USCCB, and it is welcome.

What are your thoughts?