Clerical Silence Kills Infants

News: Crisis in the Church
by Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th.  •  ChurchMilitant.com  •  December 29, 2015   

70 percent of women having abortions in America are churchgoing Christians

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Current research shows 70 percent of women having abortions in the United States are Christian, and most claim their church had no influence on their decision to abort.

A Monday report in Cincinnati.com highlights a study relating religious practice to abortion, and reveals surprising statistics. The poll was conducted in May by the Christian non-profit LifeWay Research and sponsored by Care Net, a pro-life non-profit. Lifeway's study, polling 1,038 women, is titled, "Study of Women Who Have Had an Abortion and Their Views on Church."

The survey found that not only were the majority of women who've had abortions Christian, but that more than one third of those who've had abortions were churchgoers at the time.

Results further showed that more than three fourths of those polled believe their church had no influence on their decision to abort their infant. In fact, close to 50 percent of churchgoers expected to receive no response or only one of indifference from their churches.

The study also determined that more than one fourth of these Christians choosing abortions were Catholic.

These findings point to a silent clergy that leaves such decisions to mothers without guidance from the pulpit. Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade ruling that abortion is a fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution, the topic of abortion has become less and less politically correct.

The emphasis by bishops today on social justice issues such as immigration and poverty is no secret. Catholics have been conditioned by their pastors to support politically correct efforts such as immigration, eradicating poverty and other like causes while ignoring issues like abortion and contraception.

A study in 2012 found that almost two thirds of U.S. Catholics believe the Catholic Church should focus more on social justice with such obligations like alleviating poverty, even if it means focusing less on issues like abortion and the right to life.

The same study found that only about one third of U.S. Catholics believe the Catholic Church should focus more on abortion and the right to life in its public policy, even if means focusing less on issues like social justice and the obligation to help the poor.

These sentiments are instilled in the flock by shepherds like Abp. Blase Cupich of Chicago, who earlier this year put eradicating joblessness on the same level as the horror of trafficking in aborted baby parts. Responding to the widely reported release of undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood's gruesome industry, Cupich said,

While commerce in the remains of defenseless children is particularly repulsive, we should be no less appalled by the indifference toward the thousands of people who die daily for lack of decent medical care; who are denied rights by a broken immigration system and by racism; who suffer in hunger, joblessness and want; who pay the price of violence in gun-saturated neighborhoods; or who are executed by the state in the name of justice.

There was a mild correction of Cupich's statement by Abp. Charles Chaput of Philadephia, but otherwise silence by prelates.

ChurchMilitant.com has reported multiple times on the overemphasis of social justice issues by the clergy, who often neglect pro-life efforts such as fighting abortion. Until life issues again take precedence over those concerning other social justice issues of lesser gravity, it's likely that abortion rates among Christians will continue to rise.

To learn more about the high cost of abortions on individuals and society, watch "The Cost of Abortion."

 

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