A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion
A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion was a campaign by Roman Catholic theologians and lay people in the United States to reform Roman Catholic theology on the abortion debate .
On October 7, 1984, the New York Times published a full-page advertisement for the US organization Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC). The publication documented the dispute between the leadership of the Vatican in Rome and parts of the Catholics in the United States .
The New York Times newspaper campaign published a position paper signed by over 80 Catholic theologians and members of religious orders in the Roman Catholic Church. The paper stated that the Catholic Church's rejection of abortion was "not the only legitimate Roman Catholic position". The position paper stated that a "large number" of Catholic theologians believed that abortion was a moral decision that was left to women alone.
The campaign helped Democratic politician and supporter Vice-Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro in the media debate with Archbishop of New York John Joseph O'Connor during the 1984 US presidential election . After appearing in the New York Times , the United States Bishops' Conference rejected the campaign.
Signatories (selection)
The people who signed the position paper included:
Catholic Committee on Pluralism and Abortion
- Anthony Battaglia , religious scholar, California State University, Long Beach
- Roddy O'Neil Cleary , University of Vermont
- Joseph Fahey , Manhattan College
- Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza , University of Notre Dame
- Mary Gordon , author of Final Payments and Company of Women
- Patricia Hennessy , New York City
- Mary E. Hunt , Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual
- Frances Kissling , Executive Director, Catholics for a Free Choice
- Justus George Lawler , Executive Editor, Academic Bookline, Winston-Seabury Press
- Daniel C. Maguire , Catholic theologian
- Marjorie Reiley Maguire , Catholic theologian
- J. Giles Milhaven , Brown University
- Rosemary Radford Ruether , Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
- Thomas Shannon , Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- James F. Smurl , Indiana University
Other signatories
- Ronald Burke , University of Nebraska at Omaha , co-founder of The Journal of Religion & Film .
- Anne Carr , nun and theologian at the University of Chicago Divinity School .
- Patty Crowley , longtime leader of the Christian Family Movement .
- Margaret Farley , Yale Divinity School
- Barbara Ferraro , nun of the School Sisters of Our Lady of Namur
- Maureen Fiedler , nun, pacifist and activist of the Equal Rights Amendment 1978-1982 . Fiedler chaired the Women's Ordination Conference in Detroit, 1975.
- Christine E. Gudorf , Xavier University
- Patricia Hussey , nun of the School Sisters of Our Lady of Namur
- Paul F. Knitter , Xavier University
- Agnes Mary Mansour , former nun, director of the Michigan Department of Social Services , former president of the University of Detroit Mercy .
- Kathleen E. McVey , Princeton Theological Seminary
- Jeanne L. Noble , New York University
- Dolly Pomerleau , co-founder of the Quixote Center
- Donna Quinn , nun, former president of the National Coalition of American Nuns .
- Jill Raitt , University of Missouri
- Jane Schaberg , University of Detroit
- Margaret Ellen Traxler , nun of the School Sisters of Notre Dame of Namur , co-founder of the National Coalition of American Nuns
- Marjorie Tuite , Dominican nun, feminist
- Judith Vaughan , nun, director of the House of Ruth shelter for women, Los Angeles
- Elizabeth Jane Via , District Attorney, Professor at the University of San Diego
- Mary Jo Weaver , author
- Arthur E. Zannoni , University of Notre Dame
Comparison in other countries
Similar campaigns on the abortion debate had previously existed in other countries such as France, the Netherlands and Germany. In 1971, Stern magazine published the campaign We have aborted! .
literature
- Barbara Ferraro , Patricia Hussey , Jane O'Reilly , 1990, No Turning Back: Two Nuns Battle over Women's Right to Choose , New York: Poseidon Press, ISBN 0-671-64406-8
- Mary E. Hunt and Frances Kissling , Spring 1987, The New York Times Ad: A Case Study in Religious Feminism , Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 3 (1): 115–127
- Marjorie Reiley Maguire , 1986, "Pluralism on Abortion in the Theological Community: The Controversy Continues". Conscience 7: 1-10
- Mary Segers , 1987, Ferraro, the Bishops, and the 1984 Election , in: Clarissa W. Atkinson, Constance H. Buchanan, and Margaret R. Miles; Shaping New Vision: Gender and Values in American Culture , Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, pages 143-167, ISBN 0-8357-1803-4
- Mary Segers, 2001, Sister Maureen Fiedler: A Nun for Gender Equality in Church and Society , in: Jo Renée Formicola, Hubert Morken, Religious Leaders and Faith-Based Politics: Ten Profiles , Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 175–196, ISBN 0 -8476-9963-3
Web links
- New York Times: IDEAS & TRENDS: 'PRO-CHOICE NUNS'; ANOTHER CHALLENGE TO ROME BY LIBERAL CATHOLICS IN US, 1988
- Los Angeles Times: Nun Doesn't Have to Retract Abortion Stand, 1986
- Time Magazine Religion: Shutting the Door on Dissent , 1985
Individual evidence
- ^ Catholic Committee. (PDF; 15 kB) In: Voices of Change: Risking All In Faith. Sturdy Roots, archived from the original on October 21, 2011 ; accessed on August 9, 2011 .
- ^ Mary-Paula Walsh: Feminism and Christian tradition: an annotated bibliography and critical introduction to the literature (= Bibliographies and indexes in religious studies . Volume 51 ). Greenwood, 1999, ISBN 0-313-26419-8 , pp. 234 ( google.com ).