BRISBANE Archbishop Mark Coleridge has delivered a call to action to Queensland Catholics to get involved in the abortion bill debate.
Archbishop Coleridge said Catholics should write to their local MP, go and see them personally, and perhaps join a pro-life rally.
“The Church community has to act as well as speak,” he said.
However, Archbishop Coleridge said Catholics should temper their actions with respect and dignity.
“First of all consider the human complexity of what we are dealing with,” he said.
“And not to indulge in crudely ideological arguments and tactics. That’s not our way. That’s not the way of Jesus Christ.
“And then understand that however complex these situations, abortion is always in some way a defeat for humanity. And that’s what Jesus Christ defends and therefore what we as Catholics are called to defend.”
Archbishop Coleridge said the stakes couldn’t be higher.
“Human life should be respected from the moment of conception,” he said.
“One of the difficult things about abortion is that it denies the human status and therefore any kind of rights to the child in the womb. Well, we simply can’t accept that.
“And that’s why this proposed legislation prompts all kinds of questions and concerns, but at the same time we’ve got to consider how best to engage in the public debate, because there are ways that are impassioned but not particularly enlightened and can turn out to be counter-productive.”
By Mark Bowling
