CCCB issues warning to Amnesty

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has released a statement saying it would find it "most regrettable if Amnesty International were to adopt a position promoting access to abortion."

The statement follows the posting of a statement by Amnesty June 26 indicating it would be discussing at meetings this summer and in 2007 whether to include access to abortion services as part of its human rights campaigns.

"Such a change in policy would be considered by the Catholic Bishops of Canada to be a step backwards for an organization that has done such outstanding work in defending human life and the rights of the most vulnerable," the CCCB statement says.

"This change in policy would make it difficult for Catholics to continue supporting the work of Amnesty International," the bishops warn.

The teachings of the Catholic Church have "clearly and consistently affirmed" that "the purposeful destruction of the human embryo is immoral," the statement says.

It goes on to refer to the CCCB pastoral message of November 2005, entitled To be People of Life and for Life, which states, "As Pope John Paul II wrote in Evangelium Vitae, no. 78, Christians are called to be ‘people of life and for life....’"

Christians must choose life "in small ways and large, standing up for life even when it is small and fragile, like the embryo, and supporting couples who struggle...."

The statement concludes by pointing out, "The Scriptures proclaim that faith and life are integrally related."