The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) this week pushed back against a statement made by President Biden that seemed to imply that the pope and some bishops were not opposed to taxpayer funding for abortion. In response to a question earlier in the week regarding the USCCB’s opposition to taxpayer-funded abortions, the president stated, “No, they are not all doing that. Nor is the pope doing that.”
Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and president of the USCCB, released the following statement:
“As we are taught by Jesus, human life is sacred. God calls us to defend and nurture life from the moment a new human being is conceived. The Catholic Church has been clear and consistent in this teaching. The Catholic bishops of the United States are united in our commitment to life and will continue to work as one body in Christ to make abortion unthinkable. As the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has said, ‘It is not right to ‘do away with’ a human being, however small, in order to solve a problem. It is like hiring a hitman.’ Taxpayer funding of abortion would force people of good conscience to participate in this grave evil against their will. It would contradict our right to live in accord with the tenets of our faith. Our nation is better than that. I pray that we will protect every child no matter his or her age, and open our hearts to respond to mothers in need with love and support rather than the violence of abortion.”
The statement, along with USCCB resources on taxpayer funding of abortion can be found here.