Vatican Reaction to U.S. President's Anti-Life Action

This deals a harsh blow not only to us Catholics but to all the people across the world who fight against the slaughter of innocents that is carried out with abortion.

VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - The Pontifical Academy for Life reports to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. It is led by Archbishop Salvatore (Rino) Fisichella,who was personally chosen by Pope Benedict. The highly respected Bishop is auxiliary of Rome and the rector of the city's Pontifical Lateran University.

The Academy made its deep concerns over the new US Administrarion very clear this weekend.

In the aftermath of President Obama's uniltaeral act of rescinding the "Mexico City Policy", the Academy spoke out strongly. This action of rescinding the Policy, in effect, opened the funding of activities which promote abortion with US Dollars.

The Executive Order ended a ban on federal funding for international groups that perform abortions or provide information on them.The anti-life action is being received throughout the entire world as hostile to a respect for the dignity of life and contrary to a recognition of the fundamental right to life from conception to natural death.

Bishop Rino Fisichella had urged the new President to listen to all of the voices in America without "the arrogance of those who, being in power, believe they can decide of life and death."

Clearly, President Obama did not follow this advice.Instead, he unilaterally rescinded one of the most effective pro-life international policies.

In an interview on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2009 in Corriere della Sera, an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan, the Archbishop noted his deep concerns over the action and growing concerns with the new American president saying "if this is one of President Obama's first acts, I have to say, in all due respect, that we're heading quickly toward disappointment."

The influential Bishop has the ear of the Holy Father. Bishop Fisichella worked with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger during his years of his service as the Head of the Vatican Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith prior to his assumption of the Papacy. He helped Cardinal Ratzinger to research the now highly influential encyclical letter of the late Servant of God John Paul II, "Faith and Reason".

This was not the only comment made by representatives of the Holy See.

Monsignor Elio Sgreccia, told the ANSA news agency: "This deals a harsh blow not only to us Catholics but to all the people across the world who fight against the slaughter of innocents that is carried out with abortion... Among the many good things that he could have done, Barack Obama instead chose the worst."

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