The Roman Catholic Church (in the U.S.)
Historically, the Roman Catholic Church is consistently associated with an anti-abortion stance. Catholic doctrine declares a belief that life begins at conception, that this life is equivalent to the status of a human being, and that the termination of a pregnancy is a moral evil. During the 20th century, this view was reinforced by the Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s and Pope John Paul II’s 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” However, the stances taken on abortion by Catholic clergy and laity in the 20th century United States were more pluralistic than official Church doctrine expressed, a reality that remains true in the 21st century. This page investigates a specific historical incidence of discord between different levels of Roman Catholic hierarchy on the issue of abortion in the U.S. from 1980-1985.
Below, I have identified three interrelated artifacts that collectively portray a narrow scene in the broad history of the Roman Catholic Church’s wrestling with the abortion debate. Similar to the pages on the Lutheran and Episcopal Churches, my artifacts illuminate the perspectives of the Pope, clergy, and laity from 1980-1985, a diversity of voices critical to this page’s central narrative. The first source is an apostolic exhortation composed by Pope John Paul II in 1981. While written years prior to his Catechism, it reveals his earlier beliefs about Christian family life (including references to an anti-abortion theology), while also contextualizing the following two sources. My second source, a 1984 advertisement published in The New York Times, is a statement released by Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC), a pro-choice organization, and signed by a group of 97 American Catholic clergy and laity. It contradicts the teachings suggested by the Pope, insisting that many American Catholics are more accepting of abortion and advocating for the validation of these beliefs. My third source, a TIME article from 1985, discusses the Vatican’s corresponding condemnation of American nuns who signed the CFFC's statement and details the pressure they faced to recant their actions.
While covering only a small chapter in the broader history of Catholicism’s relationship to the subject of abortion, I hope this portion of our exhibit will express the Catholic Church’s abiding hierarchical dissonance on abortion, while also reflecting the inexorable reality of disagreement within individual Christian traditions in general.
Familiaris consortio: On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World (1981)
Familiaris consortio is an apostolic exhortation written by Pope John Paul II following the Synod of Bishops in 1980. The theme for this Synod was the role of the Christian family in the modern world, and the “exhortation” functions as a conclusory writing to this gathering. The Pope addresses the reflections and discussions from the Synod, to be promulgated to clergy.
The Pope begins by citing the Synod and proclaiming the “urgent and compelling” need to develop proper Catholic marriages and families. The first section reflects upon the perceived positive and negative influences of the current socio-cultural climate on modern families and relationships and the need to restore these institutions to Catholic ideals. Abortion is one of the influences the Pope claims are degrading Catholic consciousness. The second section outlines the “Plan of God for Marriage and the Family,” explaining what constitutes a holy and righteous marriage (or celibacy), as well as the responsibility to procreate and educate children. The third section affirms the roles Catholic couples and families must occupy in the Church and the modern world, and it includes a strict condemnation of abortion, sterilization, and contraception, found in a subsection entitled “The Church Stands for Life.”
In a changing world, this document illustrates the continuity of Catholic norms for family and marriage throughout the 20th century and into the 1980s. This source is useful for understanding the stance of papal authority on family life from a Catholic perspective, as well as its intersection with the abortion debate. Importantly, this source’s authoritative content and authorship contextualize the sentiments expressed in the next two sources.
“A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion” (“A Diversity of Opinions Regarding Abortion Exists Among Committed Catholics”) (1984)
This statement was published by Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) as a display advertisement in The New York Times on October 7th, 1984. CFFC, known today as Catholics for Choice (CFC), is an American Catholic pro-choice organization founded in 1973. It emerged from a desire to promote abortion access, though inspired by a sense of the Catholic faith that has led Catholic leaders and conferences to denounce it as an authentic Catholic organization.
Prior to the 1984 presidential election, Democratic vice-presidential candidate and Catholic Geraldine Ferraro received strong criticism from Cardinal John Joseph O’Connor, the archbishop of New York, for supporting abortion rights and having an association with CFFC. In response, CFFC President Frances Kissling developed this statement, obtained the signatures of 97 Catholic theologians, priests, nuns, and lay people, and had it published.
The statement responds to the “mistaken belief in American society” that all Catholics align with the official stance on abortion held by the Papacy and other hierarchical leadership in the Catholic Church. It directly challenges the universality of official teaching that frames abortion as immoral, instead claiming that Catholics hold a variety of opinions. It supports this claim with data from the National Opinion Research Center and names explicit reasons why pro-choice opinions have formed among Catholics. It advocates for the free expression and acceptance of pro-choice beliefs within the Catholic community and for legislation that respects the “freedom of religion and conscience” rather than discriminates against women. Over time, the attention given to the advertisement elevated the CFFC’s status and influence.
This statement verifies the existence of an American Catholic perspective on abortion in the 1980s that dissented from official church doctrine of the time, reflected by sources such as Familiaris consortio.
Religion: Shutting the Door on Dissent (1985)
This source is an article published by TIME on January 7th, 1985, 3 months after the publication of “A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion.” It enters the conflict that ensued after the statement was released between the Vatican and the signers who were nuns or other members of religious orders. By noting both the teachings of Pope John Paul II and the sentiments of the CFFC it synthesizes the prior two sources as it describes the culminating confrontation between their two different voices.
After the advertisement’s publication, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops attacked its heretical message. The Vatican threatened the signers who were of religious orders to recant or else be dismissed from their orders. Of the 26 nuns who signed, 24 of them, dubbed the “Vatican 24” by the media, were pressured to comply with these demands. The article describes this situation, indicating that the nuns had a matter of weeks to determine their next course of action, though several, including nuns who opposed abortion, remained firm in their dissent. The article quotes Donna Quinn, executive director of Chicago Catholic Women who stated, “we believe we have the right to speak out when we have a differing opinion.” It then describes how in December many of the nuns met with other signers to release a new statement criticizing the Vatican’s actions as a “cause for scandal to Catholics everywhere” and seeking to “stifle freedom of speech and public discussion.” Some nuns would eventually recant, while the Vatican would later claim in 1986 that all but 2 nuns had recanted. These 2 would be joined by 11 of the other nuns in creating a statement that denied they had ever publicly recanted. This source provides essential insight into the effects of the abortion controversy on female Catholic leaders in the U.S. during the mid-1980s, lending a direct voice to nuns and the strength of their dissent against higher Catholic authority.
Who Wrote the Roman Catholic Page?
Hello! My name is Michael Mitchum and I curated the portion of this exhibit on the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. I am a sophomore Religious Studies major and intended double major in Music. I was raised as a Lutheran in the ELCA, though I serve on the student leadership team for UKirk, a campus ministry affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA. Researching abortion from a Catholic perspective has broadened my understanding of how this tradition both compares and contrasts to my own. As I engaged with a sense of pluralism within the Catholic community, it reminded me that such pluralism exists within the Lutheran community too! If you have any questions, reach out to me through my email at mimitchum@davidson.edu.