Many factors make church leaders single out abortion as an issue

From Sunday's Post Dispatch...

...why has the stance of Roman Catholic politicians on abortion become a touchstone?

Because direct abortion is "intrinsically" evil.

Experts on Catholicism say the abortion focus is driven by a mixture of theology, internal church debates over what defines a true Catholic and an imperative to respond to the top public issues of the day.

Repeat...Because direct abortion is "intrinsically" evil.

"It is the direct taking of human life - direct, knowing, deliberate - and this is always and everywhere, in every circumstance, condemned by the church", said the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, a Catholic priest and editor of First Things, a conservative magazine.

Catholic teaching is equally clear about euthanasia - it is never allowable...

Because it is "intrinsically" evil.

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