Q&A: Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput

The Denver Post has a Q&A segment with Archbishop Chaput on the eve of the Bishops' Meeting.

Q: Some Catholics are worried that if the church's leaders focus on certain issues over others, they appear partisan. Do you share that concern?

A: No. That's almost always code language for telling the Church to be quiet about abortion. There are many, many people of both major parties, Republicans and Democrats, who work for the Church in Colorado. The Church is never partisan. Here in Denver, both of my senior legislative advisers are active Democrats. More than 80 percent of our state lobbying efforts and the vast majority of our Church's financial and personnel resources go to social issues that have nothing to do with abortion. But that doesn't change the fact that abortion is the central social issue of this moment in our national history - not the only issue, but the foundational issue; the pivotal issue. For Catholics to ignore it or downplay it or "contextualize" it would be an act of cowardice.

Link.