AK Right to Life still trashing Catholics
Catholics who wandered down the wrong path at the Alaska State Fair discovered that Alaska Right to Life is still spewing deception about Providence Alaska Medical Center, the Anchorage Archdiocese, the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas.
Among the offerings at Alaska Right to Life’s booth at the fair were copies of a "special edition" of The Defender, the organization’s newsletter, that is dedicated entirely to smearing Catholics and hospital workers because Providence performs a medical procedure that Alaska Right to Life objects to.
An Anchor staffer who happened upon the booth struck up a conversation with a woman who identified herself as a member of the Alaska Right to Life board.
Did the woman know, our staffer asked, that Archbishop Roger Schwietz and the National Catholic Bioethics Center consider Providence’s policies on early induction of labor to be in compliance with Catholic moral guidelines?
The woman said she was "looking at the big picture" and didn’t "know the details." Then she added that it was her understanding that the Vatican had condemned the practices at Providence.
We would be shocked by such foolishness from a board member, but the Alaska Right to Life board has been the problem throughout this saga. They hatched and nearly implemented a plan to hijack a Catholic prayer service for the unborn, they produced the deceptive Defender, and they continue to act with such brazen ignorance despite having been informed numerous times of the moral reasoning behind the Catholic positions they are trashing. These folks are impervious to any ideas other than their own.
The board’s actions have already caused the state’s Knights of Columbus and Catholic Daughters to sever ties with Alaska Right to Life. We recommend that individual Catholics withhold support as well until the board ends this belligerent, bizarre campaign.
For background, go to www.catholicanchor.org and click the "Archives" tab, where we have posted a timeline of events, Anchor news and opinions, and a list of Catholic resources for more information.