Hard cases, part two
Monday, March 9, 2009
By Bryan Cones
Comments (6)
The case of the 9-year-old Brazilian girl who was discovered to be pregnant with twins after being raped by her stepfather has now drawn comment from Rome, according to the BBC. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Congregation for Bishops, defended Archbishop of Olinda and Recife Jose Cardoso Sobrinho's decision to excommunicate the mother of the girl and medical personnel who terminated her pregnancy. Sobrinho has been attacked by members of the Brazilian government.
As I said in my previous post on this issue, I don't think this difficult case is the one to draw attention to if the Re and Sobrino want to promote the church's anti-abortion message. It's too problematic on a number of levels--the age of the girl, the situations surrounding her pregnancy, the danger to her health, to name a few--and the public relations storm that it has kicked up will likely have many Brazilians favoring more liberalized abortion laws in the country, where the procedure is available now only in cases of rape and when the life of the mother would likely be endangered by the pregnancy.
It would be nice to have a Catholic moral theologian comment on the complexity of the issue in the press, but I imagine it is now too hot to handle.
Posted in: In preview mode
The tragic story of the 9 year old Brazilian girl
By Mary Anne (not verified) on Tuesday, March 10, 2009I excommunicated myself, thank God. I would much rather be in the company of this little girl. The Roman Catholic Church does not value women, except as Catholic baby makers.
Correction
By Jerry (not verified) on Tuesday, March 10, 2009The girl was not excommunicated.
I agreed with the post that this was not an issue to make a public stand. I also take the position that this was not an etopic pregnancy and that the issue of the danger of the life of the nine year-old may have been overblown.
The Church is a staunch defender of life. To make the jump that the Church only values women as baby makers is either hateful or ignorant. Women have advanced more in the Christian West than in any other society. The Church takes the position there will be a longer term tragedy for the girl that she was involved in the taking of life than in having the babies adopted even in this most horrific case.
I hope you are as angry about non-Christians aborting away female babies with sex selection abortions in Korea, India, China and right here in the good old USA! For those who proclaim abortion is a right as free speech is a right, there should be no complaints about sex selection abortions.
Ashamed of Church policy on this issue
By Michaela Bruzzese (not verified) on Tuesday, March 10, 2009I am astounded, to say the least, at the Church's position on this issue. I feel that the abortion issue has become idolatrous for the Church---that is, the Church will no longer consider the complexities of profoundly difficult moral issues (as is evident in this case) and adhere blindly to doctrine. All this at the expense of a family already deeply violated in every sense. The medical community, thank God, has acted responsibly and mercifully to the family, and I wish the Church had done the same. In this case, the Catholic Church does not speak for me, I do not agree. And in fact, I agree with the columnist that this position will in fact turn many more Brasilians (and others around the world) away from the Church. Who was it that said that the Sabbath was made for humanity, humanity was not made for the Sabbath? Oh, yes, it was Jesus. And though he was speaking specifically to the issue of conduct on the Sabbath, he was in fact critiquing all rigid religious doctrine that is used to oppress human beings as a weapon of judgement and exclusion rather than mercy and love. Shame on the Church for doing this. They had a unique opportunity to extend a loving and merciful presence to a desperate family and community in need, and instead of extending mercy, they gave only judgement and exclusion. To make matters worse, there is thus far no talk of excommunicating the man who raped and impregnated a CHILD. I cannot even fathom how is crime is more morally acceptable than the mother and doctor's "crime". Until the Church can stand up for all the vulnerable, and not just the unborn, the Church's policies will smack of hypocrisy, and yes, idolatry.
This issue has hit a raw
By Anonymous (not verified) on Tuesday, March 10, 2009This issue has hit a raw nerve for me that I thought I had buried. My father started molesting me when I was 9 and it continued til I was 18. I thought I was pregnant at 12 and told my mother who took me to the doctor and lied about what happened ( I was raped by a tramp on my way home from school). When she confronted my father (a police officer) he flew into a rage, denied it, and threatened to kill her, my brother, sister and myself and all her family, if she left him. He slept with a loaded pistol on their nightstand. There is no doubt he would have done it because he once chased me through the house with his pistol; luckily I ran to the neighbors who didn't believe me but it was enough to cool him off. The church was no help; when I went to confession at 11 or 12 and said I was having sex with a married man because I didn't know how to say what I was going through, the priest, who obviously knew he was talking to a child, gave me 3 rosaries to say. I've had years of therapy, eventually reconciled with the church and with my father shortly before his death, and chose the topic of interpersonal reconciliation for my doctoral dissertation. I am currently a consultant in private practice doing a lot of organizational development work with the US Catholic church, seeking to support people in the pews who are devastated by the major changes the churches are experiencing. So I don't make my feelings about abortion public. You expressed my outrage on this issue. Thank you.
I don't think . . .
By Kevin Clarke on Tuesday, March 10, 2009there's a family in the country that hasn't been damaged by child abuse. I'm so sorry to hear of your terrible experience. I'll be remembering you in my prayers.
Your story should be unbelievable...
By Jerry (not verified) on Tuesday, March 10, 2009...and it is so sad that it isn't.
Priests clearly were not properly trained to handle issues such as yours in the confessional. My heart breaks for you at the same time I admire your spirit for bravely moving forward with life after such a tragic experience. God Bless You.
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