Catholics React to Overturn of Roe

With the release of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court opinion, both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey have been overturned, ending abortion’s status as a right mandated by federal law and leaving it to the states to decide the matter.

Roman Catholics in the U.S. and abroad had mixed reactions to the ruling. The National Catholic Reporter noted that a host of various Catholic groups praised the decision to overturn Roe. Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, released a statement on the ruling that gave the decision high praise.

“This is a historic day in the life of our country, one that stirs our thoughts, emotions and prayers” the statement read. Though the USCCB mourned the millions of lives lost due to abortion, they also expressed thanksgiving for the nation’s pro-life movement, saying that “Their work for the cause of life reflects all that is good in our democracy, and the pro-life movement deserves to be numbered among the great movements for social change and civil rights in our nation’s history.”

The statement also stressed the need to make the most out of the aftermath of the decision: “Now is the time to begin the work of building a post-Roe America. It is a time for healing wounds and repairing social divisions; it is a time for reasoned reflection and civil dialogue, and for coming together to build a society and economy that supports marriages and families…”.

The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in the United States of America also issued a statement celebrating the court decision. The statement called abortion “a massive injustice in our society” and, following in the spirit of Pope St. John Paul II’s “culture of life” philosophy, declared that, “To be truly pro-life, we must support all women, expectant parents and their children by advocating for policies like universal health care, paid parental leave and a more equitable distribution of our country’s abundant resources.” Father James Martin S.J., despite his ambiguity on certain Catholic teachings, expressed pro-life sentiment in a Twitter thread criticizing National Public Radio for the lack of pro-life voices on its programs related to abortion.

Multiple bishops expressed similar sentiments in light of Roe’s overturning. The Catholic publication Crux documented several reactions from high ranking Roman Catholic leaders that while joyful, also stressed the need for further work within American society.

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore was optimistic but also emphasized that this was not the end of the fight: “It’s a day that many people have worked and prayed very hard for, and it is a day in which I think we can engage in the debate anew in our country, but hopefully also a day in which we will redouble our efforts to create a just and compassionate society where no mother has to choose between her child and her future.”

The New York State Catholic Conference posted a written statement by the New York bishops saying that they were “overjoyed with this outcome of the Court”, while at the same time reminding the laity that society at large was still deeply divided on the issue, and called on pro-life groups and individuals to help foster greater change in American culture: “To change the culture and build a culture of life, we need to enact family-friendly policies that welcome children, support mothers, cherish families and empower them to thrive.”

The Vatican itself also praised the decision. The Pontifical Academy of Life stated on June 24 that the decision “challenged the world” to reflect on how it views the meaning of life, and called for similar reforms to help foster an across the board pro-life society.

Some Catholics though saw the overturning of Roe as a mostly negative decision. U.S. President Joe Biden, who is Roman Catholic, in televised comments from the White House following release of the Court ruling, claimed the decision marked “a sad day for the Court and for the country”, further warning that “The health and life of women in this nation are now at risk.”

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), also self-professed Roman Catholic, argued that the result of the decision was “the GOP’s dark and extreme goal of ripping away women’s right to make their own reproductive health decisions.” She added that “Republicans seek to punish and control women” and that the ruling was “outrageous and heart-wrenching”.

Catholics for Choice, a pro-abortion organization condemned as heretical by Catholic leaders, denounced the ruling as “a full-frontal assault on, and is utterly incompatible with, the bedrock American principles of religious freedom and the separation of church and state.” The statement went as far to claim that the Catholic faith justified the notion that abortion was a human right.

Catholics in America have a strenuous relationship with the Church’s official teaching on the matter. Though the Catholic Catechism charges that direct abortions “are gravely contrary to the moral law” and that the teaching cannot be changed, a majority of American Catholics think abortion should be legal in most or all cases according to the Pew Research Center.

Pope Francis has personally condemned abortion with strong language on several occasions. Though he did not refer explicitly to the ruling, on Saturday June 25, the Roman pontiff gave a homily calling on families to reject “the toxins of selfishness, individualism, today’s culture of indifference and waste” and to not let fears of the future “thwart the desire to bring new lives in the world”. He has also in the past compared procuring an abortion to “hiring a hit man” and compared the act to actions committed by the Nazis in the Second World War.