On Abortion and Politics

From Fr. Maximos from Holy Resurrection Monastery:


Now once you properly define the goal of the pro-life movement, you suddenly discover a whole new range of possibilities open up beyond the narrow straightjacket of two-party politics. It may be, in fact, that the fixation with the law as the tool of choice in the battle for life has actually done us great harm. By buying into the party political system the pro-life movement has contributed to reducing something that goes to the heart of what it is to be human to being a mere political wedge issue. Yes, one party has an anti-abortion statement in its manifesto. It professes to seek out judges who will rule in favor of the unborn. But in the end, any victories won in this way are as shaky as the political plurality on which they are based. One election could sweep them all away.

The goal of a complete end to abortion will be won primarily by changing hearts, not laws. And this is also why I have dared to broach this subject on a blog dedicated to the Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical dialogue. The parallels are really rather striking. In both areas, the pro-life/pro-abortion dialectic as well as the Catholic-Orthodox quarrel, arguing and politicking seem to have led us as far as we can go. What is needed in both disputes is a renewed emphasis on ultimate goals and a recognition that these are achievable on by a change of heart, repentance. "Spiritual ecumenism" turns out to be the answer to more than one problem! (Read all of it here)