Pat Quinn To Meet With Catholic Bishops, Will Discuss Abortion Stance

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has never apologized for his pro-choice stance. During the campaign for governor, Quinn supporters released a series of television ads attacking his opponent -- Sen. Bill Brady -- for Brady's position that abortion should be banned even in cases of rape and incest. A speech Quinn gave at a recent pro-choice luncheon, however, has ruffled the feathers of Catholic bishops in the state, who requested a meeting with the governor on the issue this week.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Quinn received a letter from six Catholic bishops Wednesday requesting a meeting with Quinn to discuss, among other things, "your personal approval of laws permitting the killing of unborn children."

"We would like to discuss with you, both as fellow citizens and as pastors of your Church, how you and we should position ourselves publicly on this issue so you may be true to your responsibility as Governor as we may remain true to ours as bishops," the letter said, according to the Tribune.

Quinn, a Catholic, has been publicly slammed by the bishops in recent weeks for his decision to honor a rape victim with a "Pro-Choice Leadership Award" at a Personal PAC luncheon on Thursday. As the governor was receiving a standing ovation at the event, protesters gathered outside.

Armed with graphic signs, the protesters seemed to criticize rape victims who decided to abort their rapist's babies. The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

One of the protestors outside Thursday’s luncheon was Mary Higgins, a pharmaceutical consultant who was raped 33 years ago as a college freshman and gave birth to a daughter.

“I am here to represent women who are victims of sexual assault who chose life and to point out that the decision to take the life of a human being is never the answer to a violent crime,” said Higgins, who is about to become a grandmother. “Where in the world do we punish innocent children for the sins and the violence of their father?”

The meeting with Quinn comes as his relationship with Catholics is more strained than ever. The governor's progressive stance on gay rights and abortion is in direct contrast with the agenda they have been pushing. First, Quinn signed a Civil Unions bill into law. When Catholic Charities, a provider of adoption and foster care services, refused to serve couples in civil unions, the state ended its contract with the charity. After a long legal battle, Catholic Charities stopped the foster and adoption services altogether due to lack of funding.

Cardinal Francis George also found himself apologizing last week after attaching his name to a letter that called a rape victim advocate's work "terrible."

Quinn told the Sun-Times he is happy to “meet and have a robust dialogue” with the bishops about abortion and the gay adoption issue.

"I want to make sure that everybody in Illinois, no matter what their faith, has an open door to the governor and can express their strong points of view," Quinn said, according to the Tribune. "They may not agree with me all the time, but I think they'll find I'm open to listening to everyone."

WATCH Fox Chicago's coverage of the Thursday anti-choice protest here:

Quinn Presents Pro-Choice Leadership Award, Catholic Bishops Ask for Face-to-Face Meeting: MyFoxCHICAGO.com

Comments

[AntithiChrist]

10:44 AM on 11/22/2011

I like this guy, Quinn, so far.

[SmilelyBecks]

07:02 PM on 11/21/2011

Eve could not have come from Adam's rib, for no man can create a woman. BUT a woman can create a man with just the drop of a seed, nurture and care for him in herself if she please, and give birth to him. And yet man believes he is higher than her. But she lets him believe so. But not any longer. Please let these women have the RIGHT to CHOOSE between what she wants with her own body.
Rebecca Yolanda Sindy Perez
Junior at University Heights High School

[SmilelyBecks]

06:59 PM on 11/21/2011

...As far as the Catholic church goes I believe they have no right to speak in the matter. The catholic church has always been and always will be "the boys club" and who are they to choose what a woman can or cannot do with her body. I may be speaking out of boundaries to some of you, but I am a raised catholic, who has lost faith in the church for many years now due to issues such as this, BUT HAS NOT LOST FAITH IN GOD. The Bible says that God man woman out of Adam's rib. But that is not true... (continue next comment)

[SmilelyBecks]

06:56 PM on 11/21/2011

I am proud of this Governor for standing his ground in his beliefs. People need to realize, what you choose may not be another's choice. I, myself, would never want to kill a life, despite the circumstance. And I DO count this as immoral for myself. BUT you must understand that it is because this is MY body, and i have that right to choose. If another woman chooses to abort their child, no matter the situation, then that is soulfully her choice. As far as the catholic church goes... (continue next comment)

[Norcal2]

12:00 PM on 11/21/2011

I think the Catholic bishops should meet with their rank and file parishoners to find out how out of touch they are with the people of their churches.

[OldBear]

03:32 AM on 11/22/2011

They don't care, faith issues are determined from Rome, Catholic Bishops are messangers not church policy makers.

[Norcal2]

07:23 AM on 11/22/2011

Yes you are right. How did the Prime Minister of Ireland describe the church, as a "criminal enterprise".

Since when did the foot soldiers impact change at any level in a crime syndicate?

[LMPE]

07:49 PM on 11/20/2011

These bishops have lots of time to obsess on gays and abortion. Strangely, they never have time to do anything about all those pedophiles that dot the Roman Catholic Corporation.

[WheelsOnFire]

01:29 PM on 11/20/2011

Illinois Governor Quinn should request a meeting with the catholic bishops to discuss the level of taxes their religious corporation should begin paying.

[mrld20]

10:25 AM on 11/20/2011

Catholic Church there are better things for you to do than fight abortion and gays... Focus on immigrants and poverty...

[WheelsOnFire]

01:32 PM on 11/20/2011

Exactly.

The catholic church rakes in millions in tax-free income through tax-deductible contributions, and what do they spend it on?

Lobbying campaigns against gays and abortion.

They're blind to the bleak economic situation facing millions of Americans.

They let hungry children go unfed.

They let the homeless remain on the streets, without shelter.

They fail to provide comfort and aid to the sick.

But if Steve and Keith want to get married, they marshal their forces, open their vast treasury and feverishly write checks to lobbyists and advertising executives.

By their deeds ye shall know them.

[cymarie1964]

12:16 AM on 11/20/2011

Hurrah for the Governor! I can vote for anyone who realizes that there is more to me than my uterus. I understand that if it is your desire to carry to term a child conceived during a rape or as a product of incest then you have that option; however, if I choose not to then I too should have abortion as an option.

Unless the Catholic Church is going to be in the business of raising and educating through college the thousands of unwanted children who are products of their religious tyranny. The Church may succeed in forcing the birth of unwanted children but you can not force people to love them or care for them and that is a much worse existence for the child. If you have never met or seen a child that has been neglected or abuse, then before you make up your mind about this issue, please reach out to local social service professionals in your community and hear the horror stories.

[anthonybrown]

01:49 AM on 11/21/2011

If you are raped, should you have the right to have medical assistance to end your own life?

[cymarie1964]

09:47 PM on 11/21/2011

Have you ever been raped??? What I choose is my decision...and does not belong to the state....

[J Osteen]

06:48 PM on 11/19/2011

Limpin' George and his equally-irrelevent bishops will use the "luncheon" as a time to inform Quinn that he has been banned from receiving the sacraments of the Church for his stand on these issues which find him in opposition of the medieval Church hierarchy.



















































(Y A W N )

[auburncynic]

02:51 PM on 11/19/2011

A couple of years back when Maine had a people's veto referendum repealing equal marriage, several social agencies came out in support of marriage equality. After the vote, Catholic Charities revoked their funding to some of these social agencies. On the one hand, I suppose its their right to revoke support from those organizations that do not support their ideology, BUT considering that the mission of Catholic Charities is to help those in need, it seems somewhat unsavory that CC would choose to be vindictive rather than support organizations whose support of marriage equality was coincidental. Same thing for the Salvation Army and other Catholic Charities who try to blackmail municipalities by threatening to remove services if they are forced to accept and help ALL families.

[Ioan Lightoller]

01:52 AM on 11/20/2011

It just shows that ther help is conditional. Jesus never laid conditions on who he helped. Maybe the Catholics and the Salvation Army had better do a long hard look at how far they are from actually following their savior.

[tidalwave4455]

10:37 AM on 11/19/2011

Perhaps Gov Quinn can ask some questions of his own: why the Vatican covers up crimes against young people, un-Constitutionally tries to insert 'church' into 'state', believes that women are just chattel, talks about a loving 'New Testament' god but uses nasty 'Old Testament' methods?

[shadowfall71]

08:42 AM on 11/19/2011

So these bishops, specifically in their role as representatives of the Catholic Church (according to their own words), want to lobby the Governor of Illinois specifically on a political issue (again, according to their own words).

The solution is simple. Allow them to do so; and then strip the churches in their dioceses of their tax-exempt status.

[auburncynic]

02:55 PM on 11/19/2011

That would help a little bit towards solving the debt crisis. The Catholic Church's pockets run deep (even after having to settle their sxe-abuse cases).

[Ioan Lightoller]

01:57 AM on 11/20/2011

If the churches started paying their fair--which they should have paid all along--it would go a fair ways towards the alleviation of our deficit. If they wish to discriminate then they should pay for the privilege.

[Atwill]

10:11 PM on 11/18/2011

The church has no business getting into abortion or adoption.

[Dern88]

08:22 PM on 11/18/2011

"We would like to discuss with you, both as fellow citizens and as pastors of your Church, how you and we should position ourselves publicly on this issue so you may be true to your responsibility as Governor as we may remain true to ours as bishops,"

Answer is clear...by keeping your religion out of government. Next.