OPINION:
Pope Francis has constructed a bizarre moral equivalence between abortion and border security.
When asked about the U.S. presidential election, the pontiff said voters must “choose between the lesser evil.” Both candidates are “anti-life,” the pope declared. “Either the one who throws out migrants” – a popular euphemism for illegal immigrants – “or the one who kills babies.”
The comparison is absurd.
Unlike an aborted baby, a prospective immigrant who’s denied entry is still alive. He can go home and apply to come here legally, as millions have over the centuries since America’s founding, including my grandparents.
Even if border security is a sin, as the pope maintains, the Catholic Church recognizes degrees of sinfulness. Pope Benedict XVI, Francis’ predecessor, explained, “Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia.”
Like abortion, open borders kill. Thanks to Biden and Harris, the criminals and gang members who stream across our unguarded southern border kill thousands of Americans each year.
It’s estimated that more than 100,000 Americans die annually from fentanyl smuggled across the border. “Migrants” are also victims. Some are trafficked for sex or cheap labor.
On September 10th, the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from Angel Moms, who described the murder of their loved ones by illegal aliens. Witnesses included Alexis Nungaray, whose 12-year-old daughter was raped and brutally murdered by two Venezuelans.
The Talmud cautions, “Kindness to the cruel is cruelty to the kind.”
Over three and a half years of the Biden-Harris administration, more than 53,000 criminal aliens were apprehended by the Border Patrol, including those convicted of assault, domestic violence, rape and homicide in their countries of origin.
Those caught at the border are a fraction of the getaways.
The pope is correct in one regard; it’s hard to imagine how Vice President Kamala Harris could be more pro-abortion.
Ms. Harris has made abortion a centerpiece of her campaign. In March, she became the first Vice President to visit a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. She has opposed a ban on late-term abortions and the Born Alive Act, which would require medical care for the survivors of abortion.
As a senator, Ms. Harris supported the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits funding abortion through Medicaid and voted against protecting the rights of medical personnel who refuse to take part in abortions.
As California Attorney General, Ms. Harris attempted to force pro-life pregnancy resource centers to distribute information on abortion services available. She also tried to prosecute activist David Daleiden for exposing the illegal sale of fetal body parts.
As a senator, she grilled judicial nominees on their membership in the Knights of Columbus, as if the organization’s opposition to abortion made it an extremist group.
The vice president received a 100-percent approval rating from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the National Abortion Rights Action League.
The largest advocacy group of its kind, Catholic Vote, has launched a series of ads exposing the Democratic nominee’s support for tax-funded sex-change surgeries for minors.
These operations include hysterectomies, breast amputations for girls, and castration performed on underage boys.
“Sound weird? Disgusting?” The ads ask. “It is. And you’re paying for it. Kamala Harris supports these taxpayer-funded sex-change operations. A vote for Harris is a vote for medical experiments on kids.”
At the international “Symposium Man-Woman: Image of God. Towards an Anthropology of Vocations,” held at the Vatican March 1-3, Pope Francis described the gender ideology – which provides the rationale for genital mutilation – as the “ugliest danger” of our time. And yet, he refuses to take a stand against the candidate who’s helped to make this ugly ideology a reality.
Is the papacy trying to give Catholics cover to vote for Ms. Harris?
When he met with Pope Francis in 2021, President Joseph Biden said the Pontiff told him that he’s “a good Catholic” despite his support for unlimited access to abortion. The Vatican never denied the claim.
When it comes to abortion, the Pope talks a good fight. But when the chips are down, he says that he sees no moral difference between the candidate who “kills babies” and her opponent, who believes America has a right to defend its sovereignty.
It would be ironic if the leader of the Catholic Church, which has done so much over the years to protect life, helped elect the most pro-abortion presidential candidate in history.
• Don Feder is a columnist with The Washington Times.
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