Cultural Warrior Hack Cardinal Rigali Brings Up Trivial Reversal of Mexico City Policy

I must say even I was a tad shocked by this post over at Vox Nova's Mexico City? Try Gaza Instead

Obama behind closed doors and on a Friday , which is in when Controversial stuff is buried in the new cycle, reversed the Mexico City Policy. Somehow Catholics that are bringing this up are a "roadblock toward real conversion on this issue". Also we learn this is trivial?

There is a huge diversion in the post for good measure about Gaza. Which is strange. I supported Israel's last battle with Hamas and thought it met the just war criteria quite clearly.

What is strange as is as to the Cultural Warrior's that Morning Minion is talking about is that a lot of them shared her concerns. Including Deal Hudson (who MM is always ranting about) and it appeared to me the whole staff of Inside Catholic. Other Catholic voices were raised and there were civil debates over the issue at American Catholic as well as other places. Mark Shea for instance is I guess a cultural warrior and was one of Israel's biggest critics. Ross Douthat over at the Atlantic was very much discussing the complicated issues.

Regardless I will not go down this rabbit hole of thinking for whatever reason I must talk about Gaza and the Mexico City Policy in the same breath. It does appear trival to Carlos Polo, a Peruvian who is Director for Latin America of the Population Research Council, asked “Where is Obama’s promise to fight poverty in order to reduce the number of abortions?”

He predicted the consequences of the new policy, telling CNA:
“The money that USAID has been distributing to fight poverty, relief hunger and droughts, will end up in the pockets of feminist and pro-abortion organizations to push the legalization of abortion in our countries.” “The hard-earned American tax payers’ money will be diverted from poor children and women to the fat salaries of feminist leaders.
“This is not a potential scenario; it is exactly what happened in South America during the Clinton administration, when he reversed the Mexico City policy.
“In Peru during those years, USAID financed the most brutal, compulsory campaign of sterilizations, with the open support of feminist, pro-abortion organizations, despite the fact that poor, peasant women were the victims of the campaign.”
Polo reported that international outcry forced USAID to end its funding of then-President Alberto Fujimori’s sterilization campaign.
“But by then, thousands of women, most of them in their late teens and early 20s had been sterilized, and several died as a consequence of the procedure.”
The reversal of the Mexico city policy, Polo said, “clearly demonstrates that President Obama is not interested in fighting poverty to reduce abortions, and that there is no possible common ground with those who want to fight for the right to life.
“President Obama has chosen to do exactly the opposite in the poorest countries: increase abortions and reduce help for the poorest.”

Is this trivial? Well not to Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities who said yesterday ,"It is very disappointing that President Obama has reversed the Mexico City Policy, which prevents U.S. funding of organizations that perform and promote abortion as a family planning method in developing nations. An Administration that wants to reduce abortions should not divert U.S. funds to groups that promote abortions."

Cardinal but what about GAZA!!!!

It appears not to be trivial to Cardinal Francis George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops who said in a letter to President Obama:
“‘The Mexico City Policy, first established in 1984, has wrongly been attacked as a restriction on foreign aid for family planning. In fact, it has not reduced such aid at all, but has ensured that family planning funds are not diverted to organizations dedicated to performing and promoting abortions instead of reducing them. Once the clear line between family planning and abortion is erased, the idea of using family planning to reduce abortions becomes meaningless, and abortion tends to replace contraception as the means for reducing family size. A shift toward promoting abortion in developing nations would also increase distrust of the United States in these nations, whose values and culture often reject abortion, at a time when we need their trust and respect.’”

I mean what are with these Princes of the Church bringing up trivial issues and blocking true conversions.

They remind me so much of that blocking true conversion guy John Paul the II that in the Clinton years ago when the President was going to reverse it moved Heaven and Earth in trying to just get Clinton on the phone.