Vermont Catholic Bishop Christopher Coyne wants the Legislature to know he strongly opposes a new bill seeking to safeguard abortion rights. So why didn’t the leader of the state’s largest religious denomination plan on joining a long line of people testifying at a Wednesday public hearing?
Coyne says he only learned about the session the day before and decided to submit a written statement rather than tear up his already full schedule for two minutes of microphone time.
But the bishop, who’s working with both a lay committee and law enforcement task force reviewing past misconduct by diocesan priests and orphanage personnel, admits his appearance could spark questions.
“If I was to go down to the Statehouse, the first thing that someone would come out with is, ‘You have no rights to lecture us about moral law given what the church did to children.’”
So goes the challenge for Coyne and Vermont Catholics, who are aiming to publicize their opposition to H.57 — “an act relating to preserving the right to abortion” — at the same time the diocese is facing continuing headlines about past abuse of altar boys and orphans under its charge.
The bishop juggled both issues Tuesday night at the last of a statewide series of Catholic town hall meetings. Coyne told more than 100 people at Rutland’s Christ the King Church that a lay committee was reviewing the personnel files of 52 former clergy with abuse allegations so it can publicize the names of offenders later this year.
“I can’t guarantee when the work will be done, but we need to be open and transparent,” the bishop said. “We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure it never happens again.”
Coyne then addressed the abortion bill.
“We’re talking about a law that would allow a child to be aborted right up to the moment of birth,” he said of a proposal under consideration by the House Human Services and Judiciary committees. “It’s taking us to a place where we’re literally killing babies.”
In response, sponsors say their bill isn’t intended to change or preempt abortion law but simply “codify current access.” But that’s not stopping Coyne from outlining his opposition in a public statement the diocese is distributing online.
“Our faith teaches that all human life is sacred — meaning ‘of God’ — from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death and that we are called to embrace and protect that sacred gift,” the bishop writes in part.
“H.57 goes far beyond Roe vs. Wade, guaranteeing unrestricted abortion through all nine months of pregnancy and declaring the baby to have no individual rights. This means that a baby in the womb can be terminated right up to the moment of natural birth.”
“My friends, that is not abortion. That is infanticide. And this law would legislate that right to an abortion — to infanticide — not be ‘denied, restricted, or infringed by any government entity.’ This is not a ‘Catholic’ issue but a social justice issue. … I plead with you. Do not let this happen.”
The bishop is asking Vermont Catholics to contact their state representatives and voice opposition to the bill. Parishioners, in turn, are asking him about ways the church can, as one meeting attendee said Tuesday, “lead the charge against this soulless, pagan idea.”
Could the diocese publicly excommunicate Catholic lawmakers who support the bill?
“They’re still our brothers and sisters,” Coyne said. “They’ll still deserve charity from us.”
Could a pastor counsel privately that a legislator can’t receive communion if they vote yes?
The bishop didn’t say no.
“I’m doing everything I can,” he concluded, “to educate and help people make good decisions.”
