Saturday, January 3, 2015

Mario Cuomo Remembered for Being ‘Personally Opposed’ While Publicly Supportive of Abortion



Mario Cuomo Remembered for Being ‘Personally Opposed’ While Publicly Supportive of Abortion
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.2 Jan 2015New York, NY
Mario Cuomo, a three-time governor of New York, died Thursday at the age of 82.

He is being remembered for many things, both good and bad, but the one that sticks most firmly in the minds of many Catholics is his famous articulation of a Catholic politician’s ability to be “personally opposed” to certain unjust activities without having to impose his views on others.

In its eulogy to the governor, The New York Times praised Cuomo’s resolution “when he defied his church in 1984 by flying to the University of Notre Dame to proclaim that Roman Catholic politicians who personally opposed abortion, as he did, could appropriately support the right of a woman to have an abortion.”

In that celebrated speech, Cuomo employed some logical legerdemain that enabled a generation of Catholics to publicly support behavior that they held to be morally unjust.

“As Catholics,” Cuomo said, “my wife and I were enjoined never to use abortion to destroy the life we created, and we never have. We thought Church doctrine was clear on this, and—more than that—both of us felt it in full agreement with what our hearts and our consciences told us.”

“But not everyone in our society agrees with me and Matilda.” 7

Cuomo’s convoluted logic led conservative commentator William McGurn to dub Cuomo “the founding father of the enabler community” whose “most important achievement has turned out to be his ‘personally-opposed-but’ speech at Notre Dame in 1984.”

Last January Cuomo’s son, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, built upon his father’s words, describing those who embrace the “right to life” as “extreme conservatives” who “have no place in New York state.”

Renowned political scientist Hadley Arkes compared Cuomo’s argument with that employed by Stephen Douglas in his celebrated debate with Abraham Lincoln. Arkes wrote: “Douglas declared that he was personally opposed to slavery, but he wished to leave the matter to ‘popular sovereignty.’” Abraham Lincoln, on the other hand, retorted that “When Judge Douglas says that whoever, or whatever community, wants slaves, they have a right to have them, he is perfectly logical if there is nothing wrong in the institution; but if you admit that it is wrong, he cannot logically say that anybody has a right to do a wrong.”

The most decisive argument levelled against Cuomo’s “personally-opposed-but…” thesis is that when the reason you are personally opposed to a given behavior is that justice demands the protection of innocent human beings, you are obliged to act in consequence. Political figures are elected, in fact, to ensure this justice.

Being “personally opposed” to rape carries with it the obligation to be politically—and not just “personally”—against it. Being “personally opposed” to child abuse would make no sense unless one were also ready to back it up with the force of law.

By now these arguments are eminently clear to Mr. Cuomo and he sees all things as they are. May God have mercy on his soul. Requiescat in pace.

University of Notre Dame
John I. Jenkins is the president for the University of Notre Dame, and was a director at the Millennium Promise.

Note: Raymond G. Chambers was a trustee at the University of Notre Dame, a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and is the chairman emeritus for the Millennium Promise.
James E. Rohr is a trustee at the University of Notre Dame, and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Millennium Promise, and the Committee for Economic Development.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Committee for Economic Development, the American Constitution Society, and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Donna S. Morea was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and the EVP for the CGI Group Inc.
CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.
University of Notre Dame opposes the birth control provision in Obamacare.
Van Scoyoc Associates is the lobby firm for the University of Notre Dame, and was the lobby firm for the Boeing Company.
Barbara G. Fast was a VP at the Boeing Company, and a VP for the CGI Group Inc.
CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
W. James McNerney Jr. is the chairman & president & CEO for the Boeing Company, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Francis E. George is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, an archbishop for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, and a cardinal for the Roman Catholic Church.
Newton N. Minow is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.                    
Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Faith Elizabeth Gay was an attorney at Sidley Austin LLP, and is a director at the American Constitution Society.
Mario M. Cuomo was a board of adviser’s member for the American Constitution Society, and the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state for the New York state government.
Caroline Fredrickson is the president of the American Constitution Society, and was a general counsel for NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Barbra Streisand Foundation was a funder for the American Constitution Society, and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Barbra Streisand is the founder of the Barbra Streisand Foundation, and a William Morris Endeavor Entertainment client.
Ari Emanuel is the co-CEO & director for William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, and Rahm I. Emanuel’s brother.
Rahm I. Emanuel is Ari Emanuel’s brother, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Chicago (IL) mayor, and was the White House chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013       
William M. Goodyear is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a trustee at the University of Notre Dame.
John W. Jordan II is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a trustee at the University of Notre Dame.
J. Christopher Reyes is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a trustee at the University of Notre Dame.
Richard C. Notebaert is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a trustee at the University of Notre Dame.
Phillip B. Rooney is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a trustee at the University of Notre Dame.
John I. Jenkins is the president for the University of Notre Dame, and was a director at the Millennium Promise.
Angelina Jolie was a director at the Millennium Promise, and is a co-founder for the Jolie/Pitt Foundation.
Jolie/Pitt Foundation was a funder for Doctors Without Borders.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for Doctors Without Borders, the American Constitution Society, and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Barbra Streisand Foundation was a funder for the American Constitution Society, and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Caroline Fredrickson is the president of the American Constitution Society, and was a general counsel for NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Mario M. Cuomo was a board of adviser’s member for the American Constitution Society, and the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state for the New York state government.




























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