The following is an excerpt from an article in the National Catholic Reporter (dissident publication):

Finally, I am a prochoice Catholic because my Catholic faith tells me I can be. The Catechism reads, “[Conscience] is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.” Even St. Thomas Aquinas said it would be better to be excommunicated than to neglect your individual conscience. So really, I am just following his lead. After years of research, discernment and prayer, my conscience has been well informed. Being a prochoice Catholic does not contradict my faith; rather, in following my well-informed conscience, I am adhering to the central tenet of Catholic teaching — the primacy of conscience.

It is instructive to see how this anti-life Catholic rationalizes her position. This defective understanding of the conscience is at the root of much of the trouble in the Church today.

How many times have we heard, especially in the DOR, that conscience trumps doctrine? People who follow this line of thinking are doing nothing more than forming their own private religion. These are many of the same people who constantly harp about “commmunity”.

A community is generally understood as a group that is organized around common values and social cohesion. I can’t imagine a group that is any more non-cohesive than one that is divided over whether or not it is acceptable to kill babies in the womb.

The American Life League bumper sticker says it best: You Can’t Be Catholic & Pro-Abortion.

No matter what your conscience tells you.