Consistent Ethic of Life: Joseph Cardinal Bernardin

I don't normally write reviews, but the lack of information provided for this book coupled with the fact that it comes up with a one star rating courtesy of that user who has not, in fact, read it, has spurred me to do so.This presents a collection of Cardinal Bernardin's lectures on the idea of a consistent ethic of life and also includes the papers presented by John C. Finnis, James M. Gustafson, J. Bryan Hehir and Richard A. McCormick, S.J. at the Consistent Ethic of Life symposium that was hosted by Loyola and the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1987. Subjects that are dealt with include both those concerning threats to life itself such as abortion, war, capital punishment and euthanasia, as well as threats to quality of life such as poverty, health care and pornography. The Cardinal binds these issues together with the notion that life is both sacred and social, and bases his arguments on the inviolability of human dignity.

Deserves five stars. this is an excellent collection of Cardinal Bernardin's nuanced positions regarding the consistent ethic of life. It's unfortunate that people who never read it would stick it with one star. the truth will set you free.

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Brillantly written -truth that is a must read for those looking for direction that makes sense.In todays world much needed discussion

Joseph Cardinal Bernardin was the most influential American prelate of the latter 20th century. Like his mentor, Cardinal Dearden -- founder of the NCCB (now, USCCB), he was a powerful political operative for the Democratic Party. Democratic leaders were anxious to bring Catholics back to the party in 1976. But, they had a problem: they, and their presidential candidate Jimmy Carter, did not support a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortion. Gerald Ford did. At the time, this was a non-negotiable issue for Catholics. So, a small group of bishops conceived how they could circumvent the most foundational Catholic moral teaching -- the right to life -- to enlarge the voter base of the Democratic Party. It was out of this conundrum that Cardinal Bernardin "stitched" the seamless garment, eventually presented in 1984. It remains one of the most brilliant, cunning and malefic documents ever written.The “seamless garment” is what he called a “multi-issue approach to public morality”. The basis of his deceptive theory of a “consistent ethic of life” is a systemic vision rejecting the preeminence of one issue in favor of an “explicit connection among the several issues”, by joining “the humanity of the unborn infant and the humanity of the hungry; it calls for positive legal action to prevent the killing of the unborn or the aged and positive societal action to provide shelter for the homeless and education for the illiterate”. You get the picture; his theory was an affront to Catholic moral theology by drawing a moral equivalency between a preeminent moral issue, abortion, and moral issues of less gravity. It also fails to acknowledge the primacy of the laity in pursuing good public policy by exercising prudential judgment. Only God knows the fetal death toll resulting from it. Someday, history will place it right along side another malevolent argument perpetuating legal abortion: Governor Mario Cuomo’s statement that, as a Catholic, he personally was opposed to abortion, but that he would never impose his personal views on his constituents.Back in the 80’s, every pro-life advocate understood Bernardin’s article for what it was: a nuanced theological justification excusing Catholics from moral culpability when voting for pro-abortion Democratic politicians. To this day, when Catholics vote for pro-abortion politicians, and are asked to justify their actions, they offer a form of Bernardin’s “seamless garment” argument. As you probably are aware, Cardinal Bernardin is revered today by dissident Catholics. It was not a coincidence that President Obama mentioned him in his commencement address at Notre Dame. Bernadin is a pro-abortion politician’s best friend. Presently, Pope Francis (Guadete et Exsultate) and Chicago's Cardinal Blase J. Cupich are prominent agents of this malignant deception.Sadly, the uncurbed evil advanced by Bernardin is not limited to moral theology and politics, but to homosexual predation and ritual Satanic sexual abuse. James Grein, the most well-known victim (and credible accuser) of disgraced, laicized Theodore Cardinal McCarrick alleged that in the 1970's "Uncle Ted" arranged a rendezvous at a private resort at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin between a young Grein and Cardinal Bernardin who sexually assaulted him.Perhaps, the most egregious example of evil was alleged to have occurred in the fall of 1957 (alternatively, June 29, 1963), in Greenville, S.C., when then Father Joseph Bernardin raped 11-year-old "Agnes" as part of a Satanic ritual (Black Mass) that involved, among others, Bishop John Russell (1897-1993) of Charleston. The iniquitous account is outlined in the preface of Malachi Martin's Windswept House and in the extant affidavit of "Agnes".

Unlike most other books on Amazon, there is no information about this book in the editor's comments. Does it cover capital punishment, non-violence, care for teenage pregnancy, adoption reform, as well as prohibition against abortion? Does the Cardinal take a position on all options available to poor unwed mothers, including birth control?