Statement of Bishop Daniel E. Thomas Regarding The Toledo City Council Vote on Amendment to Ordinance 530-21
It is outrageous to learn that an amendment to ordinance 530-21 has been proposed to Toledo City Council and will be voted on December 20, 2022, which would allocate $100,000 from COVID Relief Funds to a group whose sole purpose is to pay for travel and other expenses to procure abortions. Using funds allocated for COVID recovery to enable the taking of innocent lives and the harming of mothers and their children is both unjust and immoral.
Since abortion is not “health care”, it is counterintuitive that recovery funds would support the killing of the most vulnerable members of our society. As Pope Saint John Paul II writes, “’Causing death’ can never be considered a form of medical treatment… it runs completely counter to the health care profession, which is meant to be an impassioned and unflinching affirmation of life” (Evangelium Vitae p. 89).
As always, the Catholic Church stands ready to assist women through initiatives, such as Walking With Moms In Need, that work in cooperation with Pregnancy Resource Centers to provide completely free resources for women and families. It is our responsibility as faithful servants of God to spearhead legislation to make it easier for mothers and fathers to flourish economically so they can provide a loving and thriving home for their families.
With this statement, I urge and invite all people of good will to join me in urging the members of the Toledo City Council to reject the proposed amendment to the ordinance and to vote “no” on using COVID relief funds to harm our community rather than to fulfill their original purpose, to help our community.
Please contact Kevin Jorrey, Director of the Office for Life and Justice at kjorrey@toledodiocese.org for more information regarding Walking With Moms In Need.
Posted December 14, 2022 at 10:51 am