Holy See honors Catholic politician who made abortion legal in St Lucia
Apr 05, 2005
AS AMERICAN bishops squabble over whether to deny pro-abortion politicians the Eucharist, the Vatican is awarding a Papal Knighthood to a senior West Indian politician, whose decisive vote last year made abortion legal in St Lucia. In a ceremony in New York on September 19, Julian Hunte, the St Lucian Minister for External Affairs, International Trade and Civil Aviation, will be received into the Knight of the Grand Cross Pian Order. Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican Secretary of State, will bestow the honor.
(The St. Lucia Star online, September 17th, 2004) The Vatican has chosen Hunte because of his achievements with the United Nations, in particular his work on a resolution entitled, Participation of the Holy See in the work of the United Nations.
But many Catholics are enraged by the news. They claim that without Hunte, a senator in the Upper House of the St Lucian Parliament, abortion could still be illegal in St Lucia. In December last year, a Bill to decriminalize abortion scraped through the Upper House by five votes to four. Hunte, a “practicing Catholic,” defied Church teaching and voted in favor of the bill.
“I think every woman must have a choice. I am a pro-choice man,” he said during a parliamentary debate before votes were cast. “A woman must be the one who will decide what she wants to do in any given situation. I respect the views of those who feel it is wrong. This is their right. I will give them that right, as I will give the woman the right to determine how she wishes to treat her life.”
Fr Linus Clovis, a St Lucian priest, is appalled by the Vatican’s decision to award Hunte a pontifical decoration. He believes that the knighthood undermines the work of faithful Catholics in St Lucia.
“I feel very betrayed that someone who was instrumental in passing this law should be honored,” he said. “It makes a mockery of what we stand for and it compromises us because now the public perception on abortion will be: ‘what are you complaining about? The Vatican does not see anything wrong with it.’”
Fr Clovis last year desperately tried to rally opponents of the Bill to legalize abortion. He claims that the St Lucian government “surreptitiously” inserted a clause to decriminalize abortion into a Bill to revise the Criminal Code. At short notice, he brought 2000 pro-life St Lucians together in protest against the Bill. Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, the former Minister for Home Affairs and Gender Relations and a strong opponent of abortion, was the only member of the Lower House to oppose the government; the Bill passed through the Lower House by 15 votes to one. Flood-Beaubrun was promptly expelled from Cabinet.
Meanwhile, the St Lucian government expressed pride that Hunte was becoming a Papal Knight.
“The government and people of St Lucia are justifiably proud of Minister Hunte’s accomplishments and for the commendation he has received from His Holiness the Pope,” said Dr Kenny Anthony, the St Lucian Prime Minister.
Fr Clovis has appealed directly to the Holy Father to overturn the decision, He is calling on all Catholics to help him in his campaign to stop Hunte receiving his Papal Knighthood.
Holy See honors Catholic politician who made abortion legal in St Lucia