[New Orleans] Archdiocese boycotting businesses building Planned Parenthood facility

[markomalley]

From WWL:James Eggleston prays daily near the site of a proposed Planned Parenthood on South Claiborne Avenue near Napoleon. He is among those opposed to the clinic because it would offer abortions. What could be one of the most influential protests so far is a letter from Archbishop Gregory Aymond that has been distributed in every Catholic church in the metro area through the Archdiocese newspaper, the Clarion-Herald.
In it, Archbishop Gregory Aymond says "Abortion is a grave evil… The Archdiocese is obliged to remind every person and organization involved in the acquisition, preparation and construction of this or any abortion facility that they are cooperating with the evil that will take place there.”
Aymond said the Archdiocese will boycott any person or business who plays a role in helping the Planned Parenthood facility to become a reality.
(remainder snipped)
Archbishop Aymond’s piece in the Clarion-Herald:

Planned Parenthood abortion clinic: We cannot cooperate with evil
… In March 2013, the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans participated in an awareness campaign regarding Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. Planned Parenthood is set to construct a 7,000- to 8,000-square-foot facility at 4636 South Claiborne Avenue near Napoleon Avenue in New Orleans. Although Planned Parenthood does not currently perform abortions in Louisiana, they have publicly stated that they will be performing abortions at this new facility and that it will be the largest of its kind in Louisiana. They intend to open in 2014.
(snip)
We cannot be silent in view of the grave injustice presented by the abortions that will be performed at the proposed Planned Parenthood facility. **The archdiocese is obliged to remind every person and organization involved in the acquisition, preparation and construction of this or any abortion facility that they are cooperating with the evil that will take place there. **

For this reason, the archdiocese, including its churches, schools, apartments for the elderly and nursing homes, will strive in its privately funded work not to enter into business relationships with any person or organization that participates in actions that are essential to making this abortion facility a reality.
This policy applies to all businesses, regardless of religious affiliation or non-affiliation. Our fidelity to Church teaching and our conscience necessitates this stance.
There is no justification, including economic hardship that will make a direct or indirect relationship with Planned Parenthood, or any abortion provider, acceptable. Additionally, affiliation or support of Planned Parenthood by Catholics is a matter of serious scandal.
Bravo to Archbishop Aymond!

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

I struggle with where the concept of remote material cooperation might enter into this. Someone who works for a painting subcontractor and is told to paint some walls in this facility would not seem to bear the same moral burden as the medical staff directly involved in the abortions. Or someone who delivers furniture. Or someone from the municipal water company…

 

[WKW_69]

Well the State, City and/or County issued a permit to build the building. Is the church saying Catholics in that State, City or County should stop paying income, property and sales taxes? Where does this boycotting end?

 

[markomalley]

I struggle with where the concept of remote material cooperation might enter into this. Someone who works for a painting subcontractor and is told to paint some walls in this facility would not seem to bear the same moral burden as the medical staff directly involved in the abortions. Or someone who delivers furniture. Or someone from the municipal water company…

How about the owner of the painting contractor who signed a contract with them?

How about the owner of the furniture dealership?

How about Catholic union members? (IBEW, Teamsters, SEIU, etc.) Should they do work for this evil effort?

Recall, please the words of St Pius X:

The Bishops, therefore, should consider it their sacred duty to observe carefully the conduct of all these associations and to watch diligently that the Catholic members do not suffer any harm as a result of their participation. The Catholic members themselves, however, should never permit the unions, whether for the sake of material interests of their members or the union cause as such, to proclaim or support teachings or to engage in activities which would conflict in any way with the directives proclaimed by the supreme teaching authority of the Church, especially those mentioned above. Therefore, as often as problems arise concerning matters of justice or charity, **the Bishops should take the greatest care to see that the faithful do not overlook Catholic moral teaching and do not depart from it even a finger’s breadth.
**

-Encyclical Singulari Quadam, 7 (1912)
​

Like I said, God love this bishop for actually taking a stand!

 

[esieffe]

:clapping:

 

[catholictiger]

I struggle with where the concept of remote material cooperation might enter into this. Someone who works for a painting subcontractor and is told to paint some walls in this facility would not seem to bear the same moral burden as the medical staff directly involved in the abortions. Or someone who delivers furniture. Or someone from the municipal water company…

no but you are still cooperating with evil because you are directly contributing to the building and completion of this facility which will become a place where multi unborn children will be slaughtered daily.

I guess you would be less culpable then someone who actually does the procedure and works at the place but you would still be cooperating with evil.

This is an attempt by the archbishop to shut down support in his diocese of Planned Parenthood by telling his flock that you shouldn’t even cooperate with companies who in anyway help with the completion of Planned Parenthood. For example: A parish is installing a new Air Conditioner in their parish hall, if the priest finds out this is the same group installing the air conditioning in PP than he should terminate the contract and hire someone else. If this happens with regular occurrence than many of these businesses will be forced to pull support from Planned Parenthood for the sake of their business. Hopefully if this is significant enough Planned Parenthood loses support and can’t finish construction.

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

How about the owner of the painting contractor who signed a contract with them?

How about the owner of the furniture dealership?

How about Catholic union members? (IBEW, Teamsters, SEIU, etc.) Should they do work for this evil effort?

Recall, please the words of St Pius X:

The Bishops, therefore, should consider it their sacred duty to observe carefully the conduct of all these associations and to watch diligently that the Catholic members do not suffer any harm as a result of their participation. **The Catholic members themselves, however, should never permit the unions, whether for the sake of material interests **of their members or the union cause as such, to proclaim or support teachings or to engage in activities which would conflict in any way with the directives proclaimed by the supreme teaching authority of the Church, especially those mentioned above. Therefore, as often as problems arise concerning matters of justice or charity, **the Bishops should take the greatest care to see that the faithful do not overlook Catholic moral teaching and do not depart from it even a finger’s breadth.
**

-Encyclical Singulari Quadam, 7 (1912)
​

Like I said, God love this bishop for actually taking a stand!

I find it difficult to support the idea that working people in the building trades should lose or jeopardize their jobs over this, while highly-visible pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians like Biden, Pelosi et al continue to publicly receive Communion and their respective Ordinaries remain silent. Facilitating laws and public monies to support abortion would seem to be far more direct involvement than painting a wall. The major contractor who agreed to build the facility and who entered into the contract would seem to be a different matter.

 

[catholictiger]

Well the State, City and/or County issued a permit to build the building. Is the church saying Catholics in that State, City or County should stop paying income, property and sales taxes? Where does this boycotting end?

the City gives permission to build a medical facility on City grounds, I think this is normal for any new Business or Medical Facility they must get a permit. This doesn’t mean that the Government building the property for them all it means they can build it. It is mostly likely that private contractors would build the building to working order. Being that 50% of the city is Catholic this isn’t a small boycott if people actually listen to the bishop and follow him.

 

[catholictiger]

I find it difficult to support the idea that working people in the building trades should lose or jeopardize their jobs over this, while highly-visible pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians like Biden, Pelosi et al continue to publicly receive Communion and their respective Ordinaries remain silent. Facilitating laws and public monies to support abortion would seem to be far more direct involvement than painting a wall. The major contractor who agreed to build the facility and who entered into the contract would seem to be a different matter.

why should someone’s soul be less important than someone’s job?

if you know that you are building a planned parenthood as a Catholic you are cooperating with evil. That put’s your soul at risk and if you lose your job for the sake of your soul than I have a very high respect for you.

 

[catholictiger]

Quoting the Archbishop

There is no Justification, Including economic hardship, that will make a direct or indirect relationship with planned parenthood, or any other abortion provider, acceptable.

 

[zz912]

I find it difficult to support the idea that working people in the building trades should lose or jeopardize their jobs over this, while highly-visible pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians like Biden, Pelosi et al continue to publicly receive Communion and their respective Ordinaries remain silent. Facilitating laws and public monies to support abortion would seem to be far more direct involvement than painting a wall. The major contractor who agreed to build the facility and who entered into the contract would seem to be a different matter.

Just because some other person isn’t being punished for their great evil is no excuse for someone else participating in great evil.

You are basically excusing the people who built the holocaust gas chambers b/c Hitler wasn’t reprimanded by his bishop. This building is a holocaust facility. And it doesn’t matter if you are just the day laborer working for a painting contractor. You MUST NOT cooperate with evil. You MUST refuse to paint the building, and if the boss fires you, then so be it. Your soul is more valuable than a paycheck.

I think you are fundamentally misunderstanding the issue here. The bishop is warning people about losing their souls. His focus primarily is on that, not on punishment/boycott. Those are remedial medicines to hopefully bring the sinner back.

 

[Elizium23]

I support this bishop, for making a courageous stand against cooperation with evil, no matter how remote it may be. We need more like him, and more who are willing to enforce Canon 915, and more bishops who are willing to back up priests who stand up for what is right, such as the recent case of Rev. Benjamin Kneib in Missouri.

 

[WKW_69]

For example: A parish is installing a new Air Conditioner in their parish hall, if the priest finds out this is the same group installing the air conditioning in PP than he should terminate the contract and hire someone else. If this happens with regular occurrence than many of these businesses will be forced to pull support from Planned Parenthood for the sake of their business. Hopefully if this is significant enough Planned Parenthood loses support and can’t finish construction.

So shouldn’t the Parish and members also boycott the manufactuerer for building and supplying the air conditioner.? So, if the air conditioner is built by GE Catholics should boycott the NBC TV network? We should also boycott Lowes, JCpenney and Home Depot because GE provides credit card and financing services to those companies? Or does the diocese just support boycotting and harrassment of a contractor? Shouldn’t Catholics also stop paying taxes since the government issued the building permit for the building?

 

[Cider]

 

[ProVobis]

PP expanding in New Orleans of all places when many PPs are closing?

 

[Brendan]

So shouldn’t the Parish and members also boycott the manufactuerer for building and supplying the air conditioner.? So, if the air conditioner is built by GE Catholics should boycott the NBC TV network?

The manufacturer has no knowledge of where their equipment is going. When General Motors, for example, sells a car to a dealership, it has who will be the final purchaser of the car.

Likewise with GE. They sell the air conditioner to a HVAC firm.

The builder, on the other hand, knows EXACTLY what he\she is building. So they can make the business decision to do the work at the PP site or be able to bid for work for Catholics.

 

[markomalley]

So shouldn’t the Parish and members also boycott the manufactuerer for building and supplying the air conditioner.? So, if the air conditioner is built by GE Catholics should boycott the NBC TV network? We should also boycott Lowes, JCpenney and Home Depot because GE provides credit card and financing services to those companies? Or does the diocese just support boycotting and harrassment of a contractor? Shouldn’t Catholics also stop paying taxes since the government issued the building permit for the building?

Maybe you should look at some of the investments and political contributions made by GE.

Maybe you should look at some of the content broadcast by NBC.

I can’t speak about Lowes or Home Depot, but JC Penney actively supports the homosexual agenda (remember their 2 homosexual dads ad for Father’s Day a while ago?) Or how about Target?

I guarantee you that if more bishops consistently spoke up on issues like this, taught the people moral absolutes courageously and required their priests to do the same, and continued to do so over a long period of time, this wouldn’t even come up as an issue. Had this kind of teaching been consistently taught over the preceding decades, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion in the first place.

If JC Penney or Target actually calculated that they’d lose more business over their little homosexual ads than they calculated they’d gain, they would never publish one. If the politicians knew that they’d feel more wrath than benefit at the ballot box, they would have never allowed their civil servants to issue that permit.

While it is up to each of us Catholics to be faithful, it is up to our bishops and the priests who cooperate with them to teach us. As St Pius X said in Singulari Quadam (excerpted in post #4, above), it is up to the bishops to guard the flock in this kind of situation. To Archbishop Aynok’s credit, he appears to be doing so in this case.

I look forward to hearing his brother bishops doing the same…whether it is about cooperation with building a Planned Parenthood Abortuary or if it is about abortion, drugs, homosexuality, or socialism. (No, I’m not holding my breath, but I can still hope, can’t I?)

 

[ProVobis]

We should also boycott Lowes, JCpenney and Home Depot because GE provides credit card and financing services to those companies?

Actually the Fed is the originator of most bank and credit card loans and Janet Yellen is no pro-lifer, from what I heard.

 

[catholictiger]

So shouldn’t the Parish and members also boycott the manufactuerer for building and supplying the air conditioner.? So, if the air conditioner is built by GE Catholics should boycott the NBC TV network? We should also boycott Lowes, JCpenney and Home Depot because GE provides credit card and financing services to those companies? Or does the diocese just support boycotting and harrassment of a contractor? Shouldn’t Catholics also stop paying taxes since the government issued the building permit for the building?

you make a good point and we should consider how we support all of these businesses. Sometimes trying to avoid every place that supports planned parenthood is difficult. But, if you can avoid supporting in an indirect way planned parenthood than you should. All I’m trying to do is explain the Bishops position he is strongly encouraging that Catholics ONLY do business with those who do not support planned parenthood especially those who are directly involved in evil.

One note about GE. My guess is that Air conditioning companies buy from GE in bulk. It is very possible that GE in no way supports planned parenthood but in a very indirect way they do because some air conditioning companies that buy in bulk from than use them in abortion facilities

 

[catholictiger]

one more thing I forgot to mention Catholics have a legal obligation to pay taxes, you are breaking the law if you pay taxes. The Church says you should pay taxes, if you are concerned about where your tax money goes contact your reps and let them know and try and change it.

Taxation is different then boycotting private companies.