"No."

D.C. Archbishop Donald Wuerl, formerly our own Bishop Wuerl, is being pressured to withhold communion from Catholic legislators who support abortion rights, reports the P-G's Ann Rogers. His response:

"You're talking about a whole different style of pastoral ministry. No."

This became an issue with John Kerry in the 2004 presidential campaign, and is on its way once again with Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"I don't believe Archbishop Wuerl is doing his job," says the Rev. Tom Euteneuer, president of Human Life International.

Judie Brown, president of the American Life League, is "appalled that Archbishop Wuerl not only is not going to do anything about this, but has publicly said so."

NBC's Christmas edition of Meet the Press featured a "debate" between Archbishop Wuerl and Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of the evangelist Billy Graham. The discussion was extremely friendly, and any differences were very subtle. Both agreed abortion is wrong.

Lotz's message was essentially: "Christ is flesh," and, "Only Jesus can save you."

Wuerl's message was essentially: "God is love," and, "We should listen to what Jesus taught."

Here we go, Pittsburgh, here we go!

On a related note, P-G columnist Ruth Ann Daily today offers some challenging ideas on the shifts underlying abortion politics as science marches onward.

UPDATE: So, we just learned that today is Blog for Choice Day. The theme is "Why Are You Pro-Choice?" I am pro-choice because growing up, my mom told me so. As I progressed through highschool and college, my ladyfans reminded me that it was so. Later, I discovered a sound justification in Roe v Wade:

"This right of privacy, whether it be founded in the Fourteenth Amendment's concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action, as we feel it is, or, as the District Court determined, in the Ninth Amendment's reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy."