Wuerl celebrates Mass for Life after Planned Parenthood CEO speaks at Georgetown

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington, in the District of Columbia, denounced abortion, euthanasia, and political correctness at a Mass for Life, the day after the Jesuit Georgetown University hosted a lecture from the CEO of the abortion provider Planned Parenthood. Georgetown is the oldest Catholic higher education institution in the US.

“There is a powerful political correctness movement … and force all around us,” Cardinal Wuerl said during his homily to about 100 students and alumni at Epiphany Church in Georgetown, just blocks from where the CEO of the nation’s largest abortion provider received a standing ovation at the university. “It says to set aside such things as the value of human life and substitute the politically correct position that you should be free to choose to kill unborn children. But the Word of God comes to us to say, ‘do not conform yourself to this age.’”

Priests who minister to several college campuses in the Archdiocese of Washington concelebrated the Mass with Wuerl. Citing assaults on life such as “murder, war, abortion, suicide, euthanasia,” and “the prospect of medicalised death from those whose profession exists to sustain life,” Wuerl urged the students to defend life no matter the difficulties they will face doing so. 

Wuerl told students to “not be deceived by the politically correct rhetoric that uses words to hide true meaning.  Those that favour killing the unborn child often speak of, ‘the products of conception,’ as opposed to ‘the child in the womb.’  They speak about ‘facilitating the conclusion of the life cycle’ instead of ‘assisting a suicide.’  So it is with that buzzword ‘choice’. When you use the word ‘choice’ you have to complete the sentence. What are you choosing?”

“The word ‘choice’ is a smokescreen behind which those killing unborn children take refuge. Every chance you get, blow that smoke away,” Wuerl said, warning students to never be convinced that “killing unborn, innocent children is in any way similar to the great social justice struggles that our nation has faced.” 

Cecile Richards referenced past civil rights struggles in her 20 April speech to Georgetown and also emphasised the idea that women need contraception to be successful.  

“A Georgetown law student, Sandra Fluke, became a national heroine by standing up for the rights of university students everywhere to get access to birth control, Planned Parenthood mobilised thousands … and students dressed up as giant birth control pill packs and rallied on college campuses,” Richards said.

“Do not let anyone reduce for you the greatness of the American dream to the level of free contraceptives,” Wuerl said. “What you are doing this evening is responding to the call of many, many unborn children.”

The media were not permitted inside Georgetown's Lohrfink Auditorium, where Ms Richards spoke, but Makaiah Mohler, a senior at the Jesuit school, said: “I think she did an incredible job understanding how people can have very different religious and political backgrounds but come together knowing that women should have the overall choice over their own bodies.”

Junior Reed Howard, who attended the talk, said Richards wasn’t sufficiently challenged to respond to opposing views during the brief question-and-answer period that ended her hour-long remarks. Ms Richards spoke at the invitation of a student-run organisation. Representatives of Students for Life of America erected a "We Don't Need Planned Parenthood" display outside the hall where Richards spoke. The display is part of a campaign touring college campuses in response to undercover videos that appear to show Planned Parenthood officials illegally negotiating to sell organs recovered from abortion.

A Georgetown statement said the university is committed to "the free exchange of ideas, even when those ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable to some ".