In many respects, Catholics and Mormons have similar views on abortion. In general, both churches are pro-life, although individual Mormons are probably more likely than Catholics, at least in the U.S., to be pro-life. Plus a larger number of U.S. Catholics are more likely to emphasize (Democratic) legislation and interventions to reduce abortion, rather than (merely) emphasize (with Republicans) repealing Roe v. Wade. So, on average, it is probably safe to say that individual Mormons are more conservative than Catholics on the abortion question.
However, in terms of their institutional positions, it is the other way around–the LDS church is more liberal.
These differences are relevant in light of the Catholic church’s recent automatic excommunications of the family and doctor of a nine-year-old Brazilian girl who received an abortion. The pregnancy (twins) was a result of rape from the girl’s father (the girl is not subject to automatic excommunicated because of her age). Two weeks after the decision (March 2009), the archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho (who made the ruling) stepped down, prompting some to wonder whether the Vatican disagreed. Time Magazine (above link) reports, however, that a recent Vatican publication “unequivocally confirmed automatic excommunication for anyone involved in an abortion — even in such a situation as dire as the Brazilian case.”
Filed under: Comparative Religion | Tagged: abortion, Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, automatic excommunication, Catholic, Catholic abortion position, Catholics, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, excommunication, incest, LDS, LDS Church, Mormon abortion position, Mormon Church, Mormons, Pope Benedict XVI, pregnant 9-year old, pro-choice, pro-life, rape, Vatican | 16 Comments »