New York's Cardinal, Edward M. Egan, criticized Fordham University for honoring Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer with the Fordham-Stein Ethics Prize. Why? Apparently because they were pressured to do so by the Cardinal Newman Society, which sponsored a petition inveighing against honoring the jurist who wrote the decision overturning the ban on partial birth abortions.
Why should that issue be the only determining factor in the appropriateness of honoring Breyer? We need to stop litmus testing each other over single issues. It never helps and in the case of the Cardinal Newman Society, it's making them less than honest about their mission. Despite claiming to be about Catholic identity, their own President, Patrick J. Reilly declared that their "only issue is life, the right to life". Well which is it? Identity or pro-life activism? Why does their website market them in one way, but their leader speak in another?
Why should an organization that is "dedicated to renewing and strengthening Catholic identity at America's 224 Catholic colleges and universities" limit its definition of a strong Catholic identity to maintaining fidelity to a single Catholic teaching? Does it really make sense to reduce a two thousand year old story to a single doctrine? Does that make sense for any tradition or community?
I admit that as a Jew, even a traditional Jew, my tradition accords me greater latitude on the issue of abortion.
In fact, Maimonides describes what we call partial birth abortion as being acceptable if the mother's life is in immediate danger. Interestingly, it was the absence of this kind of proviso which gave Breyer cause to declare the ban unconstitutional.
It does suggest that "all or nothing" may not be the best way to go on this issue. In the name of reducing the overall number of abortions, we end up creating realities in which it is legal to perform more of them. But I appreciate that followers of other faiths may have no other alternative in light of their beliefs.
Maybe Fordahm should honor Justice Breyer and maybe not. That's for them to decide. But whatever one's view of this or any other issue, and however important the issue may be, the traditions we love always have more than one view and always have more than one way of honoring them.
When we lose site of that and single issue litmus testing becomes the mark of faith, we all lose the best of what each of our traditions teach and lose the richness that has allowed them to thrive for thousands of years. I wonder how the folks at the Cardinal Newman Society, or any of the Jewish, Muslim, etc. organizations that take the same approach to being a good Christian, Muslim or Jew, think that will strengthen anyone's identity.
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Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of 
"You have the right to your own opinion; however you should think outside the box and contemplate that my post could have been for those more openminded to differing opinion than you. I'm sorry about your hangups, but God is changing myself and those around me whether you choose to acknowledge it or not.
Jesus Loves You!!"
You don't understand what I'm about. You say that I have the right to my opinion, but pregnant women don't have a right to their's? You should certainly be able to see that allowing people to make a choice even if it conflicts with your personal moral viewpoint is open-minded, not closed-minded.
I'm not sure what hangups you are referring to, but you don't have to apologize to me. I will help myself overcome my own 'hangups' while you sit around and wait for God to do it for you. Jesus may have loved me, but he's dead now and I can love myself.
Our dear Rabbi has a moral blind spot. Once any member of the human race,made in the image and likeness of God, is considered "expendable" for political,social,economic,eugenic reasons or convenience(the cope out of our age),then think holocaust! The sin of the times is the reification of human beings. St Thomas Aquinas? No!! Martin Buber.As an aside, what about a little consideration of the responsibility involved in having sex. Complaining about an "unwanted" pregnancy is like bemoaning a beer gut on a regime of a six pack a day.You play, you pay.
"Once any member of the human race,made in the image and likeness of God, is considered "expendable" for political,social,economic,eugenic reasons or convenience(the cope out of our age),then think holocaust!"
That is precisely what happens to many of the old, the poor, the troops sent to Iraq without armor, and myriad humans in other situations. And while the good rabbi can speak for himself, I think that you are saying precisely what Judaism teaches, except that birth is a blessing, not a punishment.
Rabbi Hirschfield, unfortunately what was quoted from me in the NY Times is not accurate. The Cardinal Newman Society is concerned about Catholic identity and the whole of Catholic teaching. Where Catholic colleges repeatedly fail to uphold their mission usually involves issues like abortion, embryonic stem cell research, etc. They generally do a good job of promoting community service and social justice. So we are simply trying to address the failures, and honoring a justice who finds a "right to choose" to slaughter a partially-born baby is simply inappropriate for a Catholic institution.
"In fact, Maimonides describes what we call partial birth abortion as being acceptable if the mother's life is in immediate danger." Where does the Rambam state that partial birth abortion is permitted? How can a fetus that has exited the birth canal to the point where its head is accessible still present a threat to the life of its mother?
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