Abortion Bishop Still in Place

by Christopher A. Ferrara

        In one of my earlier columns I wrote about Frankfurt's Bishop Franz Kamphaus, the only bishop in Germany who still persists in the practice of issuing counseling certificates which women in his diocese use to obtain abortions under German law. That is, Bishop Kamphaus is complicit in the murder of children in the womb.

        After years of defying a papal directive to stop issuing death warrants for the unborn, 26 of 27 German bishops finally stopped. For their years of disobedience Bishops Kasper and Lehmann of the German episcopate were rewarded with cardinal’s hats.

        But Kamphaus refuses to end his role in child-killing. As CWNews reported on January 12, 2002: "While other dioceses have continued the counseling, but refused to offer the abortion certificates, thus placing themselves outside the official system of counseling centers, Bishop Kamphaus remains defiant, with support from the German government and dissenting Catholics."

        As part of his defiance, Kamphaus bullied the Vatican into allowing him until December 31 of this past year to cease his aid to baby-killing. He ignored the deadline, and goes on issuing the death certificates. Incredibly, the German newspaper "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reports that the bishop was applauded for his defiance at a New Year's Mass after being introduced as the ‘pro-life bishop.’"

        Kamphaus is ratcheting up his disobedience. According to CWN, the FAZ reports that "at the start of the new ecclesiastical year he brought ‘Action on Pregnancy Counseling’ into his diocese, mobilizing parishes and lay officials and calling for donations with the slogan ‘We will not abandon you.’" Don’t worry: if we counsel you not to abort, but you still want a certificate to use in killing your baby, the compassionate Bishop Kamphaus is there for you. What a heart.

        Meanwhile, "the bishop has come under fire from German pro-life groups for his statements on abortion such as, ‘Conscience can oblige the individual to acts that are in contradiction of Church teachings .... It is the responsibility of the individual alone.’"

        In his impudence, Kamphaus even sent a letter to the Pope "to ask if his role as an advocate of the certificates meant he could no longer serve as bishop, but there was no answer - nor has there been one since." Ah, but the Vatican apparatus has leapt into action. Last year, it has just been revealed, Cardinal Ratzinger sent a letter - a letter! - to the German bishops advising that "whoever continues to operate in the system of counseling centers is placed in open opposition to the Pope." That’s it? How about open opposition to God Almighty? How about removal from office? How about, for Heaven’s sake, a suspension - the same penalty the Vatican apparatus did not hesitate to impose on a faithful Canadian priest who defends the sanctity of life and the cause of the Blessed Virgin.

        But so far, the letter from Cardinal Ratzinger seems to be the only "penalty" Kamphaus is going to suffer. In the meantime, who is going to stop this rogue bishop from facilitating the murder of innocent children?

        The Kamphaus case says it all: Father Gruner is declared "suspended", for nothing, before the whole world, while a bishop who materially cooperates in abortion - that is, in murder - is left in place, his authority and privileges intact, as he publicly thumbs his nose at the Vatican and dares the Pope to do something about it. The Vatican even gave this wolf in sheep’s clothing an extension of time within which he could go on contributing to the abortion holocaust. How many babies were killed with Kamphaus’ certificates during that extension?

        What an insane joke the governance of the Church has become. Father Gruner "suspended"? Don’t make me laugh.

        If my tone seems rude, forgive me. But enough is enough.