Yesterday, Fr. Frank Pavone, the leader of Priests for Life, went live on Facebook to endorse Donald Trump for President. That's his right as a U.S. citizen, and one can agree or disagree with that as a matter of course. But the way he did it was absolutely appalling, and deserves to be repudiated by all of us who consider ourselves to be pro-life in the fullest meaning of that word

What did he do? He used a dead aborted baby, laying naked and bloody on an altar, as a prop for his video

Yes, you read that correctly

A priest of the Catholic Church publicly displayed on a sacred altar a dead baby who was the victim of a terrible crime as part of a propaganda video in favor of a political candidate

It is hard for me to express in calm, measured terms, the revulsion I feel about this. I know that the pro-life movement has long had a debate about the use of graphic images to reveal the reality of abortion. The discussion has always focused on a cost/benefit analysis of their effect of the viewer versus the risk of alienating those who don't want to see such things, especially on women who are post-abortive and have not yet healed

But that's all beside the point. The real question is, what about that baby as a human being? That baby is an individual human person, someone's son or daughter, made in the image and likeness of God, unique and unrepeatable, and deserving of our love and mercy. To use her body in this way is to treat that poor lost girl or boy as an object to be used — which is the antithesis of love — and not as a brother or sister to be mourned

Who would ever wish that their body be used in such a way? Who would ever want that for a loved one? Can any of us imagine that being the right way to treat the remains of our dead son or daughter?

And to place that baby's body on an altar, which has been sanctified for the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? To treat the altar of God as if it's a mere podium for a political speech?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that "The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity, in faith and hope of the Resurrection." There is no ambiguity there

A human being has been sacrificed and the altar of God has been desecrated, all for politics. Everyone who respects the dignity of every human person should reject and disavow this atrocity.

About the author: ArchNY