Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the country has experienced a historic wave of change, with the political discussion surrounding abortion now transferring to the states. The “Value Them Both” amendment, which may limit access to abortion in the state, is now being discussed in the Kansas legislature.
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City recently spoke with Prudence Robertson of EWTN’s Pro-Life Weekly about his support for the proposed amendment. They also talked about Naumann’s views on the responsibility of Catholics to defend the unborn and how local pro-life activists responded to the Roe v. Wade decision.
“I think for many of us, it’s been like the Berlin Wall coming down,” Naumann said as he described what it felt like for pro-life Kansans following the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe. “But of course, there are others that have become convinced … that we can’t survive as a society without the ability to kill our own children.”
Kansans will cast their votes on the pro-life “Value Them Both” amendment on August 2. If accepted, it would make it possible for state legislators to enact legislation regulating abortion. As a result of a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision stating that abortion is protected under the state constitution, lawmakers are currently generally banned from regulating it.
Naumann has witnessed vandalism at Catholic churches and pro-life pregnancy centres as a result of the overturning of Roe; this has happened in his state. This is one of the unpleasant side effects of the decision.
“It’s really tragic to see the viciousness and unfortunately, we’ve had at least one episode of vandalism at one of our churches here,” Naumann said. “A lot of other stealing of signs and defacing of our signs and kind of organized efforts and what I would call almost bullying by the opponents of the amendment here in Kansas.”
Prior to the voting, red spray paint was used to “extensively deface” parish facilities and a statue of the Blessed Mother at the Church of the Ascension in Overland Park in a “overt act of hatred and incivility,” Naumann’s archdiocese earlier confirmed.
Naumann stated on EWTN’s Pro-Life Weekly that the outcome of the Aug. 2 election will ultimately determine whether or not the “Value Them Both” amendment passes.
Naumann also discussed the part played by Catholics and the Church itself in promoting the amendment’s passage, as well as the larger duty of defending the unborn. The video below contains the interview with Naumann.
“Our approach … is comprehensive and part of it is advocacy,” Naumann described. “Since [the U.S. Church’s] very inception, Archbishop Carroll thought it was not appropriate for us to endorse candidates, politicians, or parties. And so the Church has chosen never to do that. I think that was a wise decision, that we don’t want to stake the Church’s reputation to any particular politician or party. But it’s not a vote on a politician. It’s a vote on an issue.”
Naumann emphasised the significance of a strategy that emphasises the dignity of human life, especially that of the unborn, for any Catholic seeking for ways to get involved in this continuing movement.
“I think we’ve got to reach minds and change hearts by [education]. Not the way that our opponents try to do things with violence and with bullying, but by simply presenting people with the truth… And so I think we don’t have enemies. We just have pro-lifers who haven’t yet been converted. And I think we have to work on that.”