wfn.org | Minister calls for bishops to take pro-life stand in abortion issue

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Jan. 25, 1999	Contact: Joretta Purdue*(202)546-8722*Washington
10-71B{037}

WASHINGTON (UMNS) - The silence of United Methodist bishops on abortion
constitutes "obstruction of truth and justice," according to a clergyman
within the denomination.

Whenever obstruction of justice takes place, explained  the Rev. Paul T.
Stallsworth of Rose Hill, N.C., there is an obstacle that stands in the way
of justice being done.  Stallsworth is president of the Taskforce of United
Methodists on Abortion and Sexuality, a group which describes itself as a
network of clergy, laity and churches.

Stallsworth was in the nation's capital Jan. 22 to participate in the task
force's annual worship service preceding the March for Life protest of the
Roe v. Wade decision of 1973, when asked about an editorial he wrote for the
task force's newsletter, Lifewatch. In it, he asked why the United Methodist
Church has been "pro-choice and pro-abortion" for a generation.

"The Bible teaches indirectly about abortion in one way," he said. "The
Christian tradition, stretching all the way back to the Apostles, teaches
about abortion in exactly the same way, so there is one truthful voice on
abortion found within the church. Our bishops are standing in the way of
that voice" by not speaking against abortion.

Only General Conference, the denomination's highest legislative body, speaks
for the United Methodist Church, making policy as well as procedures for the
organization. Currently, the church's statement on abortion, found in the
Social Principles, pairs a belief in "the sanctity of unborn human life"
with  "respect for the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother"
to recognize "conflicts of life with life that may justify abortion." In
those cases the legal option for an abortion under proper medical procedures
is favored, the statement says.

Stallsworth made it clear that he wants the bishops to "get out front of
what the church is currently teaching." He said he wants them "to push the
envelope - to go beyond what the Discipline says." He added that he thinks
the precedent for such leadership activity would be the civil rights
movement.

"My guess is that before the Civil Rights Movement became full blown there
was a bishop here and there who was out front of the general church and out
front of General Conference leading the church in this particular area," he
speculated. This would not be a few bishops doing something on their own,
Stallsworth said, but following scriptural teaching and, probably, the
leading of the Holy Spirit. "Why not do the same thing on abortion?" he
asked.

Then the question arises about doing the same thing on homosexual practice,
he observed, but '"one difference ... [is] there is biblical and traditional
precedent" for the bishops' "going in the direction we want them to go." He
continued, "In the area of  homosexuality and homosexual practice, there is
no precedence unless the Scriptures and the tradition are . . .
self-interpreted."

He went on to say that he believes the traditional teaching that "homosexual
practice is out of bounds of Christian living" is clear. "It is considered
sin, among other sins," he stated. "It's not the worst sin. It's not the
least sin. But it's sin." So for bishops to get out front of the church in
legitimizing homosexual practice is wrong, Stallsworth concluded.

"If the bishops would teach faithfully in [the areas of abortion], I think
they would be amazed at the popular and heartfelt response that they would
receive," he declared. 

About 40 people attended the task force's service held at Lincoln Park
United Church instead of the United Methodist Building, currently the domain
of construction workers. Renovation is expected to be completed in February.

Dan White, a missionary to Peru under the auspices of the Mission Society,
showed a medical school curriculum video as part of the mediation. "Life in
the Womb: a Video Journal," narrated by an obstetrician-gynecologist who is
a Georgetown University faculty member, showed endoscopic views of embryos
in the first trimester of the mother's pregnancy.

White, the father of a 13-week-old daughter and a 19-month-old son, urged
the church to be "Good Samaritans" or good neighbors to both mother and baby
by establishing "non-judgmental, non-pushy" crisis pregnancy centers across
the country. Too much of the current debate sees only the child or only the
mother, he said.
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