The Ecumenical Patriarch made a statement about abortion I was wondering your thoughts on it:
Although the Orthodox Church believes the soul enters the body at conception and, generally
speaking, respects human life and the continuation of the pregnancy, the church also respects the liberty and freedom of all human persons and all Christian couples. . . .We are not allowed to enter the bedrooms of the Christian couples...We cannot generalize. There are many reasons for a couple to go toward abortion.
Source
This statement makes me somewhat uneasy, the only justifiable reason I could see from an Orthodox standpoint for abortion is if it threatens the health of the mother. But, the EP doesn't seem to mention that at all, rather, he says that there are "many reasons" and makes no mention to health. Likewise, notice he says "Christian" couples, I find that to be somewhat of an oxymoron, since canonically speaking, you cannot be an Orthodox Christian and have abortions with no good health reason to justify it.
Thoughts?
I remember this statement that priests aren't going to enter the bedroom. It dates from the 1960s. I seem to remember it was about contraception. Perhaps Patriarch Bartholomew was a spokesperson for Patriarch Athenogoras at the time. I do not know. Having read the San Francisco Chronicle from the time I learned to read (comics mostly) to when I left the Bay Area in 1980, I recommend taking the quote from this paper with more than a grain of salt.
I have decided to quote myself. Usually I consider being ignored a blessing. However, this thread which I believe to be based on false premises has gone on too long.
Parts of my memory may be bad, but this one is not. This statement, in one form or another, originated in the 1960s (prior to my leaving home to go to college). My recollection is that it had nothing to do with abortion, I could be wrong, so there is an opportunity for those that want to condemn to condemn, given that I am unsure.
I would think that it would be unusual for a paper that dealt mostly with the controversy of Foster English muffins being bought out by Kilpatricks because their muffins were pre-sliced and the demise of Larraburru (sour dough) French bread, to have someone go to Constantinople to interview Metropolitan Bartholomew.
I cannot address this issue, even though my memory is firm, because I have not seen the article and more importantly I cannot write to the author directly.
I consider threads like this as a form of tribal rage, not unlike what occurs in Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc, where people die in riots based on events that have never occurred.
The ability of people on this forum to condemn individuals with so little evidence (which should not have required my ignored post) astounds me.
I welcome any substantive posts that may follow, but I consider what has been going on here sick. This is my opinion.