Haven’t heard from him in a while – Henry Hyde shares his views

Describing as distinctly unfortunate the fact that abortion has become the litmus test for Democrats, Hyde said that prestigious Catholics who propound it seem to intimidate some bishops and other leading figures in the church. Not long ago he attended a gathering of Jesuit college presidents who gave Leon Panetta ”an award this big,” he said, extending his hands to encompass the table. ”For the man who as Clinton’s chief of staff defended the veto of the partial-birth abortion ban. And again the church honored him by putting him on the National Review Board.” Describing other pro-life lawmakers, he said, ”They knock themselves out defending human life. How can he [Panetta] be justified when he has been the enemy of unborn life? How can he become the arbiter of things Catholic?”