The article “Catholic activist seeks repeal of Vatican U.N. privilege” (April 5, 2001) contained a factual error. In explaining how Catholic doctrine allows for abortion in certain circumstances, speaker David Nolan referred to primacy of conscience, rather than privacy of conscience, as was reported.
Also, his organization’s objection to the Holy See’s status is not that it has the status of Permanent Observer, but that it is regarded as a Non-member State. Permanent Observer, when it is clearly not a state and does not meet the criteria of modern statehood as laid out in the Montevideo Convention.
Finally, a quote referring to the church’s recent stand against abortion in all circumstances should have included the fact that before hominization (which the church defined as the point when the fetus develops a soul at around 40 days) was not considered the taking of human life until 1869. The church has always been opposed to abortion as it implied a sexual sin, where sex takes place for reasons other than procreation.
