Jesuit Bishop Tells Democrat, "Abortion Extinguishes An Unborn Human Life. It Is An Intrinsically Evil Action"

For the second time this commencement season, a pro-abortion rights commencement speaker had their invitation rescinded at the request of the local bishop. On Friday, State Representative Democrat Bob Hagan’s reported pro-abortion rights stand led the Youngstown campus of Mercy College of Ohio to rescind its invitation for him to speak at the school’s commencement ceremony on Tuesday at the public urging of Bishop George Murry, S.J..

Bishop Murry released a statement regarding his decision.

Ohio - Democrat Rep. Robert Hagen

“It recently came to my attention, without any proper review by my office, that the Mercy School of Nursing, a Catholic institution, invited Representative Robert Hagan to be its commencement speaker at the Cathedral of St. Columba. “While I respect and appreciate many of the social justice positions taken by Representative Hagan, it remains a fact that he also has consistently voted for pro-abortion legislation, policies and funding. Abortion extinguishes an unborn human life. It is an intrinsically evil action which the Catholic Church has condemned for centuries. As Catholics, we must in good conscience oppose Representative Hagan’s position in support of abortion. Therefore, I asked the Mercy School of Nursing, a Catholic sponsored institution, to rescind their invitation to Representative Hagan to speak at the Nursing School graduation. “I am most willing to meet with Representative Hagan to discuss his position and concerns, while, at the same time, speaking with him about the Church’s long standing teaching about the sacredness of human life in all its dimensions.”

According to news reports, Hagan posted a response to the bishop’s position on his Facebook page, declaring his commitment to social justice:
Link (here) to The Cardinal Newman Society  to read the full report