By Father John Cush

On Jan. 1, a few hours after the inauguration of his son, Andrew, in his second term of Governor of the State of New York, former New York State Governor Mario Cuomo passed away. This son of Queens, was educated locally at St. John’s Prep High School in Brooklyn and St. John’s University.

Christopher Hale, senior fellow at Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, summarized well the complex thought of Mario Cuomo on Time Magazine’s website in his article, “Pro-Choice Mario Cuomo was Still a Catholic Politician:” “Despite his stance on abortion, the Governor’s career was closely aligned with the Church’s social justice tradition.” It is true – Cuomo’s personal opposition to abortion while supporting accessibility to abortion and enacting laws that are pro-death runs contrary to the clear teaching of the Church. Abortion, the murder of the most innocent in society, is not only against the clear Magisterium of our Church, but it is a direct violation of natural law.

And yet, the late governor, a highly articulate, intelligent man, felt that “The Catholic Church is my spiritual home. My heart is there, and my hope.” He used clear Catholic teachings to address issues like social inequality, immigrants, labor relations, racism, education, health care and poverty.

In 1984, Cuomo stated: “A shining city is perhaps all the President sees from the portico of the White House and the veranda of his ranch, where everyone seems to be doing well. But there’s another city; there’s another part to the shining the city; the part where some people can’t pay their mortgages, and most young people can’t afford one; where students can’t afford the education they need, and middle-class parents watch the dreams they hold for their children evaporate.”

Governor Cuomo was a man who knew the struggle of the downtrodden and he fought hard for the each and every one of them, seeing his role as one of trying to better the lives of New Yorkers.

We pray for the repose of the soul of Mario Cuomo and for the consolation of his family. We pray for all those future Catholic politicians, women and men, that they will be able to be as articulate, intelligent and passionate for the poor as Governor Mario Cuomo. We pray also for a con- sistent understanding of the right to life from conception to natural death in the hearts of all people.

Hale, in the aforementioned article, writes: “Mario Cuomo, while disagreeing with the Church on abortion, enacted policies that helped reversed decades-long economic stagnation in New York and pursued policies that, while lifting up the entire state’s economy, particularly address- ing the flight of those most excluded. Today many pro-choice politicians are doing the same. While the Church can never endorse their position on abortion, we must never tire of working with them to create a society where pregnant women are supported, poor mothers are protected and the scourge of abortion disappears.”

Father Cush is a doctoral candidate in fundamental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy. He also serves as Censor Librorum for the Brooklyn Diocese.

More on Cuomo

• Editorial: The Cuomo Dilemma
• Cuomo Had Complicated Relationship With Church