EWTN News reports that on June 17, 2026, pro-life organizations, including “40 Days for Life” and the “Bishops’ Vicariate for Family and Life” of the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, rallied outside the Constitutional Court in the Dominican Republic. Their aim was to counter a constitutional challenge filed by pro-abortion groups, notably “Catholics for the Right to Decide” and the “Dominican Christian Alliance Association,” seeking to decriminalize abortion on grounds of danger to the mother’s life, fetal non-viability, and rape or incest. The pro-life demonstrators emphasized the inviolability of life from conception to death, citing Article 37 of the Dominican Constitution. This event, while seemingly a victory for the unborn, lays bare the profound theological and spiritual crisis within the post-conciliar structures, where the very name “Catholics” is usurped by those who openly advocate for the destruction of innocent life, and the “Church” itself is rendered incapable of effectively defending its own immutable doctrine.
The Abomination of “Catholics for the Right to Decare”: A Manifestation of Modernist Apostasy
The most glaring and spiritually catastrophic aspect of this report is the existence and active promotion of groups like “Catholics for the Right to Decide.” This name alone is an oxymoron, a blasphemous contradiction in terms, and a direct consequence of the modernist revolution that has consumed the conciliar sect. The very notion that one can be a “Catholic” and simultaneously advocate for the “right to decide” – that is, the right to murder an innocent child – is an explicit denial of the most fundamental truths of the Faith and the natural law. As Pope Pius IX unequivocally condemned in Quas Primas, “The principle of non-intervention, as it is called, ought to be proclaimed and observed” (Error 62), and “It is lawful to refuse obedience to legitimate princes, and even to rebel against them” (Error 63). These “Catholics” embody the very errors condemned by the Syllabus, placing human autonomy above divine law.
Their claim to represent “Catholics and other Christians” is a direct echo of the modernist heresy of indifferentism, which holds that “every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true” (Error 15, Syllabus of Errors). This is the logical outcome of the conciliar decree Dignitatis Humanae, which, by proclaiming a false “religious freedom,” opened the floodgates for Catholics to believe and act contrary to the Church’s infallible teaching. The “Catholics for the Right to Decide” are not merely dissenters; they are apostates, having publicly defected from the Catholic faith by embracing a doctrine that directly contradicts the Fifth Commandment and the Church’s constant teaching on the sanctity of life from conception. As St. Robert Bellarmine teaches, “a Pope who is a manifest heretic, by that very fact ceases to be Pope and head, just as he ceases to be a Christian and member of the body of the Church.” While Bellarmine speaks of a Pope, the principle applies to any Catholic who publicly and manifestly defects from the faith, thereby separating themselves from the true Church.
The Inadequacy of Post-Conciliar “Pro-Life” Efforts: A Naturalistic Humanism
While the pro-life rally in the Dominican Republic is commendable in its intent, the language and approach adopted by the “40 Days for Life” and the “Bishops’ Vicariate” reveal the inherent limitations and theological poverty of post-conciliar “pro-life” activism. Their statement, as reported, emphasizes being “driven not by confrontation but by love and the defense of the most vulnerable,” and that legalizing abortion would “flagrantly violate our constitution and undermine the nation’s sovereignty regarding its laws.” While true, this framing is entirely naturalistic and legalistic, lacking the supernatural urgency and doctrinal clarity that the gravity of the crime of abortion demands.
Their appeal to “constitution” and “nation’s sovereignty” places human law above the immutable Law of God. The Church’s mission is not merely to influence human legislation but to proclaim the absolute sovereignty of Christ the King over all nations and all aspects of life, including the protection of the unborn. As Pope Pius XI declared in Quas Primas, “His reign, namely, extends not only to Catholic nations or to those who, by receiving baptism according to law, belong to the Church, even though their erroneous opinions have led them astray or discord has separated them from love, but His reign encompasses also all non-Christians, so that most truly the entire human race is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ.” The focus on “constitution” and “sovereignty” without explicitly and primarily invoking the divine law and the Kingship of Christ is a symptom of the very secularism and laicism that Pius XI condemned as a “plague that poisons human society.”
Furthermore, the statement “Women need support, not abortion,” while compassionate, often serves as a substitute for the full truth of the Gospel. The Church’s teaching is not merely about “support” but about conversion, repentance, and the offer of God’s mercy and grace to both the mother and the child. The post-conciliar approach often reduces the spiritual battle against abortion to a social or political issue, rather than recognizing it as a profound spiritual warfare against the forces of evil and a consequence of original sin. This is a direct result of the modernist tendency to reduce the Church’s mission to “naturalistic humanism,” as condemned by St. Pius X in Pascendi Dominici Gregis.
The Silence on Sacramental Grace and the State of Grace
A critical omission in the reported pro-life statement, and indeed in most post-conciliar “pro-life” discourse, is any mention of the sacramental life, the state of grace, and the eternal consequences of abortion. The Church has always taught that abortion is a grave sin, incurring automatic excommunication (Canon 1398, 1983 Code of Canon Law, though even this is a post-conciliar weakening of the 1917 Code’s Canon 2350). The focus is often on legal and social solutions, rather than on the spiritual ruin that abortion brings to the souls of those involved.
There is no call to repentance, no mention of the necessity of Confession and Absolution for those who have participated in or procured an abortion, no warning about the eternal damnation that awaits unrepentant sinners. This silence is deafening and reveals a profound theological impoverishment. The Church’s primary concern is always the salvation of souls, and the most effective “pro-life” measure is the preaching of the full Gospel, leading to conversion and the reception of the sacraments. As Our Lord Himself said, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). The post-conciliar “pro-life” movement, by often neglecting this supernatural dimension, inadvertently contributes to a superficial understanding of the problem, reducing it to a political or social issue rather than a spiritual catastrophe.
The Dominican Republic: A Nation Under the Kingship of Christ?
The Dominican Republic’s Constitution, by stating that “the right to life is inviolable from conception to death,” implicitly acknowledges a truth that the conciliar sect often downplays: the existence of an objective moral law that transcends human legislation. However, for a Catholic nation, this acknowledgment must be explicitly rooted in the recognition of Christ the King and His Church as the sole arbiter of morality. The rally, while defending the unborn, does not explicitly call for the public acknowledgment of Christ’s reign over the Dominican Republic, nor does it demand that the nation’s laws be fully conformed to the divine law as interpreted by the Church.
The modernist “Catholics for the Right to Decide” are a direct consequence of the conciliar sect’s failure to uphold the social Kingship of Christ. By promoting a false “religious freedom” and engaging in ecumenism, the conciliar structures have blurred the lines between truth and error, making it possible for individuals to claim the name “Catholics” while openly defying the Church’s infallible teaching. This is the bitter fruit of the “hermeneutics of continuity” and the “evolution of dogmas” that the modernists have foisted upon the faithful. The true Church, enduring in the faithful who profess the integral Catholic faith, must unequivocally condemn these apostates and call all nations to submit to the sweet yoke of Christ the King, for “unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
Source:
Pro-lifers rally against constitutional challenge to abortion law in Dominican Republic (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 18.06.2026