Cardinal George regrets shooting from hip

This is the most recent update of a story that dominated Chicago news last weekend.

Cardinal Francis George was on the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times for days after he and the bishops of the other four Illinois dioceses sharply criticized Gov. Pat Quinn for plans to award a woman who has worked for years to counsel victims of rape.

Although he retreated a step or two from the original strong words about mothers killing babies in their wombs, he did not apologize to the counselor or to Quinn.

The incident aroused widespread interest, since it touches on a very sensitive and rarely discussed aspect of Catholic moral teaching, namely that women who become pregnant through rape are obliged to carry the pregnancy through to birth.

Read the full story here.