Catholic theologian challenges U.S. Senate candidate on abortion: ‘The Bible is not silent’

In an exchange that drew sharp responses from Catholic scholars and the local bishop, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico told University of Dallas theology professor Jodi Hunt that “the Bible is silent on the issue” of abortion during an Oct. 14 CNN/Jubilee town hall in Fort Worth.

Hunt pushed back, drawing applause when she said the Bible does address abortion, as one of the Ten Commandments is “ Thou shalt not kill ,” and that Catholics are insulted when it is suggested otherwise.

Following the exchange, Hunt told EWTN News she thinks Talarico was trying to appear as a “centrist” to undecided voters, or Republicans unhappy with the party, but she does not think he was convincing.

“While it’s important to look at the whole picture of a candidate when discerning who to vote for,” she said, “respect for human life must drive everything else,” she said.

Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson agreed, responding to the exchange on social media : “The right to life is the premier moral issue because all human rights depend upon the human person being alive. The right to life is the common ground for the morality of all issues considered in policies involving human dignity…