Catholics to Hillary: Stop Using Mother Teresa in Ad

A Catholic advocacy group is urging Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign to remove an image of Mother Teresa from a campaign video narrated by former President Bill Clinton.

"It is wholly inappropriate, disrespectful and disturbing that Hillary Clinton is using an image of Blessed Mother Teresa as a political tool, especially given their radically different views on abortion," said Fidelis President Joseph Cella.

He noted that Mother Teresa fought to protect unborn children, while Hillary Clinton "staunchly supports abortion on demand in all nine months of pregnancy, including partial birth abortion and taxpayer funding of abortion.

"Out of respect to Mother Teresa, and the Missionaries of Charity strict guidelines for the use of Mother's image, we call on the Hillary Clinton campaign to immediately remove her image from their campaign video," Cella said in a news release.

A shot of Mother Teresa standing with then-First Lady Hillary Clinton and daughter Chelsea appears in the five-minute video for only a moment.

The video then cuts to a clip of Mrs. Clinton's address at the 1995 Beijing Conference, in which she says, "It is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate from human rights."

What the Clintons don't mention in the video, Fidelis noted, is that the Beijing Conference tried to declare abortion a fundamental human right.

"Mother Teresa, by contrast, abhorred the international abortion policies of the UN," Cella said.

He noted that Mother Teresa sent a letter to the 1995 Beijing Conference in which she wrote, "That special power of loving that belongs to a woman is seen most clearly when she becomes a mother. Motherhood is the gift of God to women...Yet we can destroy this gift of motherhood, especially by the evil of abortion .... No job, no plans, no possessions, no idea of 'freedom' can take the place of love."

Cella said he has sent a letter to the head of the Missionaries of Charity, urging her to ask the Clinton campaign to "cease and desist in its unauthorized use of Mother's image."

Fidelis describes itself as a Catholic-based advocacy organization established to help elect pro-life, pro-family and pro-religious liberty candidates to public office, support the confirmation of judges, and promote and defend laws faithful to the Constitution in Congress and the Courts.

The Hillary Clinton for president campaign is sending the video narrated by Bill Clinton to her supporters and donors. In it, Mr. Clinton speaks admiringly for five minutes of his wife's accomplishments and commitment to public service.