The Catholic priest who delivered the invocation at this morning’s inauguration ceremony prayed about the rights of the unborn. Governor Chet Culver has promised to veto any bill that infringes on a "woman’s right to make her own health care decisions," the pro-choice stand. Moments before Culver took the oath of office, though, Father James Polich of St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in Des Moines prayed that Culver and Iowa’s other political leaders work extend justice to all.
"Including the weak and vulnerable members of our society: the poor, the homeless, the immigrants hoping to share our freedom and especially those seeking to be born that they, too, be given a chance to become citizens of this great state," Polich said.
Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge, who also supports abortion rights, invited Polich to deliver the invocation. Aides to Culver and Judge say the priest was given free rein to deliver whatever prayer he felt appropriate for the occasion.