Posted on 01/21/2005 7:14:56 AM PST by Mershon
TESTING THE FAITH Heresy case pressed against Kerry, others Catholic lawyer widens scope to Kennedy, Cuomo, Harkin
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: January 21, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
A Catholic lawyer who pressed heresy charges against Sen. John Kerry for advocating abortion plans to file similar church lawsuits against other prominent politicians, including Sen. Edward Kennedy.
Denunciations for "Heresy, Sacrilege, and Scandal" will be pressed against Kennedy, D-Mass.; Tom Harkin, D-Iowa; Susan Collins R-Maine; and former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, says Marc Balestrieri, a canon lawyer and director of the Los Angeles-based non-profit group De Fide.
"Senator Kerry is not the only pro-choice Catholic politician," Balestrieri told WorldNetDaily. "He's just one of a number who have diretly and incoherently, as Catholics, publicly professed the right to murder. Not only is it incoherent, it's heretical."
Balestrieri filed his case against Kerry with the Archdiocese of Boston last June.
He told WND that although Kerry continues to receive communion, the case is still alive.
Citing a source in the archdiocese, Balestrieri said Archbishop O'Malley has been unable to address the charges against Kerry due to being overwhelmed by abuse cases against the church and the closure of parishes.
Balestrieri plans to reveal more details of his cases against the prominent Catholic politicians in a news conference Monday at the National Press Club in Washington.
As WorldNetDaily reported, a Dominican theologian and consultor to the Vatican wrote a letter to Balestrieri stating his opinion that Catholic politicians who support abortion rights already have excommunicated themselves by their actions – a message that suggests Kerry is no longer a member of the church.
Balestrieri said the Sept. 11 letter from Rev. Basil Cole of the Dominican House of Studies in Northeast Washington provides a basis to declare that any Catholic politician who says he is "personally opposed to abortion, but supports a woman's right to choose," incurs automatic excommunication.
Balestrieri describes the letter as "a personal reply confirming the doctrinal merits of the case written by an expert theologian at the request of a Vatican official."
But Cole downplayed the weight of the letter, telling the Washington Times in October that he had been asked to reply unofficially to Balestrieri because the Vatican never responds officially to requests from laymen.
"It's a letter about an abstract question," Cole said. "It's not from the Vatican at all. It has no authority at all. None. Zip. Zero. It's not the teaching of the church; it's me implying what I think are the teachings."
Balestrieri told WND, however, he believes Cole was under pressure to help ensure the Vatican would not appear to be interfering in the U.S. electoral process.
"Father Cole has never revoked the contents of his reply," Balestrieri said.
After filing his action against Kerry, Balestrieri traveled to Rome in August to submit documents to the Vatican's chief doctrinal enforcement arm, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Balestrieri claims that under Roman Catholic Church law, support of abortion rights constitutes the "Right-to-Murder Heresy" condemned by Pope John Paul II in the Encyclical Evangelium Vitae of 1995.
The penalty for that offense, he argues, is automatic excommunication from the church.
Balestrieri has said, however, his goal is repentance rather than excommunication.
The Catholic lawyer argues, "For 2,000 years, the Christian Church has everywhere, at all times, without waver, taught the grave immorality of every act of murder of the innocent."
Related story:
Is Kerry excommunicated?
OHOH....somebody is in trouble...
I think it's pretty sad that Kerry's own church denounced him. If you can't even get the support of your own church--there's a problem.
Marc should take a Xanax and kick back and relax. Nothing's gonna come of this. Kerry lost. That's enough.
Let's get on with the biz of the republic instead.
Mershon posted another one
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1325356/posts
but they pulled it out of breaking....
Oh GOODIE...
If they're found guilty, can we burn 'em at a stake?
Then, if one were to push for a repeal of all laws prohibiting murder, one would not be ADVOCATING homicide.
It's a canon law suit, not in the secular courts. This isn't a frivolous lawsuit in those courts.
Hey, a hot stake is better than a cold chop any old time!
HEHEHEHEhehehe
gotcha...........
well.......i guess you have a point.......I guess I get upset that sometimes this stuff seems so over the top until we do it then it seems reasonable.....
For example, the clergy abusing children? The Roman Catholic Church cannot have it both ways.
20, or 30 years ago there was a catholic priest from Massachusetts that was a US House member until the church made him quit. Does anyone else remember him? There was also one from Milwaukee (IMMSMC) who was a raving Socialist (Fr. Grappe (sp.?), I believe). Is the American Catholic Church badly infiltrated with Left Wing Commie types? Else how can Kerry & Co. continue getting the benefits of the church? Or is the Catholic Church basically a Leftist organization with a few conservative positions?
Not trying to start a war, just interested.
To the best of my knowledge, the United States does not allow clergy of any religion to hold office.
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