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An informal exorcism performed at the Cathedral of St. Paul this month was more profane than sacred and was directed toward gay Catholics, police and church authorities said Tuesday. They said the ritualistic sprinkling of blessed oil and salt around the church and in donation boxes amounted to costly vandalism and possibly even a hate crime. The damage was discovered Nov. 7 after the noon mass, and after words were exchanged between members of the Rainbow Sash Alliance, a gay rights group, and the opposing group, Catholics Against Sacrilege.

There is a hint that pledge may have been broken by Prime Minister TONY BLAIR’S family priest strongly hinted yesterday that the Prime Minister was breaking his pledge not to take Roman Catholic Holy Communion in Britain. Father Timothy Russ also said that Mr Blair, an Anglican, “may well” convert to Catholicism. The revelation will increase speculation that Mr Blair is preparing to convert to Roman Catholicism despite a clear denial from Downing Street. Father Russ is invited regularly by Mr Blair to say Mass in a drawing room at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s weekend retreat. A table is used...

A new survey about religion and politics shows that Americans disapprove of Catholic Church leaders withholding Holy Communion from pro-choice Catholic politicians by almost a three-to-one ratio, or 64 percent to 22 percent. But the telephone poll also revealed that evangelical Protestants sided with Catholic bishops more than Catholics did. Although evangelicals still disapproved (47 percent to 35 percent) of withholding Communion, 72 percent of all Catholics disapproved of denying the sacrament to Catholic politicians whose views on abortion, stem-cell research and euthanasia run contrary to church teachings.

In November 2003, Raymond Burke, then the bishop of LaCrosse, Wis., instructed priests in his diocese to deny Communion to three politicians unless they publicly recanted their pro-abortion rights positions, an action some Catholic scholars say is tantamount to excommunication. Since then, Burke's supporters have increasingly pointed to what they see as parallels with another case, and another moral hero, from 40 years ago. In the wake of the United States Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Joseph Francis Rummel, Archbishop of New Orleans, began planning the integration of the archdiocese's schools. It would take eight years,...

BRIELLE, N.J. -- An 8-year-old girl who suffers from a rare digestive disorder and cannot consume wheat has had her first Holy Communion declared invalid because the wafer contained none, violating Catholic doctrine. Now, Haley Waldman's mother is pushing the Diocese of Trenton and the Vatican to make an exception, saying the girl's condition _ celiac sprue disease _ should not exclude her from participating in the sacrament, in which Roman Catholics eat consecrated wheat-based wafers to commemorate the last supper of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion.

From +Archbishop Donoghue, +Bishop Baker and +Bishop Jugis Worthy to Receive the Lamb:Catholics in Political Life and the Reception of Holy Communion August 4, 2004 + As bishops, we have the obligation to teach and guide the Catholic Faithful whom we shepherd in the Body of Christ. A fundamental teaching of our Church is respect for the sacred gift of life. This teaching flows from the Natural Law and from Divine Revelation. Life is a gift bestowed upon us by God, a truth underscored by the commandment: "You shall not kill" (Deut 5: 17 ). The Old Testament also teaches...

A TASK force of Catholic bishops, headed by Wash ington, D.C.'s Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, is now engaged in the prickly examination of what to do about Sen. John F. Kerry: Should the presumed presidential nominee, who professes the Catholic faith but publicly and consistently flouts its tenets on abortion, be permitted to receive Holy Communion? -snip- In fact, it's a no-brainer: The church's Code of Canon Law 915 states explicitly that Communion must be denied those who have "obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin." Kerry and a whole herd of so-called Catholic politicians fit the bill. -snip- Since all politics...

------------- St. Basil (330–379 AD) considered Communion in the hand a “grave fault.” The Council of Saragozza (380 AD): “It was decided to punish with excommunication anyone who dared to continue the practice of Communion in the Hand.” Council of Rouen (650 AD): “Do not put the Eucharist in the hands of any layperson, but only in their mouths.” Council of Constantinople (695 AD): prohibited the faithful from giving Communion to themselves and decreed an excommunication of one week’s duration for those who did so in the presence of a bishop, priest, or deacon. St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274): “Out of...

HOT TOPICS: Consequences of Vatican II The Confused “Clear Teaching” of the Bishops Marian T. Horvat, Ph.D. “I welcome and support the Statement made by the Bishops of the United States, ‘Catholic in Political Life,’ in which we reiterate consistent Catholic teachings on the value of human life .…” stated Cardinal Roger Mahony in a feature article in his diocesan paper, The Tidings (June 25). He couldn’t be more pleased with the USCCB statement released June 18 that essentially backed up those Bishops who permit Catholic abortionist politicians to receive Communion. As in the Protestant sects, now Catholics can...

Bishops remind Catholics that abortion, homosexuality and same-sex “marriage” are incompatible with receiving Holy Communion Ever more frequent attempts to drive religion and morality from the public square have left America divided. On one side are secularists who in varying degrees subscribe to a philosophy based on a supposed right to absolute individual liberty, unrestrained by law, religion, or morality. Americans who love liberty but abhor anarchy rally to the other side. They understand that true liberty comes from observing divine and natural law. Dissident Catholics Try to Reconcile the Irreconcilable The philosophical divide between these two camps underlies America’s...

Does it bother you that Presidential candidate John Kerry is receiving Holy Communion while he promotes the murder of millions of innocent children? I'm sure it does! The Catholic Bishops of America have the authority to intervene and end this scandal. I am writing to invite you to be a part of a critical project that I and others across the country are working on. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is meeting in Englewood (near Denver), Colorado from June 14 through June 19 at the Inverness Hotel and Conference Center. Approximately 250 Bishops are expected to attend. At...

Archbishop Denies Rebuking McGreeveyBy DAVID KOCIENIEWSKIPublished: May 22, 2004EWARK, May 21 - Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark said on Friday that he was "deeply disappointed" that his recent criticism of Roman Catholic elected officials who supported abortion rights had been interpreted by some New Jerseyans as a political slap at Gov. James E. McGreevey.In an interview, Archbishop Myers said Mr. McGreevey was not the target of statements he had made in a pastoral letter saying that Catholic officeholders who did not share the Vatican's opposition to abortion should not seek communion. He said he had apologized to the governor...

Thursday, May 27, 2004 WILL CARDINAL GEORGE DENY BISHOP PILLA HOLY COMMUNION From Bishop Pilla's website: http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/images/rnbwtile.gif We wonder if Cardinal George has ever visited Bishop Pilla's website and seen Bishop Pilla's "Index of /gayandlesbianfamilyministry/images."If so, Cardinal George will see that Bishop Pilla not only flies the Rainbow Gay Pride Flag or Sash on his website, but that bishop Pilla also has such Gay Pride symbols as Pink Triangles, headless Rainbow doves descending into Hell, and spinning Rainbow balls. You will have to contact Bishop Pilla directly to find out what that last one means. Why should Cardinal George care?...

Holy Communion Question from Searching_for_Truth on 05-04-2004: Colin,I have 2 questions about Holy Communion in the liturgy:1) Are only priests supposed to deny someone Holy Communion if they (the recipient) are not supposed to have it (i.e., pro-abortion politicans) or are extraordinary ministers supposed to deny them also?2) Are only "public figures" supposed to be denied Holy Communion or is your average "John Doe Catholic" supposed to be denied also if it is known of their stance (i.e., pro-abortion)?Thank you! Answer by Colin B. Donovan, STL on 05-13-2004: Canon 912 Any baptized person who is not prohibited by law...

Bishop-elect knocks politiciansBy Matt O'Brien  mobrien@sentinelandenterprise.comPROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The bishop-elect of the Worcester Diocese wants to make certain every priest, parishioner, and Catholic politician in the county understands precisely what it means to be a Catholic. "Rejecting that teaching can have certain spiritual consequences," said Bishop Robert J. McManus, who views his new role as a way to help solidify authentic Catholic identity.McManus said he also wants local Catholic politicians to know when they stray from church teaching, especially on issues that have the highest "moral valence.""The most fundamental human right is the right to life, and it is most...

Lucy Killea and John Kerry have much in common. Like Kerry, Killea's a Democratic politician – or used to be. Like Kerry, Killea's also a Roman Catholic. And like Kerry, Killea supports abortion rights. But while the debate continues among Catholic hierarchy over whether Kerry and others like him should be allowed to take Holy Communion, it was a done deal for Killea. In 1989, the late San Diego Bishop Leo Maher barred her from participating in Communion in local parishes. She had spoken out for abortion rights in a television campaign ad for a state Senate race, taking a...

McCarrickAbortion Foes Target Cardinal McCarrick Abortion Foes Target Cardinal McCarrick Friday May 07, 2004 3:16pm  Washington (AP) - The Archbishop of Washington is under attack from an anti-abortion group. American Life League is upset that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is reluctant to deny Communion to Roman Catholic politicians who support abortion rights. So they've taken out ads which read, "You can't be both Catholic and pro-abortion!" The Stafford, Virginia-based group ran the ad in Thursday's Washington Times, and plans to put it in a Catholic weekly. McCarrick is the spiritual leader of more than half-million Catholics in D.C. and suburban Maryland....

Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark is the latest Church leader to address the growing controversy about Catholic lawmakers who favor and promote abortion. In a carefully worded pastoral letter dated May 5, 2004, the Archbishop outlined the Church's position: “Catholics who publicly dissent from the Church’s teaching on the right to life of all unborn children should recognize that they have freely chosen by their own actions to separate themselves from what the Church believes and teaches. They have also separated themselves in a significant way from the Catholic community. “The Church cannot force such people to change their...

Should Kerry be denied communion? I am in favor of the First Amendment guarantee of free speech, with one exception. Nobody should be permitted to say flat-out that “the government should stay out of the bedrooms of America.” What if a civil-rights hate act was being conducted in the bedroom? For that matter, what if Daddy was forcing his way with a 10-year-old girl? Or Mom was starving her 10-month-old boy? The phrase is an idiotic invocation of a taboo whose single purpose, in current usage, is to illegitimize concern about sexual activity. Said John Kerry, “Abortion should be rare,...

Kerry reaffirms rights Saturday, April 24, 2004 By NANCY BENAC ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry delivered an unabashed defense of abortion rights on Friday, just hours after a top Vatican cardinal said that priests must deny Communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights.Several other Catholic politicians said they, too, had no intention of altering the way they practice their religion or their politics.With hundreds of Catholic politicians in the United States supporting abortion rights, the trans-Atlantic counterpoint was only the latest sign that the issue promises to be a recurrent one on the U.S. campaign...