Posted on 04/06/2004 11:01:04 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
If you know a Roman Catholic bishop or priest, please pass this along to him with a request for a response. If they don't mind, ask them to copy me on the response at hhewitt@hughhewitt.com.
John Kerry is the second most visible American right now, and the most visible self-identified Roman Catholic in the country.
The most influential newspaper in the world, the New York Times, reported on Tuesday that Kerry had issued the equivalent of a new catechism for the Roman Catholic Church. Here are the key paragraphs:
Mr. Kerry became combative when told that some conservatives were criticizing him for being a Roman Catholic who supported policies, like abortion and same-sex unions, that are at odds with Catholic teaching."
"Who are they?" he demanded of his questioner. "Name them. Are they the same legislators who vote for the death penalty, which is in contravention of Catholic teaching?"
He added: "I'm not a church spokesman. I'm a legislator running for president. My oath is to uphold the Constitution of the United States in my public life. My oath privately between me and God was defined in the Catholic Church by Pius XXIII and Pope Paul VI in the Vatican II, which allows for freedom of conscience for Catholics with respect to these choices, and that is exactly where I am. And it is separate. Our Constitution separates church and state, and they should be reminded of that."
The New York Times helpfully added that "Mr. Kerry apparently meant John XXIII, as there is no Pius XXIII." Too bad the paper couldn't explain the rest of Kerry's absurd statement, or add more detail to the new Kerry Catechism of Convenient Catholicism.
It will be interesting to see if the hierarchy of the American Roman Catholic Church allows this statement to go uncontradicted. If what Kerry says is true, then the Church really doesn't care if its members advocate for wide-ranging abortion rights and receive Holy Communion, despite the bishop of St. Louis' instruction to Kerry to refrain from the sacrament on that bishop's turf.
I am not familiar with those documents of Vatican II to which Kerry refers, and would appreciate direction to them. Perhaps they are in the small volume of works by Pope Pius XXIII.
The stale bit of sophistry that says support for the death penalty disqualifies an individual from objecting to support for abortion rights is also in need of some authoritative teaching from the bishops. Aside from the fact that since 1973 there have been more than 40 million abortions in America and less than 1,000 executions, it is also my understanding that the catechism of the Roman Catholic Church allows for the death penalty under some circumstances, but does not allow for abortion. Even if both practices received the same degree of condemnation from the Church, of what relevance would it be to Kerry's standing as a Catholic for him to argue that other Catholics in public life fail to conform their votes to Church teaching? He's the one running for president.
Kerry's hash-up of the First Amendment's religion clauses and the issue of Catholic theology is a familiar dodge, laughable except for its ability to dumbfound reporters working for papers like the Times. Will any reporter ever do enough homework to ask Kerry some serious questions about the intersection of his avowed faith and his hard left stands in opposition to that faith's central teachings? There is no Constitution prohibition on asking tough questions of Catholic politicians, is there?
The real burden is on the American bishops and possibly the Vatican. Kerry has proclaimed a new doctrine in the pages of the most widely-read newspaper in the world. Such proclamations have consequences. Catholic elected officials across the globe cannot be blamed if, uncontradicted by the bishops, they conclude that John Kerry had it right and that their church obliges nothing of its members who serve in elected office except an occasional photo op with a bishop.
I knew something was rotten in the Catholic Church once the guitar found its way into the Sunday mass.
Sandal whappers serenade Kerry
[Should we FReep Kerry with REAL "flip flops" - across the USA?]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1113537/posts
Thou shalt not flub thy photo op, Sen. Kerry (Caught taking "communion" in Protestant Church)
Posted by presidio9
On News/Activism 04/08/2004 11:24:10 AM PDT with 58 comments
Boston Herald ^ | Wednesday, April 7, 2004 | David R. GuarinoKerrys Communion Controversy
Posted by NYer
On News/Activism 04/07/2004 11:30:48 AM PDT with 84 comments
CBS News ^ | April 6, 2004 | David Paul KuhnReuters PHOTO: "ROMAN CATHOLIC" John Kerry takes communion at AME Church [Is this kosher?]
Posted by RonDog
On Religion 04/04/2004 9:26:17 PM PDT with 193 comments
REUTERS photo (via the Drudge thread) ^ | April 4, 2004 | RonDog
Kerry's Easter Plans Include Catholic Service
[& Communion! Time for a massive Catholic FREEP!]
Yahoo! News (Reuters) ^ | 4/8/04 | Patricia Wilson
Posted on 04/08/2004 5:53:31 PM PDT by Polycarp IV
Kerry's Easter Plans Include Catholic Service
By Patricia Wilson CHICAGO (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites), a Catholic whose support of abortion rights has prompted some in the Church hierarchy to say they would deny him Communion, will receive the sacrament if he attends Easter Sunday services at Boston's Paulist Center.
As the first Catholic at the top of a major party ticket since John F. Kennedy in 1960, Kerry has opened a new debate over religion and politics.
Frequent visits to Protestant churches have led some to question if he was sidestepping the Communion issue, but aides said the Massachusetts senator would celebrate Easter at a Catholic church, probably the Paulist Center in Boston.
In Kennedy's day, voters were afraid that another senator from Massachusetts might follow papal doctrine too strictly. Now, conservative Catholics are attacking Kerry for not adhering to it closely enough.
His position on abortion reflects that of many of America's 65 million Catholics, most of whom are concentrated in big states with the most electoral votes like California and New York. But they have aroused ire among some influential Church leaders.
A practicing Catholic and a former altar boy, Kerry also supports stem cell research and civil unions -- issues he calls matters of conscience.
"I fully intend to practice my religion separately from what I do with respect to my public life and that's the way it ought to be in America," he told reporters in Ohio this week. "There is a separation of Church and State in America and we have prided ourselves about that all of my lifetime, all of our history."
In February, Archbishop Raymond Burke of St Louis advised Kerry not to "present himself for communion" at any church in the city.
In a speech earlier this week, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago said the "great scandal" of the Democratic Party " is that there's no pro-life caucus."
"A party that historically has been concerned about the weakest among us...doesn't permit any freedom of speech around the question of abortion," he said. "One can say, as I have, that the Democratic party has lost its soul."
The leader of Kerry's Boston diocese, Archbishop Sean O'Malley has urged Catholic elected officials -- without mentioning any by name -- who support abortion rights to abstain from Communion, but has not asked priests to stop offering it.
"Archbishop O'Malley has no public statement as to the questions regarding Sen. Kerry and his Catholicism," said Rev. Christopher Coyne, a spokesman for the archdiocese. "The matter has been brought to his attention and I do not know when or if he will make a public statement on this matter."
Kerry and his wife Teresa are regular worshipers at the Paulist Center not far from their Boston townhouse.
The Paulists are a Catholic religious order like the Jesuits or Dominicans. A mission statement posted on their Web site says: "We are a Catholic community that welcomes all, liberates the voice of each and goes forth to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
Coyne said the Paulists were, for the most part, autonomous, but still had to abide by some governance of the archbishop. "For example, he has full authority over them as they administer the sacraments and preach within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston," he said.
Rev. John Ardis, director of the Paulist Center, said the Kerrys had received Communion there and were always welcome to do so. Asked if he had been instructed not to offer Kerry Communion Ardis said: "No. Definitely not. I got a call from them (the archdiocese) an hour ago ... They wanted me to know that the archbishop has not taken a stand and he is free to receive the Eucharist." |
CLICK HERE for the rest of that thread
Diocese gives nod for Kerry to receive Eucharist
Posted by delacoert
On News/Activism 04/10/2004 10:40:32 AM PDT with 14 comments
The Boston Herald ^ | April 10, 2004 | Eric ConveyChicago cardinal [George] would not withhold Eucharist [Kerry]
Posted by Polycarp IV
On News/Activism 04/10/2004 8:53:44 AM PDT with 63 comments
CWNews.com ^ | Apr. 09 | CWNews.comDiocese gives nod for Kerry to receive Eucharist
Posted by Fifthmark
On Religion 04/10/2004 8:39:21 AM PDT with 6 comments
The Boston Herald ^ | April 10, 2004 | Eric ConveyChicago Cardinal would not withhold Eucharist
Posted by Canticle_of_Deborah
On Religion 04/09/2004 4:15:11 PM PDT with 16 comments
CWNews ^ | April 9, 2003Bishop Bruskewitz will deny Kerry the Eucharist
Posted by johnb2004
On Religion 04/07/2004 10:39:21 AM PDT with 33 comments
www.renewamerica.us ^ | April 6, 2004 | Barbara Kralis
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