Posted on 04/26/2004 4:30:38 PM PDT by Polycarp IV
ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome
Code: ZE04042623
Date: 2004-04-26
U.S. Bishops' Task Force to Discuss Pro-Abortion Politicians
In Wake of Cardinal Arinze's Comments
WASHINGTON, D.C., APRIL 26, 2004 (Zenit.org).- A task force set up the U.S. bishops' conference will discuss the reception of sacraments by Catholics whose political advocacy directly contradicts Church teaching.
Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the episcopal conference, announced the task force in the wake of a Vatican press conference last week in which Cardinal Francis Arinze said that politicians who support abortion must not go to Communion. He also said that priests must deny such politicians the sacrament.
Cardinal Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, was presenting a new Vatican instruction, "Redemptionis Sacramentum" (The Sacrament of Redemption), aimed at ensuring the proper celebration and reception of the Eucharist.
Bishop Gregory noted that the prefect's comments extended to U.S. politicians and said: "Cardinal Arinze stated it is the responsibility of the bishops of the United States to deal pastorally with such situations as they exist here."
"Each diocesan bishop has the right and duty to address such issues of serious pastoral concern as he judges best in his local church, in accord with pastoral and canonical norms," Bishop Gregory said.
"To assist us in our common discernment, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has established a task force to discuss issues with regard to the participation of Catholics in political life, including reception of the sacraments, in the cases of those whose political advocacy is in direct contradiction to Church teaching," he said.
"The establishment of this task force is a clear sign of the seriousness with which we take these issues and continue to consider how best to interpret and apply the norms of the Church in their regard," said the bishop of Belleville, Illinois.
He added: "It has always been our hope and expectation as bishops that men and women in political life, whatever their religious convictions, would be guided by and live out the truth of the faith given them by God with integrity."
That bishop will be slapped down immediately on canon law grounds. Nothing to worry about here.
And who's going to slap him down? JPII, who is against the war? His curia, who support him in his opposition?
And, when is the last time a bishop was "slapped down" by Rome?
The reason the bishops are studying a response is that they know very well this is a slippery slope.
No way. If the bishops thought it would help Kerry, they would excommunicate him in a heartbeat.
No, Kerry and the bishops know that Kerry needs the mass attending Catholics to vote for him to win. They know he will lose the vote of the mass attending Catholics if he is formally denied communion.
That is the bottom line...they WANT Kerry to win, so they WILL NOT refuse him the Eucharist.
Good points, but these must be balanced by the overall affect such an action might have on the election. If the bishops wanted to act, last year would have been the time to do it, before Kerry became the nominee.
Now, he will be made to be a target, and that could adversely affect the election.
Well, I don't agree. I think the bishops want to stay out of influencing the election at all, or even the appearance of influencing.
Action and bishops????
Nope. Not until the court cases pile up.
My take - the bishops lie low, because a large majority of them have their own skeletons in the closet.
What a sorry mess!
That's sounds a bit naive coming from you, Sink. You know better than that.
Since when did bishops see their ministry as political? My Catholic wife well said that they bear the crozier for a reason - "to protect the sheep and dismay the wolves."
Did y'all see the excellent letter that Mrs. don-o wrote? I posted it on Sunday.
She closed by saying that her memory as a 52 year old faithful Catholic is the opposite - "Protecting the wolves and dismaying the sheep."
Well, until you show me concrete evidence that the American Catholic bishops support Democrats, across the board, I'll remain naive, Brian.
The only issue the bishops have harped on in the last ten years is abortion, and we know where the Democrats stand on that issue vis-a-vis George W. Bush.
When they refused to take the stance 20 years ago that you want them to take now.
Mrs don-o sent this our to her bishops.
What twenty years? Roe v Wade was over thirty.
Whar happend twenty years ago? HMMM.
1984?
John Kerry is a member of the perfidious quasi-masonic secret society at Yale University, Skull & Bones, an undemocratic and fascistic organization whose members support population control and the manipulation of the political system for a private, unpublished agenda. For this alone, John Kerry should be excommunicated.
Fine. We have canon law, and a legal system in which to adjudicate such matters.
The fear of what some dissenting bishops might do should not be a cause for inaction in the face of evil.
Harped on?
Pretty good, Sink. Played pretty music, while millions died.
Let's hear it for the band!
This kind of thing, if not handled deftly, has a way of backfiring.
Care to share examples of Bishops with backbones that have had their efforts 'backfire'?
Just be careful. Playing bull-in-a-china closet on this issue might bring about a much greater evil, the election of a man dedicated to reversing the small gains we've made under George W. Bush.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.