Posted on 05/28/2004 3:03:03 PM PDT by cpforlife.org
LifeSite Daily News Wednesday May 26, 2004
Denver Archbishop Sees Pro-Abortion Communion Scandal as Needed 'Moment of Truth'
Claiming to be Catholic and rejecting Catholic teaching is "dishonesty" and "lack of integrity" DENVER, May 26, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a strong and witty column in the Denver Catholic Register, Archbishop Charles Chaput writes on the growing scandal of pro-abortion politicians receiving communion. Entitled, "It's a matter of honesty: to receive Communion, we need to be in communion", the article explains, "Claiming to be Catholic and then rejecting Catholic teaching is an act of dishonesty and a lack of personal integrity. Worse, if we then receive Communion, we violate every Catholic who does believe and does strive to live the faith fully and unselfishly."
The archbishop refused to rule out denying communion saying, "Denying anyone Communion is a very grave matter. It should be reserved for extraordinary cases of public scandal." He added however, that "the Church always expects Catholics who are living in serious sin or who deny the teachings of the Church - whether they're highly visible officials or anonymous parishioners - to have the integrity to respect both the Eucharist and the faithful, and to refrain from receiving Communion.'
Commenting on the recent spate of newspaper editorials and letters from politicians excoriating Catholic bishops for even discussing denying communion to pro-abortion politicians, Archbishop Chaput said, "One of the ironies of an already strange election year is the number of non-Catholics, ex-Catholics and anti-Catholics who have developed a sudden piety about who should receive Communion and when."
Saving the best for last, the Archbishop concluded, "We're at a time for the Church in our country when some Catholics - too many - are discovering that they've gradually become non-Catholics who happen to go to Mass. That's sad and difficult, and a judgment on a generation of Catholic leadership. But it may be exactly the moment of truth the Church needs."
See the full article from the Denver diocesan paper: http://www.archden.org/dcr/news.php?e=81 &s=2&a=1976
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>>We're at a time for the Church in our country when some Catholics - too many - are discovering that they've gradually become non-Catholics who happen to go to Mass
AMEN!
Much needed article. Needs to be sent to the Bishops here in Arizona.
"Claiming to be Catholic and then rejecting Catholic teaching is an act of dishonesty and a lack of personal integrity."
That's a pretty accurate description of Kerry - and a couple of his Democratic colleagues too.
That's not an easy statement to make. For all those who want to portray these "radical" bishops as ignoring their own problems in favor of those of politicians, here's a little evidence that this is not the case. And a little hope for those of us who don't want this issue to fade away after the election.
If you're tired of Kerry's phony claims to be a "good Catholic" come and join us, do something about it.
catholicsagainstkerry.com
The Catholic Church lost its 'saltness' when it merely move pedophile Priests from Parish to Parish, never taking the freaks out of the opportunity to molest children. The past thirty years have been hallmarked by the feckless response of the Catholic Church to the growing holocaust of abortion on demand. Tongue wagging doesn't deter the forces of Satan with their blood lust. The Church carrys a great deal of the blame for the current state of evil in America and the degeneration of the society. Personally, I also believe the blood of innocent children is also soaking into the vestments.
ProLife Ping!
If anyone wants on or off my ProLife Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.
From a homiletic, delivered by Fr. Robert Altier, entitled Public Sin and the Reception of Holy Communion
We have to make sure that we are following the right shepherd. We have a Good Shepherd, and none of us is going to be able to stand before the Lord and say, But Father said it was okay. The bishop didnt do anything about it, so it must have been okay. The Lord will look at you and say, Ill deal with that priest or that bishop when they get here. You, on the other hand, knew better, and Im going to hold you responsible for what you knew. We know the truth. It is written in our hearts and on our minds; we are without excuse. It would be easy to look around and say, But look at all the other Catholics who arent doing what theyre supposed to do! God will deal with them, but each one of us will have to stand individually before the Lord, Who is our Shepherd, for judgment. He will look at each one of us and say, You knew. You knew Me. You knew what truth I preached. The question is Did we choose to listen to His voice and follow Him? Or did we choose to listen to someone elses voice and follow them because it was easier, more convenient, more politically correct, more fun, whatever it might be?
Catholic Ping - let me know if you want on/off this list
Thanks, Marvin.
As Catholics, we are responsible for cleaning up the mess. If you are Catholic, help us.
If you are not, you might refrain from insulting the "Church" which includes a LOT of people who are quite orthodox.
Pray for us--don't sling mud.
The Catholic Church lost its 'saltness' when it merely move pedophile Priests from Parish to Parish, never taking the freaks out of the opportunity to molest children. The past thirty years have been hallmarked by the feckless response of the Catholic Church to the growing holocaust of abortion on demand. Tongue wagging doesn't deter the forces of Satan with their blood lust. The Church carrys a great deal of the blame for the current state of evil in America and the degeneration of the society. Personally, I also believe the blood of innocent children is also soaking into the vestments.
What horrid truths.
I saw no mud, just the bare, awful truth.
I agree...with 67 million Catholics in this country, by far the largest group professing to be Christian, they have a great influence on the moral climate in the U.S. With only 29% regularly going to Mass now, they have lost their way.
Moment of truth, indeed!
Help is on the way!
How telling that the manifestation of evil that calls itself the "Democrats" -- and places high on its lists of evil actions activities and practices the froth and foam-flecked pursuit of what it calls "the separation of Church and state" [And "tolerence for all others"] -- is, in its efforts to stem the flow of Good Catholics from the ranks of its supporters, now going after and dictating theology and biblical history to the Church -- and to the Catholic Bishops who dare to define Catholithism.
Hypocrites.
"the Church always expects Catholics who are living in serious sin or who deny the teachings of the Church - whether they're highly visible officials or anonymous parishioners - to have the integrity to respect both the Eucharist and the faithful, and to refrain from receiving Communion."
It is about time!!!!!!!!!!!!
The clergy fell into a habit in the 1960s of thinking along liberal political lines on issues like civil rights and the Vietnam War. By the 1970s and 1980s, the church in America had been captured by "liberalism." There was a Liberation Theology craze. Catholicism was eroded by many factors. The move to the suburbs, feminism, the decline of the Catholic intellectual element in Catholic colleges and universities. The homosexualization of the seminaries. Bernardin presided over this quagmire as the darling of the national media.
American neo-modernism is...well, very American. When the clergy abandoned Catholicism and a supernatural/sacramental view of reality in favor of politically-oriented styles of liberalism and socialism, the battle for the culture was lost. There was very little authentic Catholicism left among the clergy.
As for the liberals among the laity, the John Kerry and Ted Kennedy types don't even know what Catholicism is or what a Catholic culture would be like. They were NEVER even part of it in any remote sense. The great absurdity (and tragedy) of American Catholic liberalism is that they don't even know what they have lost.
Everyone......check out this website: www.catholicsagainstkerry.com
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