Posted on 10/15/2004 7:20:42 PM PDT by St. Johann Tetzel
Dramatic development in the fight for the Right to Life and the standing of pro-abortion Catholic politicians.
Today, in EWTN's news magazine The World Over, canon lawyer Marc Balestrieri revealed that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has certified that the Church's condemnation of abortion is part of Catholic doctrine and of natural law, and as such, any one who publicly contradicts this doctrine is guilty of heresy and incurrs an automatic excommunication.
Click here to download the Roman Congregation's response.
Earlier this year, Marc Balestrieri filed a heresy lawsuit against Senator John F. Kerry for his public and obstinate support of abortion rights. This lawsuit remains active in the tribunal of the Archdiocese of Boston. Today, Mr. Balestrieri announced in the same program that he will file new charges against the most egregious offenders, including Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), whose pro-abortion voting record is well known.
To find out more about Marc Balestrieri's efforts, to join the class-action canon lawsuits against Kerry et al. as an aggrieved party, or to contribute towards his ministry, visit his website, www.defide.org
I owe you one, for the other day. I felt bad about that.
Kerry's anti-Catholic behavior goes beyond his participation in pre-birth murder. Being that he's unmarried and not in a state of grace, when he takes communion he's committing a grave sin. He also publicly receives "communion" in non-Cathlolc churches. Not only is he not ashamed of this, he flaunts it by setting up photo-ops for the event.
He should be ex-commed, but unfortunately it will never happen. Of those who would be responsible for doing so, too many are either worldly cowards or worse, sympathetic to his anti-Christ world view.
Thank you, AB. I heard the sincerity in your voice the other day and took no offense.
There is absolutely nothing preventing us from being online friends who share faith in Jesus Christ.
Your answer about Kerry was concise and to the point. Thanks. You say there's no way he'll be excommed.
Thanks!
Dear xzins,
"You say there's no way he'll be excommed."
It would be more accurate to say, since he is already automatically excommunicated, it's unlikely that he will also be excommunicated via an official decree. It happens occasionally, but not often. It's a little redundant.
It is a little more likely that eventually, an official pronouncement recognizing his excommunication will someday be given. But that's not terribly likely, either. He is automatically excommunicated as a formal heretic. Canon law is clear as to the automatic excommunication of heretics.
There are literally millions of Catholics who have directly participated in the crime of abortion, either by procuring one, directly aiding someone in procuring one, directly committing one, or directly assisting in the commission of the crime. Canon law is clear about the automatic excommunication of those who directly participate in the crime of abortion.
They are all excommunicated. But I don't know that you'll find many official pronouncements of the excommunication of any particular individual.
sitetest
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I've been following both of your reasoned arguments and points and I won't make any comment on Catholic doctrine (I am a former Catholic), but instead I like to take it one more step up the chain, so to speak, and not worry about formal vs. informal, automatic vs. official excommunication vs., etc. I want to know what God says about these kinds of things, and while I was reading this a verse came to mind that I would like to share.
James, chapter 4, verse 17 says, "Therefore to him who knows to do good, and does not do it, to him it is sin."
I think that this speaks to Catholics and Protestants alike in that God says we sin not doing the good we know we ought to do (I think the nuns who taught me in grade school would call that a "sin of omission"). Sen. Kerry says he is personally against abortion, yet he refuses to take action that he as a Senator has the power to take to do anything against it. That alone should be enough for those (Catholic or otherwise) to make a decision on where he stands, not only on this issue of abortion, but morally in general.
Catholic Ping!!!!!!!!1
Looks like a scene from The Blues Brothers.
"Do you see the Light?"It does remind one of that, you're right.
All I could think of when I saw that picture was Ernest Angly's (who is oddly cherubic looking) 'evil demon, come out!'
Dear sartorius,
Do you think this is appropriate for the pro-life or the KofC lists?
sitetest
The unCatholic Reporter stands with the Jesuit magazine,America and the very liberal,Commonweal magazine as the preferred print media of dissident,progressive,liberal catholics. Among those catholics are many bishops in the USCCB,who have used it to spread their "collective,collaborative,community" agenda to the masses.The Ligourian and the US Catholic are lesser known but equally off-base publications.
I would say that none of those print publications support Rome,or the Pope and the Magisterium. The only time they acknowledge existence of a higher authority in the Catholic Church than themselves is when something goes wrong. Then it's Rome or the Pope's fault. The recent scandal is a case in point.
Our Sunday Visitor leaves much to be desired but in general it reflects a more "muddled middle" happy kind of catholicism but not deliberately planned to deceive.
does this also mean those who vote for kerry are guilty as well as kerry and will be ex-communicated
My grandfather was excommunicated in 1919 for marrying my Lutheran grandmother. His name was read out from the altar of his church, in front of his mother, his aunt, and his cousins.
It made quite an impression.
If John Kerry is not a Catholic in good standing, why hasn't his ordinary (who is the responsible party) said so?
And if his ordinary and the Bishop of Rome do't say so, who is anyone else to say otherwise?
That was my understanding as well. Thanks for the info saradippity!
Yes he did. Kerry seems to have some mysterious power over McCarrick and O'Malley. So far they both have refused to act.
I think you are wrong on your Canonical interpretation.
There are LOTSA excommunicandi wandering around out there--e.g., Catholic women who have had abortions and not sought sacramental forgiveness.
Latae sententiae means just that: one excommunicates oneself; it does not require paperwork.
In the case outlined above, it's clear from recent history that Kerry is latae sententiae. The "recent history" is the removal of "Catholic" from literature distributed by Tom Daschle. Albeit in that case it was at the request of Daschle's Bishop, the Bishop would NOT have made the request unless Daschle was, in fact, excommunicated by virtue of his public record on abortion.
Open/shut.
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