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NY TIMES: Letter Supports Anti-Kerry Bid Over Abortion (Kerry Excommunication)
The New York Times ^ | October 19, 2004 | PAM BELLUCK

Posted on 10/18/2004 9:42:39 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative

A canon lawyer seeking to have Senator John Kerry excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church because of his support for abortion rights said on Monday that he had ammunition in the form of a letter issued at the request of a senior Vatican official.

The lawyer, Marc Balestrieri of Los Angeles, who heads a conservative Catholic nonprofit organization called De Fide, also said that, based on the letter, he would now seek to have four other Catholic politicians excommunicated: Senators Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Susan Collins of Maine, and Mario M. Cuomo, the former governor of New York.

"Senator Kerry, and all pro-choice Catholic politicians, who publicly call themselves Catholic yet who blatantly violate canon law by continuing to profess heresy and receive Holy Communion, must publicly reject their abortion advocacy for the sake of their own souls, and the others they have scandalized," Mr. Balestrieri said in a statement. "They have been excommunicated."

Only Ms. Collins is not a Democrat.

The letter to Mr. Balestrieri, written by another American canon lawyer at the request of a Vatican official, says that "if a Catholic publicly and obstinately supports the civil right to abortion, knowing that the church teaches officially against that legislation, he or she commits that heresy" and is "automatically excommunicated."

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: abortion; catholic; excommunication; kerry; vatican
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1 posted on 10/18/2004 9:42:40 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
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To: West Coast Conservative

*** Only Ms. Collins is not a Democrat ***

close enough !

what about Daschle, Kennedy, Pelosi ?


2 posted on 10/18/2004 9:45:14 PM PDT by EDINVA (a FReeper in PJ's beats a CBS anchor in a suit every time)
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To: West Coast Conservative

I've already sent a copy of this to Rush, Mike Reagan, Laura Ingraham, Chris Matthews, Bill O'Reilly, and my local talk-radio hosts.


3 posted on 10/18/2004 9:47:45 PM PDT by Iam1ru1-2
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To: West Coast Conservative

Louisiana would appreciate it very much if you would please add the name of Senator Mary Landrieu to your list of Catholics that support abortion by refusing to vote against it. She hides behind the "I am personally opposed to abortion but I believe in the right to a woman's choice." I am sure if the issue were slavery she would take the same position.


4 posted on 10/18/2004 9:49:14 PM PDT by Saltmeat
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To: West Coast Conservative

Whoa!

After watching hourly re-posts of wishful thinking on this,
the NYT gives the story some cred?

What's next, columns written by the SBVFT?


5 posted on 10/18/2004 9:49:21 PM PDT by Boundless (Was your voter registration sabotaged by ACORN? Don't find out Nov. 2. Vote early.)
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To: West Coast Conservative; All

You know where I think we're headed? To an abortion Oct Surprise with Bush. If in fact there is fire behind the smoke on that rumor, Kerry and his hacks will absolutely uncover it.


6 posted on 10/18/2004 9:50:04 PM PDT by AmarilloMorning
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To: West Coast Conservative

I've sent copies to my parents and other Catholic friends that still just don't get it.


7 posted on 10/18/2004 9:50:58 PM PDT by AJS
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To: AmarilloMorning
They tried it 2000 and couldn't come up with anything. Larry Flynt has been pushing it for over four years and still hasn't found any proof. That dog won't bark.
8 posted on 10/18/2004 9:52:12 PM PDT by COEXERJ145 (The price of freedom is eternal vigilance)
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To: West Coast Conservative
Can the Catholic church legally excommunicate a Republican? Just kidding, just kidding.

Seriously, how do you think Kerry et al will personally take this?

9 posted on 10/18/2004 9:52:15 PM PDT by bayourod (Old Media news is poll driven, not event driven, not fact driven, not newsworthy driven.)
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To: West Coast Conservative

Drudge has it.


10 posted on 10/18/2004 9:52:34 PM PDT by califamily4W (Now is the time, this is the place, you are the one...do something!)
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To: West Coast Conservative
NY Times does not have to be excerpted, so here's the remainder of the article:
The letter, first reported on Friday by Eternal Word Television Network, a Catholic station in Alabama, was written last month after Mr. Balestrieri met with an official at the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In June, Mr. Balestrieri filed a complaint accusing Mr. Kerry of heresy and seeking to have him excommunicated. The complaint was filed with the Archdiocese of Boston, where Mr. Kerry lives. The archdiocese, which declined to comment Monday, can decide whether Mr. Kerry should be excommunicated because he supports abortion rights.

Mr. Balestrieri said that when he was in Rome, he did not disclose to the Vatican that he had filed the petition against Mr. Kerry. He said he merely asked whether someone who publicly supports abortion rights was guilty of heresy.

Experts in canon law say Vatican officials frequently receive questions about matters of church doctrine. They can choose to answer those questions officially, giving their answers the weight of church law, or they can choose to answer them unofficially, delegating the matter to a canon lawyer not affiliated with the Vatican.

In Mr. Balestrieri's case, the undersecretary of the office, the Very Rev. Augustine di Noia, asked a friend, the Rev. Basil Cole, an associate professor at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, to write an "unofficial" response to Mr. Balestrieri's question, Father Cole said in an interview.

A spokesman for Mr. Kerry, Michael Meehan, would say only: "Kerry's a Catholic who attends Mass regularly and receives communion. That explains his standing in the church."

A spokesman for Mr. Kennedy declined to comment. Mr. Harkin, Ms. Collins and Mr. Cuomo could not be reached.

11 posted on 10/18/2004 9:53:53 PM PDT by Mike Fieschko (Surely, though, if we stop mocking John Kerry, the terrorists will have won. [James Taranto])
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To: COEXERJ145

Well you do acknowledge that AWOL came back with a vengeance this go around even though it was whispered in 2000? I think the abortion thing is a likely bomb the Rats will drop before the election. That would be a base dispiriting bomb against Bush-- something Kerry has already shown that he feels he needs to do, see the Mary Cheney comment. I would be amazed if they don't drop it.


12 posted on 10/18/2004 9:54:55 PM PDT by AmarilloMorning
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To: SolomoninSouthDakota

Ping


13 posted on 10/18/2004 9:55:05 PM PDT by bayourod (Old Media news is poll driven, not event driven, not fact driven, not newsworthy driven.)
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To: bayourod

If I remember right, Kerry's parents became Catholic to escape religious persecution. They were originally Jewish. I'm not sure a man with morals really cares if he has been excommunicated from the Catholic Church, when other churches would be happy to take him under their wing with his millions $$$.


14 posted on 10/18/2004 9:56:42 PM PDT by television is just wrong (Our sympathies are misguided with illegal aliens.)
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To: bayourod
Seriously, how do you think Kerry et al will personally take this?

He'll try to ignore it

15 posted on 10/18/2004 9:58:09 PM PDT by Mo1 (This Sept 10th attitude in no way to protect our country)
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To: West Coast Conservative

We'll have to see what happens here.


16 posted on 10/18/2004 9:58:29 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: West Coast Conservative
Catechism of the Catholic Church and what it says about those who support abortion
17 posted on 10/18/2004 9:59:07 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: bayourod

I know I sound stupid here, but... How will he be notified?

Altho I am a Catholic, I have never known anyone to be excommunicated. This is great. The Church is finally doing something about these folks. Ted Kennedy should have been gone a long time ago.


18 posted on 10/18/2004 9:59:12 PM PDT by Lovergirl (Proud member of the Pajama Brigade.)
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To: AmarilloMorning
And the AWOL story blew up in their face.

If nothing else, we can thank Dan Rather and SEE-BS for immunizing Bush to these kinds of attacks. While they can still use Iraq, and the other standard Democrat talking points (Medicare, Social Security, etc), pulling a DUI type story isn't going to work this time around.

19 posted on 10/18/2004 9:59:17 PM PDT by COEXERJ145 (The price of freedom is eternal vigilance)
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To: Mike Fieschko
A spokesman for Mr. Kerry, Michael Meehan, would say only: "Kerry's a Catholic who attends Mass regularly and receives communion. That explains his standing in the church."

Ummm .. I don't think so and Mr. Meehan needs to bush up on the Catholic Rules

20 posted on 10/18/2004 9:59:39 PM PDT by Mo1 (This Sept 10th attitude in no way to protect our country)
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