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 ...
bttt
I'm not Catholic so I need to ask, if he is excommunicated can he take communion?
My sense is that Kerry will just try to ignore it. Failing that, he will claim that there is no official Decree from the Vatican with his name on it, and he will claim it's all a Republican 'ruse'. Another angle he could use is to claim that he himself is "personally opposed" to abortion, but that as an elected government official he cannot force his personal religious views onto others, especially non-Catholics. He'll bob, weave and dance; but for certain he won't change his political views, he'll remain an abortionist.
The answer is no, and if he does then he heaps sin upon sin. Not that he cares.
Nobody condems the person, he condemns himself by his actions.
What most people don't understand is that the excommunication is to bring people back into the fold, not put them out. For they have already put themsleves out.
Excommunication is issued when a person obstinately remains in sin, refusing to repent. It disallows that person from receiving Communion because that person has removed himself/herself from Christ's community by sinning and not desiring to repent of the sin. (For example, John Kerry has been told repeatedly by the Church that abortion is murder, and that he needs to change his position on the grizzly practice in order to remain a Christian). So in reality excommunication is issued as a dire warning, to help the person to repent and accept God's Commandments and the teachings of the Church He founded.
There are many examples of excommunication in the New Testament, here's one:
"And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican" (Matt., xviii, 17).
Nobody condems the person, he condemns himself by his actions.
If the person continues to sin, that is true. But if someone has turned from their evil ways, and has sought and received forgiveness and atonement, I would think that such a person would no longer be condemned by his actions. Indeed, if Christ didn't come to save such people, why'd he come at all?
Bump
An odd comment. Going to mass does not a catholic make. The pertinacious denial or doubt of an infallible dogma of Divine and Catholic Faith committed by a baptized Catholic, against the Faith, is considered heresy. Kerry has excommunicated himself.
Catholic Ping - let me know if you want on/off this list
This is far from wishful thinking...and the NYT is not need for credibility. Excommunication latae sententiae is something Catholics should be very in tune with and be vigilant in their own lives. There is no need for a public excommunication for someone to incur an automatic excommunication. And as extreme as an excommunication may seem, it is an act of charity that the one who has sinned so severely might be brought back to their senses and repent.
Deacon Francis
The NY Times on the Keretic.
This is the one time I wished what they printed was true.
>> hourly re-posts of wishful thinking on this
> This is far from wishful thinking...and the
> NYT is not need for credibility.
The "wishful" I was referring to was media traction.
And now that's in place.
Any idea why?
NY Times coverage. This ups the ante and, God-willing, will force the Vatican's hand for the good. We can only hope.
I am not for Kerry, I have already voted for Bush. We will see who's right. If they don't drop it or something like it, you can ridicule me, but if they do, I want an apology.
He would be barred from receiving any Sacraments except Confession if he repents. If he repents of his position and gives a good confession, he would be readmitted to full communion with the Church and all Sacraments would be available to him. I don't know if there is any formal process of readmission to the Church.
See #59
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