Heresy Case Pressed Against Kerry, Others

WorldNet Daily ^ | 21 January 2005 | NA

[Mershon]

TESTING THE FAITH Heresy case pressed against Kerry, others Catholic lawyer widens scope to Kennedy, Cuomo, Harkin

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: January 21, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

A Catholic lawyer who pressed heresy charges against Sen. John Kerry for advocating abortion plans to file similar church lawsuits against other prominent politicians, including Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Denunciations for "Heresy, Sacrilege, and Scandal" will be pressed against Kennedy, D-Mass.; Tom Harkin, D-Iowa; Susan Collins R-Maine; and former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, says Marc Balestrieri, a canon lawyer and director of the Los Angeles-based non-profit group De Fide.

"Senator Kerry is not the only pro-choice Catholic politician," Balestrieri told WorldNetDaily. "He's just one of a number who have diretly and incoherently, as Catholics, publicly professed the right to murder. Not only is it incoherent, it's heretical."

Balestrieri filed his case against Kerry with the Archdiocese of Boston last June.

He told WND that although Kerry continues to receive communion, the case is still alive.

Citing a source in the archdiocese, Balestrieri said Archbishop O'Malley has been unable to address the charges against Kerry due to being overwhelmed by abuse cases against the church and the closure of parishes.

Balestrieri plans to reveal more details of his cases against the prominent Catholic politicians in a news conference Monday at the National Press Club in Washington.

As WorldNetDaily reported, a Dominican theologian and consultor to the Vatican wrote a letter to Balestrieri stating his opinion that Catholic politicians who support abortion rights already have excommunicated themselves by their actions – a message that suggests Kerry is no longer a member of the church.

Balestrieri said the Sept. 11 letter from Rev. Basil Cole of the Dominican House of Studies in Northeast Washington provides a basis to declare that any Catholic politician who says he is "personally opposed to abortion, but supports a woman's right to choose," incurs automatic excommunication.

Balestrieri describes the letter as "a personal reply confirming the doctrinal merits of the case written by an expert theologian at the request of a Vatican official."

But Cole downplayed the weight of the letter, telling the Washington Times in October that he had been asked to reply unofficially to Balestrieri because the Vatican never responds officially to requests from laymen.

"It's a letter about an abstract question," Cole said. "It's not from the Vatican at all. It has no authority at all. None. Zip. Zero. It's not the teaching of the church; it's me implying what I think are the teachings."

Balestrieri told WND, however, he believes Cole was under pressure to help ensure the Vatican would not appear to be interfering in the U.S. electoral process.

"Father Cole has never revoked the contents of his reply," Balestrieri said.

After filing his action against Kerry, Balestrieri traveled to Rome in August to submit documents to the Vatican's chief doctrinal enforcement arm, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Balestrieri claims that under Roman Catholic Church law, support of abortion rights constitutes the "Right-to-Murder Heresy" condemned by Pope John Paul II in the Encyclical Evangelium Vitae of 1995.

The penalty for that offense, he argues, is automatic excommunication from the church.

Balestrieri has said, however, his goal is repentance rather than excommunication.

The Catholic lawyer argues, "For 2,000 years, the Christian Church has everywhere, at all times, without waver, taught the grave immorality of every act of murder of the innocent."

Related story:

Is Kerry excommunicated?

[John123]

Jesus didn't come for the righteous but the sinners.

Amen.

[Dominick]

Although, I just figured that the seperation of Church (Institutions not religion in general) and State would be compromised if clergy held offices within the government - there'd be a conflict of interest.

Separation of Church and State mandates that Clergy CAN hold office if they so choose. The Catholic Church does not normally permit Clergy to hold elective office, but that decision is made at the Local Ordinary's (Bishop's) level, IIRC.

This is a Church lawsuit, that risks a judgment of excommunication or a declaration that a excommunication has already taken place, or perhaps something else. You can be excommunicated by declaration of the Church, or by yourself by heinous actions. The Former usually requires a formal action to remove it, the latter usually requires the action of a Bishop, who normally allows Priests the faculties to remove such a sentence. Sometimes it is reserved to the Holy See which means Only Rome can reconcile that individual.

This is the application of Canon Law (CIC Canon 1398) also stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2272):
2272: "Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae, by the very commission of the offense, and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.

The term "latae sententiae" means the individual has broken themselves from the Church, and no further action is required from the Church, but that also does not exclude such action. Searching "CCC 2272" will yield more than you wanted to know on google.

[mike182d]

Thank you very much for the clarification :-)

[NYer]

Catholic Ping - please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

[HighlyOpinionated]

It's about time, that's all I can say.

Either The Church "IS" or She is irrelevant.

[Notwithstanding]

Kerry loves abortion and abortion dollars.

End of story.

[DBeers]

well.......i guess you have a point.......I guess I get upset that sometimes this stuff seems so over the top until we do it then it seems reasonable.....

This is the Catholic Church -non-partisan... Unless you are Catholic there is no we unless you are affiliated with them e.g. dems...

[NorCalRepub]

you read out of context......in that sentence I was referring to lawsuits, not abortions

[maryz]

but I never heard him say "I'm pro abortion"....

He sounded pretty enthusiastic about it when he addressed NARAL, campaigning last spring.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Kerry and the rest of them don't care what the Church says.

[DBeers]

you read out of context......in that sentence I was referring to lawsuits, not abortions

How dare you accuse ME of reading out of context!!!!

/end humor

[Salvation]

Daring to discipline (On excommunication of pro-choice Catholic pols)

Vatican: Kerry guilty of heresy; incurrs automatic excommunication

Major Developments -- Kerry Heresy Case

Denunciation of US Senator John F Kerry for Heresy.

JOHN KERRY, Kennedy, Harkin, Cuomo, Collins, Denounced for Heresy

Lawyer buoyed on Kerry 'heresy

NY TIMES: Letter Supports Anti-Kerry Bid Over Abortion (Kerry Excommunication)

DRUDGE POSTS 'MOVE TO EXCOMMUNICATE KERRY AND OTHERS ADVANCES'

Sen. John Kerry “Excommunicated,” According To Vatican Response

Vatican denies it responded to lawyer seeking Kerry's excommunication.

Excommunicated or Not, Kerry is not Permitted to Receive Communion

About That Whole Kerry Excommunication Thing

Heresy case pressed against Kerry, others ...

Canonical Suit Filed Against Catholic Senators Kennedy, Kerry, Collins & Mario Cuomo

Heresy Case Pressed Against Kerry, Others

[BroncosFan]

Fr. Drinan was a commie priest from Mass. (like there's any other kind) during the Watergate hearings. He had a prominent committee position in the House of Representaives, and was, of course, a Democrat. He made a lot of noise during the last days of Dick (Nixon) nd was a fave of the MSM. Soon thereafter, the Vatican banned priests from holding office in a similar fashion (I'm not sure of the specifics of the rule/order/bull/etc.). But anyway, 'twas the Vatican, not any American authority, who banned him. Furthermore, Jack Danforth, an Episcopal priest (perhaps the last straight white male to hold such a position) was a Senator from Missouri for quite a while. Nevermind every Rev.-Rep. in the Congressional Black Caucus.

[eastsider]

That is not true. Any such law would be unconstitutional.

Correct. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Constitutional provision prohibiting a religious test for holders of public office, as well as the first amendment, is due in part to the first Archbishop of Baltimore (the premier diocese in the U.S.A.), John Carroll:

He represented to Congress the need of a constitutional provision for the protection and maintenance of religious liberty, and doubtless to him, in part, is due the provision in Article Sixth, Section 3, of the Constitution, which declares that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States", and also the first amendment, passed this same year by the first Congress, that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: (for a more cautious view see SHEA, op. cit., 348).