Pro-abort politicians excommunicated
The new Roe v. Wade anniversary issue of WORLD details how church-discipline is being contemplated for politicians in pro-life churches who support the killing of the unborn. The Roman Catholic bishop of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Raymond Burke, had issued stern warnings to two state legislators and one U.S. Congressman in his jurisdiction. Now he has taken the next step: They are excommunicated.
After the politicians spurned his pastoral letters and indignantly refused to meet with him, going public with the private exchange so as to create a media outcry, the bishop issued a binding decree, this time to all priests under his authority:
Catholic legislators who are members of the faithful of the diocenses of La Crosse and who continue to support procured abortion or euthanasia may not present themselves to receive Holy Communion. They are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, should they present themselves, until such time as they publicly renounce their support of these most unjust practices
"This is the first time this has ever happened in the history of the pro-life movement," said Judie Brown, president of the American Life League. Other Catholic pro-abortion activists have been disciplined, but never elected officials.
La Crosse is a small province, but the scope will soon get bigger. On January 26, Bishop Burke will be installed as the Archbishop of St. Louis, a far more powerful office in a region that has far more pro-abortion politicians. Posted by Veith at January 9, 2004 07:58 AM
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Bishop Burke told a reporter that if the politicians did not change their pattern of voting, "I would simply have to ask them not to present themselves to receive the sacraments because they would not be Catholics in good standing."
This would be "self-excommunication." The step after that, presumably, according to historic Catholic practice, would be the formal rite of excommunication, in which the person would be ritually cast out of the church.