Under current church law, excommunication is automatic for any politician that votes for pro-abortion laws.
I’m still waiting for Bob Casey (and the rest of his fellow travellers) to be excommunicated....tap...tap...tap...
Quoted from the article above:
“Pro-life” Senator Casey originally voted for the Brownback amendment but returned to the floor two days later to ask that the Senate allow him to recast his vote against it.
According to National Review, Senator Casey said, “It was my intention to vote ‘nay’ [to upholding the Mexico City Policy]. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to change my vote since it will not affect the outcome of that vote. “Casey must have heard from his supporters at Planned Parenthood who didn’t approve of his not following the “party line.”
Lifesitenews.com has reported that Casey declared himself opposed to public funding of abortion in the Voter Guide before the 2006 elections. He also indicated during the 2006 campaign that he “supports legal protection for human life from conception.”
This is sad news for the Democratic Party and the Church – Bob Casey, Jr. had the opportunity to be the Catholic pro-life leader in a political party that desperately needs one.
The White House promises a presidential veto, explaining, “The administration strongly opposes this legislation, because it includes provisions which are inconsistent with the Administration’s international family planning policy.”
Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia and chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities, urged the Senators to preserve both the Mexico City and Kemp-Kasten policies. Rigali said that without the Mexico City policy “abortion-promoting organizations will exploit their status as the conduits for U.S. aid to promote abortion to vulnerable women in the Third World.”
The USCCB expressed disappointment at the passage of the legislation and appreciation for the promise of President Bush to veto it. There was no mention of the 16 Catholic Senators who ignored the letter from Cardinal Rigali asking them to continue supporting the Mexico City Policy.
Here are their names:
Robert Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Ted Kennedy (D-MA), John Kerry (D-MA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Susan Collins (R-ME), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Christopher Dodd (CT-D), Claire McCaskill (D-MO).
It would have been 17 Catholic Senators voting to fund abortion, but Catholic presidential candidate Joe Biden (D-CT) missed the vote.