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Posted on 11/13/2008 6:05:11 PM PST by Pinkbell
COLUMBIA, S.C. – A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."
The Rev. Jay Scott Newman said in a letter distributed Sunday to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville that they are putting their souls at risk if they take Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote.
"Our nation has chosen for its chief executive the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate or to run for president," Newman wrote, referring to Obama by his full name, including his middle name of Hussein.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Elevate him to bishop. Now!
The first and foremost thing that we have to consider when voting is someone who supports protecting the right to life. Without that right, all other things are meaningless. Someone who doesn’t think the most vulnerable among us do not need protection is not someone to entrust with most powerful country in the world with.
“I am referring to the contrast between Catholic and CINO.”
When I see priests like this speaking in direct opposition to the Catholic Catechism, I am tempted to become a CINO but I consider him flawed, not the Church. The Catechism specifically states:
“Man has the right to act according to his conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters” (ibid., paragraph 1782).
This was reaffirmed by the greatest (IMO) human figure of the 20th century, JP II, in Veritatis Splendor:
“while in the sphere of morality a pluralism of opinions and of kinds of behaviour could be tolerated, these being left to the judgment of the individual subjective conscience or to the diversity of social and cultural contexts.”
Basically, this priest is acting in direct contradiction of the teachings of the Holy See and by using the threat of witholding communion, he is a bully.
I agree that the primacy of the right to life is indisputable. Then again, there are about 1000 years of Church teaching that say “pre-emptive war” as advocated by some political figures in the US, is an abomination.
So, how do you decide?
As far as the war, the Church never conclusively condemned it. They advised against it, but they never conclusively condemned it as morally wrong. Individual Catholics can support the war if they believe it to be just. It’s like the death penalty. Catholics have to make the decision whether it is morally right or wrong in a given situation with an informed conscience.
One thing to consider is that in the war they try to avoid casualties as much as possible, whereas in abortion, there is no avoidance. There is in fact intent to kill. Over 1.3 million children are killed per year. Over the course of the entire war, over 4,000 soldiers have been killed. That’s not good, of course, but the scale of death is much smaller.
Pinkbell wrote:
“As far as the war, the Church never conclusively condemned it. They advised against it, but they never conclusively condemned it as morally wrong. Individual Catholics can support the war if they believe it to be just. It’s like the death penalty. Catholics have to make the decision whether it is morally right or wrong in a given situation with an informed conscience.”
And that’s precisely what some (many) have done. That their conclusion was not what you, I, or the good father would particularly like is not relevant.
The “Just War” doctrine has meaning to many people (and far more have died than the 4000 Americans).
Demon possession is alive and well in 21st century America!!
May God protect us from that evil!
You are not a failure! Don't ever think that! Many of us are just in different places right now, that's all. I am praying for him because by extension I feel that I am praying for the country. I pray that things won't be as bad as we think they will be. I pray for him because it helps to keep me sane and helps me cope with being more or less powerless over unfolding events.
There'll be a greater cost to them if they ignore Fr. Newman's words.
The political campaign is OVER.
This priest informed HIS flock AFTER the campaign was OVER that they could not receive communion.
He is doing his duty to his flock in telling them the truth.
No twisting of statutes can prevent him from doing his duty before God.
EXACTLY. The facts don’t seem to matter to people who defend death of innocents, though.
Why don’t you include subsection h?
Besides that, the “law” you partially quite discusses the tax-exempt status of organizations whose role is to “substantially” influence legislation.
The Catholic Church has a 2,000 year history of fulfilling many functions, and meeting many social needs, but its primary purpose is the SALVATION OF SOULS-not bribing(note the word “influencing”) legislators.
Legislators who want to be proabortion cannot be Catholic.
People who want to vote for legislators who advocate and/or facilitate the killing of innocent preborn and newborn babies CANNOT call themselves Catholic.
It’s really very simple.
Ask a 7 year old to explain it, and they’d do it more logically than most adults who seek “nuanced,” illogical, and distorted excuses for defending the slaughter of innocent human beings.
We were to pray for the softening of hearts and likened us praying for Obama to the early Christians praying for the Roman leaders killing them.
And it is the same, isn't it??
I’m sometimes torn when I read posts advocating prayer for this candidate or that one. Did God not know Obama would become president before he was even conceived? If one believes that, is it reasonable to think his presidency is part of God’s will at this time?
Perhaps a re-reading of the Book of Acts is in order?
How does one decide?
Simple.
On one side of the scales you have an intrinsic evil-abortion, which is always morally wrong and takes the lives of approxiamtely 4, ooo innocent human beings PER DAY.
On the other side of the scale, you have the just war debate which falls into the realm of prudential judgement, (which none of us can actually apply fairly because none of us has all the relevant facts in front of us) which has killed approximately 4,000 soldiers SINCE IT BEGAN.
The two issues are not morally equal either intrinsically or in consequence.
>>“while in the sphere of morality a pluralism of opinions and of kinds of behaviour could be tolerated, these being left to the judgment of the individual subjective conscience or to the diversity of social and cultural contexts.”<<
You’re nitpicking a document. Life is the number one issue and abortion is instant excommunication.
JPII wasn’t talking about allowing abortion. That’s a “you wish” situation.
Social and cultural context goes more with handholding at the Our Father than letting something that the Catholic Church feels is a mortal sin, be shrugged off.
So we get to the point where everyone is euthanizing Granny. Do you really thing the Church is going to use the Veritatis Splendor to okay it?
You are obviously very confused. The Catholic Church you claim to disagree with over its perceived lack of “realism” is NOT the Republican party.
Where on earth do you get your information?
>>Did God not know Obama would become president before he was even conceived?<<
Our Lord knows all. He knows we have free will. He knows how this will all turn out and the choices we will make.
That doesn’t mean that our prayers mean nothing. See my tagline.
If the pope started telling people which person to vote for all hell would break loose, especially on this board. There would be screams about His Holiness sticking his nose in our politics. Damn if you ....damn if you don’t.
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