American Bishop Bars Faithful from War Effort

Catholic World News ^ | March 18, 2003 | staff

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

CANTON, Mar 18, 03 (CWNews.com) -- An American Catholic bishop has forbidden his flock from participating or cooperating in military action against Iraq, under pain of mortal sin. Bishop John Michael Botean, the head of the Romanian Catholic eparchy (diocese) of St. George in Canton, Ohio-- which has jurisdiction over all Byzantine-rite Romanian Catholics living in the US-- invoked the full measure of his authority in a Lenten Letter to his people. The bishop declared with "moral certainty" that the proposed attack on Iraq "does not meet even the minimal standards of the Catholic just-war theory."

The bishop announced that he "must declare to you, my people, for the sake of your salvation as well as my own, that any direct participation and support of this war against the people of Iraq is objectively grave evil, a matter of mortal sin."

Bishop Botean acknowledged that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2309) identifies public authorities as the final judges of whether military action is justified. But he argued that "the nation-state is never the final arbiter or authority for the Catholic of what is moral." An unjust law or order should not be obeyed, he observed.

Writing with obvious emotion, the Romanian Catholic prelate admitted that "I would much prefer to keep silent." And he pointed out to his people: "Never before have I spoken to you in this manner, explicitly exercising the fullness of authority Jesus Christ has given his apostles." However, he said, he felt a moral burden to guide his people.

Arguing that a military assault on Iraq does not fit the criteria of the just-war tradition, Bishop Botean concluded in stark terms: "Thus, any killing associated with it is unjustified and, in consequence, unequivocally murder."

[griffin]

(calm, unassuming tone of voice)
I assume you label yourself a Christian. Let me ask three simple questions.

Have you asked Jesus Christ to be the Savior and Lord of your life? Have you given Him control of your life? Do you have a personal relationship with Him (are you born-again)?

Or do you subscribe to the idea that, as the last Priest I spoke to stated, "This personal relationship with Christ thing is very much over-blown by evangelicals".

[ApesForEvolution]

This from a man that 'preaches' that any man sprinkled at birth is automatically heaven-bound, contrary to what the actual Word of God says explicitly. So much for defending the innocent by Catholics...

[APBaer]

Bishop John Michael Botean

Recken he's kin of Jethro Botean?

[MonroeDNA]

I left the Catholic church when my best friend shot himself in the forehead while cleaning a .22 rifle.

He was an alter boy.

The head priest was doing alter boys.

My friends name is William Morisette. Dead at 14.

[Jay D. Dyson]

There's a saying in the Bible that one should tend to the beam in their own eye before going after the mote in their neighbor's eye.

With that in mind, I'd say the Catholic Church should spend more time dealing with their PEDOPHILE PRIESTS than they are BEING CHAMPIONS OF A TYRANT.

(For those Catholics I've offended, my apologies...but your Church has some seriously f---ed up priorities here.)

-Jay

[thathamiltonwoman]

This guy is Byzantine rite--y'all know like Eastern Orthodox. They may be in communion with Rome but they do their own thing.

[ApesForEvolution]

Ouch. More logic that will no doubt be lost on the apostate church...

[xm177e2]

One dude commands his flock to come to church instead of watching the Super Bowl; now this guy tells them to come to church instead of bombing Iraq. A really, truly brilliant move, on his part--if he's trying to destroy his own church.

[Conservababe]

I have no words for your grief.

[jwalsh07]

Yeah I know, but I deserve to be reminded.

[dila813]

Central to the beliefs of Catholics is the belief that you are either for the Lord or against the Lord. There isn't a gray area allowed. Another way to say this is you are either for Good or for Evil.

Catholics are also always willing to point out the difference between the secular world and the Catholic world is this understanding.

By any reasonable estimate, over 1mill Iraq civilians will die over the next 10 years (25% Children under 14). By the most extreme estimates, about 250k people will die in the invasion, mostly military (99%).

Bottom line, with the invasion we save 750k peoples lives and provide a country with a new chance of freedom.

Saddam is a secular government, nay atheist. With all that is know about this regime it is indefensibly Evil.

So how could the church possibly support not saving all these people which would clearly be on the side of Good?

Because the church has adopted the beliefs of the secular world, the gray area. In two words, political convenience

[Almondjoy]

Oh yeah.. like the Catholic Church has any right to preach on the matters of war. Kill the Muslims early in the millenium.. let the Jews get slaughtered in the latter half. Just foul.

[CatoRenasci]

As far as I am concerned, any religious official that attempts to order soldiers not to discharge their duties is guilty of treason, if an American citizen, and of sedition and/or levying war against the United States if not an American citizen. Not acceptable. This was always the Know Nothings and other Protestants fear of Rome: that the Pope (or bishops) would demand loyalty above loyalty to the Constitution of the US.

[MonroeDNA]

Thank you, from my heart.

You have no idea how much I appreciate your kind words.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Um, the Crusades were fought to defend the Holy Lands and Christianity against the Muslim invasion. During WWII the Pope sheltered and saved several hundred thousand Jews. We may be guilty of some things but not the two you mentioned.

[DensaMensa]

}Next thing you know they will tell us it is a mortal sin to kneel for Communion.

Yep, that's not as far fetched as it might sound!

[Arthur McGowan]

I am saying that if the priest said this, he was uninformed and completely out of line. I didn't mean that your mother's story was untrue; I meant that what the priest said was untrue. Your mother was under no obligation to get your father's permission for surgery, or the bishop's permission. If she had a health problem requiring a hysterectomy, she had an absolute right to get the proper treatment.

[apackof2]

Catholic moral theology is all

I was raised Catholic so I know doctrine.
By Scripturally I meant certain teachings of the Church pertaining to doctrine
Also Catholics have added books to the Bible that I don't believe is the inspired Divine Word of God but rather Jewish history.
That being said I also know there are born-again Catholics who love the Lord and are committed to Him

[Maeve]

I really hate to wade in on this one because I don't have first hand knowledge of this but only what I heard from my grandparents. This current Romanian Byzantine-rite prelate was widely rumored to be an agent of the former Communist Romanian equivalent of the KGB. I believe that explains his outburst pretty clearly. We have family who live not too far from the Romanian Catholic cathedral.