Posted on 04/18/2008 7:43:03 AM PDT by NYer
WASHINGTON, DC, April 17, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - At the papal Mass at Nationals Park this morning with 46,000 in attendance, pro-abortion Senators John Kerry and Chris Dodd presented themselves for and received Holy Communion. Of note, pro-abortion Senator Ted Kennedy purposefully did not receive Communion. Photos taken by Tom McFadden Director of Admissions at Christendom College and provided first to LifeSiteNews.com, show Kerry and Dodd receiving while Kennedy remains seated as his row leaves to receive Communion.
American Life League (ALL) President Judie Brown told LifeSiteNews.com that no pro-abortion politicians received Holy Communion directly from Pope Benedict during the Mass. ALL had taken out a full page ad warning Catholic pro-abortion politicians not to sacrilegiously receive the Eucharist.
While the highest authorities in the Vatican and indeed the Pope himself have insisted that pro-abortion Catholic politicians be denied Holy Communion, several prominent US bishops with the leading of now-retired Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick have refused to follow such direction from Rome.
It seems from his actions today, Senator Kennedy is, at least in public, refraining from Communion and thus refusing to create what the Church calls public "scandal".
Francis Cardinal Arinze, the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, speaking at a Catholic family conference in Ohio last November confirmed that pro-abortion politicians must be denied communion. He referenced a 2004 letter on the subject sent by then-Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, who said that such politicians "must" be refused Communion (see coverage: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08040408.html).
Since becoming Pope, Benedict XVI has also addressed the subject. In March 2007 the Pope warned Catholic pro-abortion politicians against receiving Communion. In the document on Holy Communion, called "Sacramentum Caritatis" or the Sacrament of Love, Benedict XVI gave Catholic politicians a biblical warning against receiving Communion unworthily.
In a section on "Eucharistic consistency", the Pope said that politicians must adhere to "non negotiable" values "such as respect for human life, its defence from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one's children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms." He added, "Consequently, Catholic politicians and legislators, conscious of their grave responsibility before society, must feel particularly bound, on the basis of a properly formed conscience, to introduce and support laws inspired by values grounded in human nature."
"There is an objective connection here with the Eucharist," he said referencing the Biblical passage 1 Corinthians 11:27-29. That passage reads: "Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord." (see coverage: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/mar/07031303.html ; )
Sorry, but our Eucharist is not the same as your communion. Sacramental theology is much to complicated to explain here. But please do not even try to equate what the Protestant view of communion is with those of us who are Catholic. We would love to share our communion with you if but you were in communion with us which is to say that you believe all that the Catholic church believes and teaches. Furthermore, you raise the question of ecclesiology - the very nature of what it means to be Church. You come from a “me and God mindset.” For us the Church and Christ are one and inseparable - Christ is the head; we the body.” The Church is not a club; it exists in the world but is not OF the world. The Catholic Church is the visible presentation of Christ’s Body in the world. I would recommend that you give a thorough reading and study of the Catholic Catechism before making comparisons. This might even lead you to consider God’s call for you to become part of the one Body of Christ in its fullest and deepest sense.
Let’s get the name of the priest who gave communion to Kerry and the name of the deacon who did likewise to Dodd. They have blasphemed the Holy Eucharist and given public scandal
Good grief aren’t we testy.
Christ is the head of the church (church being the body of believers).
There are huge theological differences. While this isn't the thread for a debate on the merits of each position, there are 4 views of what is going on at Communion (Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist).
tenets
Where, since he didn't get one in Boston?
Mortal sins.
Good catch...I believed it to be true.
Turns out Kennedy did receive Communion. A pro-abortion priest brought Communion to him in his seat.
Turns out Kennedy did receive Communion. A pro-abortion priest brought Communion to him in his seat.
Correcting an incorrect statement isn’t a venial sin. However, bearing false witness is a mortal one. Seek absolution and commence expiation post haste.
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