Free Republic

HOUSES OF WORSHIP A Voter's GuidePro-choice candidates and church teaching.BY ARCHBISHOP JOHN J. MYERSFriday, September 17, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT Amid today's political jostling, Catholic citizens are wondering whether they can, in conscience, vote for candidates who support the legalized killing of human beings in the embryonic and fetal stages of development by abortion or in biomedical research. Responding to requests to clarify the obligations of Catholics on this matter, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, under its prefect, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, released a statement called "On Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion." Although it dealt primarily...

Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark is the latest Church leader to address the growing controversy about Catholic lawmakers who favor and promote abortion. In a carefully worded pastoral letter dated May 5, 2004, the Archbishop outlined the Church's position: “Catholics who publicly dissent from the Church’s teaching on the right to life of all unborn children should recognize that they have freely chosen by their own actions to separate themselves from what the Church believes and teaches. They have also separated themselves in a significant way from the Catholic community. “The Church cannot force such people to change their...

Newark bishop off abuse panel Myers left a 'mess' in Peoria, insider says Thursday, September 19, 2002By The Associated Press  CHICAGO - The archbishop of Newark is leaving a panel formed to implement the church's new sex abuse rules, a newspaper reported yesterday.Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, formerly bishop of Peoria, is the latest member to leave the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Assault, which drafted a policy to punish and expel abusers, the Chicago Tribune reported. It was previously announced that Auxiliary Bishop A. James Quinn of Cleveland and Bishop John McCormack of Manchester, N.H., would leave the...

Archbishop joins 1,000 Catholics in procession of faith Saturday, March 30, 2002 By DOUGLASS CROUSE Staff Writer ENGLEWOOD, NJ By half past noon Friday, the faithful streamed along the sidewalks on either side of West Palisade Avenue, a flock of nearly 1,000 Catholics who had come to recommit themselves to a faith and a mission on behalf of the unborn. Archbishop John J. Myers marched near the head of the Good Friday procession through Englewood's downtown, a five-year tradition of hymns and prayers that links Jesus Christ's crucifixion with the mainline Catholic Church's campaign against abortion. The event typically attracts...

Death penalty can be 'tolerated' Tuesday, May 11, 2004 Newark Archbishop John J. Myers said Monday that politicians who support the death penalty wouldn't face the same level of condemnation from the Catholic Church as those who support abortion rights."There are instances, such as a time of war or civil unrest, or when the government cannot protect the citizens in any other way, that the death penalty could be tolerated," Myers told Fox News. "So it is a moral issue of a different order."In drawing the distinction, Myers said abortion is "always wrong."The interview at Fox News studios in New...

Newark Archbishop John J. Myers issued a pastoral letter Wednesday that expresses his traditional Catholic positions on human sexuality, but makes no mention of the clergy sex abuse scandal that has thrown his church into crisis. The 13-page document, titled "And the Word became Flesh," is Myers' most explicit statement of principles since he became spiritual leader of the archdiocese 14 months ago. The letter dwells on the sanctity of the human body, and how some behavior - including sex outside marriage and sex with contraception - damages the spiritual integrity of the body. Myers said his letter grew out...