[Apologetics] RE: further info about No Communion for Pro-Abortion Politicians

Fri Aug 6 11:47:45 EDT 2004

Bret,

Pope John Paul II could serve another 15 years or
more. In the 2,000 history of the Chruch, there were
some Popes who were elected in their 90s and I think
one or two were over 100 years old.

Even if someone like Cardinal Kasper were elected, the
Holy Spirit would move him to do the right thing as
Pope. 

Again looking back on history, there were a few Popes
who held some theological views that were not too good
BEFORE they were elected, only to reverse course 180
degrees AFTER they were elected.

In terms of the issue of Catholic politicians who are
pro-abortion, I cannot imagine why they want to stay
in the Church. 

Their pastor or bishop should privately explain what
the Catholic Chruch teaches and let them know there
are PLENTY of OTHER religions out there which have
different views. They should find one--I'm thinking of
the Episcopal Church in particular, but one of the
Eastern Orthodox churches might be fine for them too.

This can be done quitely without having a
confrontation at the Communion rail. (Oh, I forgot,
most Catholic Churches don't have Communion rails any
more. Well, you get my point.)

Art

--- bbellamy at mindspring.com wrote:

> Maybe the other bishops will be shamed into doing
> the same - one can hope.  Burke seems to have led
> the way and others have started following.  Yes
> indeed, it's about time and long, long overdue.  By
> me, Burke should be wearing the red yarmulke, and I
> would not mind having him as the next Pope (hey, I
> can dream, can't I?)  I am very concerned about who
> and what we might end up with as the next Pope.  
> 
> Bret
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "martyr at starpower.net" <martyr at starpower.net>
> Sent: Aug 6, 2004 11:06 AM
> To: rcdianne at yahoo.com, apologetics at gathman.org
> Subject: RE: [Apologetics] A must read - further
> info about No Communion for Pro-Abortion Politicians
> 
> Wohoo!  It's about time!  Maybe the other bishops
> will be shamed into doing
> the same now.
> 
> Marty
> 
> Original Message:
> -----------------
> From: Dianne Dawson rcdianne at yahoo.com
> Date: Fri, 6 Aug 2004 06:16:45 -0700 (PDT)
> To: apologetics at gathman.org
> Subject: [Apologetics] A must read - further info
> about "No Communion for
> Pro-Abortion Politicians"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> SCCL <sccl at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> From: "SCCL" 
> To: "Dianne Dawson" 
> Subject: Fw: [LifeNews.com] Three Catholic Bishops
> Say No Communion for
> Pro-Abortion Politicians
> Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 16:46:56 -0400
> 
> This one says Bishop Baker has told the priests they
> cannot lift the ban
> themselves:
> 
> Bishop Baker went further in a memo to parish
> priests by saying that they
> could not determine if a politician could again
> receive communion. That
> decision is up to him, Baker said.
> 
> Three Catholic Bishops Say No Communion for
> Pro-Abortion Politicians
> http://www.lifenews.com/nat705.html
> 
> by Steven Ertelt
> LifeNews.com Editor
> August 4, 2004
> 
> Atlanta, GA (LifeNews.com) -- Three leading Catholic
> bishops in
> southern states said Wednesday that elected
> officials who back
> abortion and refuse to recant their position should
> be denied communion in
> Catholic churches in their jurisdictions.
> 
> The Archbishop of Atlanta and bishops in Charlotte,
> North Carolina and
> Charleston, South Carolina put in place some of the
> strongest guidelines on
> communion and abortion.
> 
> They said pro-abortion politicians must publicly
> renounce their views and
> seek permission from the bishops to continue
> receiving communion. Their
> decision affects more than 200 churches.
> 
> "Catholics in political life have the responsibility
> to exemplify in their
> public service [the pro-life] teaching of the
> Church, and to work for the
> protection of all innocent life," the bishops said.
> 
> "Catholic public officials who consistently support
> abortion on demand are
> cooperating with evil in a public manner," the
> bishops wrote. "By
> supporting pro-abortion legislation they participate
> in manifest grave sin,
> a condition which excludes them from admission to
> Holy Communion as long as
> they persist in the pro-abortion stance."
> 
> Atlanta Archbishop John Donoghue, Charleston Bishop
> Robert Baker and
> Charlotte Bishop Peter Jugis signed the joint
> statement called, "Worthy to
> Receive the Lamb: Catholics in Political Life and
> the Reception of Holy
> Communion."
> 
> Bishop Baker went further in a memo to parish
> priests by saying that they
> could not determine if a politician could again
> receive communion. That
> decision is up to him, Baker said.
> 
> "This is pretty draconian," Frances Kissling,
> president of the
> Washington-based Catholics For a Free Choice, told
> the Associated Press in
> response.
> 
> "It certainly does not seem to be a mainstream
> strategy," Kissling said.
> "The overwhelming majority of Catholic people do not
> believe it is
> appropriate for a bishop to use Communion as a
> political sledgehammer to
> gain obedience."
> 
> However, a Zogby International poll of 1,388
> Catholics conducted in May
> shows pro-abortion presidential nominee John Kerry
> getting the support of
> only 20% of Catholic voters on issues where he
> disagrees with the position
> of the church.
> 
> Sixty-five percent of respondents said they would be
> less likely to vote
> for a candidate, like Kerry, who would appoint only
> judicial nominees who
> backed the Roe v. Wade decision allowing abortion.
> Only 16 percent said
> they would be more likely to support such a
> candidate.
> 
> In June, the nation's Catholic bishops decided that
> they would not make a
> collective decision whether or not to deny communion
> to politicians who
> support abortion.
> 
> Since then, many bishops have said pro-abortion
> elected officials should
> voluntarily refrain from taking the Christian
> sacrament until they change
> their position.
> 
> Related web sites:
> Read the three bishops' statement -
>
http://www.archatl.com/archbishops/donoghue/20040804.html
> National Catholic Bishops' statement on communion
> and
> abortion -
>
http://www.usccb.org/bishops/catholicsinpoliticallife.htm
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Like a deer that longs for running waters so my soul
> longs for you, O God.
> 
> Ps 42:1
>  
>  
> 
> 
> 
> 		
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