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    • September 16, 2008

    Dear Bishops, Now Is the Time

    by David G. Bonagura Jr.

    The statements made by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Joseph Biden on Meet the Press have provided a wonderful, even providential, opportunity to present the Church’s teaching on abortion and explain its foundational importance to Catholic moral and political teaching in general. Already many bishops have issued clear and courageous statements correcting Speaker Pelosi and Senator Biden’s mistakes, and certainly more will do the same in the coming days. They have succinctly presented the core of the Church’s teaching for the benefit of Catholics and non-Catholics alike, and for this we are all sincerely grateful.
    The question of how to deal effectively with Catholic politicians who support abortion — and whether they should be admitted to receive Communion — has been debated prominently since the last presidential election; now these latest occurrences demand that the issue be settled once and for all.
    Despite all the discussion that surrounded the question of whether “pro-choice” Catholic politicians should receive Communion in 2004, the USCCB’s “Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper” did not resolve the matter. As a result, further incidents of public scandal have occurred, including the present ones. This situation cannot continue. Due to the bishops’ clear articulations of the Church’s teaching these last few weeks, the truth can no longer be ignored by politicians who claim to be “personally opposed” to abortion yet vote to legislate and finance the legal slaughter of innocents. They cannot spin the issue any further: They must choose between God and Mammon.
    Yet it is likely that, if the bishops’ latest teachings are ignored, a new scandal will develop: The faithful will perceive that there is no governing authority behind the bishops’ teachings, and pro-choice politicians will continue both to cause scandal and to eat and drink judgment upon themselves (cf. 1 Cor 11:29).
    In no way do I wish to reproach our bishops; however, some people will not obey laws or follow teachings unless an external factor exists to “convince” them. Although this may not be the most pious way to motivate, it is not a case of coercing belief. The Church in her wisdom has long honored imperfect contrition from penitents because they “dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell.” Imperfect motivation may be the only factor left to change the minds and hearts of certain Catholic politicians who have voted in favor of abortion for decades and still receive Communion each Sunday.
    In light of this situation, there are two courses of action that, although controversial, may well contribute to the conversion of wayward Catholic politicians and an abatement of the abortion tragedy in our country.
    First, each bishop in his own diocese should issue a clear statement that all Catholic politicians who support abortion should not present themselves for Communion. The bishops have made clear that such politicians, by their votes and public support of abortion, are not in communion with the Church; therefore, they must not partake of the Sacrament of Communion. Should anyone persist, then it seems there is no choice but to deny him or her Communion, as a few bishops have said they would do already.
    This does not make the Eucharist a political issue; rather it places the Eucharist above politics by emphasizing both its sacred character and the proper disposition in which one should receive such a sacred gift. At the altar, politics fade into the periphery as each individual soul approaches to receive the Body and Blood of Christ. What is at stake there is not an election; it is the fulfillment of our salvation. If certain members of the Church jeopardize that salvation, either for themselves or for others, by approaching the Eucharist unworthily, they must be corrected with due charity, whether their sins involve the political realm or otherwise. Few would accuse St. John the Baptist of interfering in politics when he denounced King Herod’s illicit marriage as sinful.
    Moreover, we need unity among the bishops on this issue. We accept as given that all our bishops oppose abortion wholeheartedly; what we need to consider is how to address practically this blatant rejection of the Church’s teaching by certain public representatives. Many bishops understandably desire to avoid what could become a very public encounter — after all, they have just admonished again these wayward politicians. Unfortunately, these politicians continue to place their shepherds in a very difficult position by insisting on their good standing within the Church. With this claim, they undermine not only episcopal authority but the authority and integrity of the Church.
    The Catechism describes the bishops’ sanctifying office as guarding the Eucharist within their dioceses (cf. 893), which includes, although it cannot be the most joyous of tasks, “the responsibility to make sure that the Sacrament is distributed only to those who are properly disposed,” as Archbishop Raymond Burke explained in a recent interview. Since the bishops have been charged by God with this sacred responsibility, and since the Eucharist is threatened equally in each of their dioceses, their unified actions will sanctify the whole Church and the faithful who strive with all their hearts to follow God’s laws. Of course, we must recognize that these decisions to withhold Communion are, above all, ones of charity for the persons involved and for the Church, not of vengeance or anger, as some may charge.
    Second, in the next two months leading up to the election, I invite the bishops to consider asking the faithful not to vote for a single candidate who supports abortion. I am not suggesting that bishops and priests should tell the faithful whom they should vote for, but rather that they urge Catholics to become single-issue voters this November.
    Certainly, this is a difficult request: There are many worthy issues, dear to many Catholics, that touch on human life and human dignity. Nevertheless, as the bishops made clear in their “Statement on Responsibilities of Catholics in Public Life,” “abortion is a grave violation of the most fundamental human right — the right to life that is inherent in all human beings, and that grounds every other right we possess.”
    The right to life encompasses all other aspects of human dignity that they list in the same document, namely, “priority for the poor, the protection of family life, the pursuit of justice and the promotion of peace.” Candidates, Catholic or otherwise, cannot honestly champion these core elements of human dignity while promising to uphold legal abortion, for abortion directly contradicts each of these elements for the poorest and most helpless members of our society. In his statement last week, Edward Cardinal Egan made this same point about such candidates:
    Anyone who dares to defend that they [the unborn] may be legitimately killed because another human being “chooses” to do so or for any other equally ridiculous reason should not be providing leadership in a civilized democracy worthy of the name.
    This suggestion is not an exhortation to collude with the Republican Party. Rather, it invites the bishops to ask the faithful to place their Catholic faith above their party loyalties, and to vote primarily on the one issue that is the very foundation of human dignity and of Christian morality. There is no shame in Catholics voting on a single issue when the issue is life itself: Every other issue depends on it.
    On November 4, in a case where both candidates favor abortion, or the voter does not like the one pro-life candidate, let the voter choose no one, or write in a candidate, rather than vote for one who supports the legal killing of unborn children. If every Catholic in America were to vote this way, candidates across the board would have to rethink their tragic commitment to this most heinous practice. As Supreme Knight Carl Anderson told the Knights of Columbus in August, “It’s time we stop accommodating pro-abortion politicians, and it’s time we start demanding that they accommodate us.”
    In light of this teachable moment, we have an opportunity to clear up the chaos and confusion that have overrun Catholic politics. I pray that our bishops will recognize this opportunity and hasten an end to abortion with their leadership.

    Tagged as: abortion, Church, election, vote

    The views expressed by the authors and editorial staff are not necessarily the views of
    Sophia Institute, Holy Spirit College, or the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts.

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    By David Bonagura

    David G. Bonagura, Jr. teaches theology at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Huntington, New York.

    More from Crisis

    • EricG

      “In no way do I wish to reproach our bishops”

      Why the heck not?! How negligent does our episcopacy, including our papacy, have to be before they receive a well-deserved reproach from the laity?

      I believe in respecting the bishops to the extent absolutely required of me by natural and divine law, but short of that bare minimum the rest has to be earned, especially in light of what these spineless transvestites have done to our Church over the last several decades, and given the open secret that a good majority of these men are practicing degenerates, if you know what I mean.

      Seriously, I respect maybe a handful of bishops. I suspect we could all name them off-the-bat.

      For the rest, a respectful reproach is merited, if not required by the demands of justice and righteous anger.

    • Richard F

      “…given the open secret that a good majority of these men are practicing degenerates,…” EricG

      A “good majority” must mean more than half. You seem to know this by devine revelation. Does God whisper in your ear these statistics? Does every Bishop cofess to you?

      I am relatively new to this InsideCatholic group, but I am already beginning to recognize a few of the repeat contributors. Unfortunately for me I find your contributions singularly near the bottom of the ordure pile. Do you have a “special relationship with the Editors. Maybe they recognize your special relationship with God.

      Perhaps when I go online tomorrow I will find both of our posts missing. I will try to remember you in my prayers. No charge for the service.

      BTW, since there are so many “Richards”. I am going to start naming myself Richard F. I am the one from northern MN.

    • EricG

      Hi, Richard F.

      When you’ve been following internal church matters for as long as I have, you come to know these things. My story is too long to go into here. Three books I can recommend to you are Goodbye, Goodmen: How Liberals Brought Corruption into the Catholic Church by Michael Rose, The Rite of Sodomy: Homosexuality and the Roman Catholic Church by Randy Engels, and Sacrilege: Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church by Leon Podles.

      These authors are all orthodox Catholics. Hang around in church circles a bit and you get filled in on all the details . . .

    • Lee

      If you’re reading nonsense like the Rite of Sodomy, which is a self-published, vanity press piece of innuendo and libel, you should not be accusing any bishops at all. Rather, you should get a hobby and clear your mind. That book is a disgrace and its author has issues that scream for serious counseling. Do yourself a favor: read something different.

    • Janie O

      I continue to pray that the Bishops and Priests of our country will teach the faithful that someone who supports abortion, especially a political candidate who makes his/her position known publicly, is DISQUALIFIED from consideration. After we sift through the viable candidates, then we are free to examine the candidates on where they stand on the issues. “LIFE” is not an issue – it is a “RIGHT”.

    • Mother of Two boys

      Lee,

      If I am correct EricG or someone near him has most likely been abused by someone in authority in the Church. The books he is recommending is for those who are struggling to get to the other side of being abused. These books, which are not recommended reading for Catholic Education… in fact I would not want the majority to even read it. They help people who are moved to understand how we got here as a Church….. Most would not believe what has been happening….. I, myself, will not be reading the books because I lived through it and don’t need to understand it anymore. If I am correct, EricG, as a mother, my heart weeps for you.

      If you are reading for education understand that your gift TO KNOW at the level you seek is for your call; explore your call to a special ministry. These books don’t need an itemized plug!

    • EricG

      Mother:

      Thank you for your empathy; but no, I’ve never been a victim of sexual abuse. Rather, my home diocese is one of the most corrupt in the nation, and I’ve had awful experiences applying to my local seminary.

      I’m in law school now, soon to intern at my state capitol.

      Randy Engel’s “Rite of Sodomy” has its flaws, but it’s very well-researched and extensively documented. Podles himself makes use of much of Engels’s work, although Ms. Engels does overstate her case in a few instances. No good book is above criticism.

    • Bridget

      Lets move away from the Sexual Abuse issue for a moment. The article above is about the Bishops and their responsibilities to “publicly” admonish Catholic politicians not to receive the Eucharist due to the scandal such reception to our Catholic community would give. If these so called Catholics know in their heart (and I believe they do) continue receiving the Eucharist when they know they shouldn’t, the Bishops need to make it known, publicly, that these politicians are “using” the Catholic Church to garner votes for power (and have a hand in killing more babies). Smart Catholics knows this; the Bishops need to speak to all in the church, e.g. every Bishop needs to speak to his flock! Had they had the courage to defend the unborn years ago, we wouldn’t be in this terrible situation we are in now! These pro-abortion Catholics have gotten bolder over the years. I would put the Bishop’s silence on this matter as a grave scandal in itself!

    • Lee

      if Randy Engels had had a worthwhile book, publishers would have snapped it up. Believe me, they are all too ready to publish anything that makes the Church look bad and if there is any research at all that at least substantiates that, it will be published. That Engels’ book had to be self-published should tell you all you need to know. Her “research” consisted of inference, innuendo, and slimey aspersions cast on men who were dead and could not defend themselves. I’m not being naive: I know there are less than worthwhile bishops in the Church (and always have been). But this book is not on the level even of a supermarket tabloid. Engels has a serious psychological problem and it is manifesting itself in this book. For others to use this book as support for their own odd accusations is beyond the pale (and that includes the New Oxford Review).

    • E.K.T.

      It seems some bishops still refer to Cardinal Bernadin’s “seamless garment” theory to justify voting for abortion supporting Democrats. They say that abortion is very important but there are many other factors to consider as well, thereby evening the playing field for voters to choose as they wish. Time to put faith above politics and vote for life.

    • EricG

      Lee:

      if Randy Engels had had a worthwhile book, publishers would have snapped it up.

      I take it you haven’t read the book, much less did any rudimentary research into what it’s about.

      Were this simply a book exposing the sex-abuse-enabling episcopacy and papacies of Paul VI and John Paul II, you’d might have a point. But the book goes far beyond that. For starters, the author is an ardent orthodox Catholic and someone of a matron of this country’s pro-life movement. Second, she starts from the assumption, which she backs up with research and statistics and scientific studies, that homosexuality is a mental disorder and sodomy a sin.

      There are not politically correct theses.

      Secondly, the sheer size and scope of her work are daunting enough that mainstream publishers would probably reason (rightfully so) that few would bother to read it.

      And this is one of the chiefest flaws to her book. She needs to trim it down by more-than-half before she could even think of selling the rights to a mainstream publisher.

      Otherwise, it is what it is.

    • Eric Pavlat

      Canon 915 is very clear. After proper dialogue and teaching, these politicians must, by Church law, be denied communion.

      Archbishop Niederauer of San Francisco has made some noise recently about Rep. Pelosi, inviting her for “a private meeting,” but he also said, “I regret the necessity of addressing these issues in so public a forum, but the widespread consternation among Catholics made it unavoidable.” He had already met with her once do discuss immigration and health care.

      Okay. So he’d met with her…and they hadn’t discussed abortion? And they had no other meetings scheduled? Am I to further infer that they’re only meeting now because it’s positively “unavoidable”? That’s, well, pretty surprising, and somewhat depressing.

    • Deacon Frank Osgood

      David and Bridget, Amen, Amen, and Amen!

      David, Thank you so much for your thoughtful, unemotional and reasoned article. I agree wholeheartedly with your proposals. I preach regularly on the need to stand against the evil of abortion. The response from our parishioners is extraordinary. They seem to be just waiting for the clergy to encourage them and support them in their anti-abortion positions as they swim against the pro-choice tide in the media, at work, in the community, and sometimes even in their homes. The relatively weak response to the pro-abortion forces by Bishops and some priests (until just recently) have confused them and demoralized some of them. You are so right when you say it calls into question the Bishop’s and the Church’s teaching authority.

      Of special concern is its effect on the teens who observe the weak response of our Pastors and compare it to the strident stands of the abortion politicians. I have rarely heard any priest address abortion in their homilies. How will our youth ever come to take the teaching authority of the Church seriously on any moral issue if the Church does not stand tall on abortion, the greatest and most evil holocaust in all history. With their weak action, some Bishops are preparing the young to ignore their teaching when the young reach maturity.

      I know our Bishops are well-meaning. They are trying to teach with compassion and avoid authoritarian actions, in effect to convert the sinner. However there seems to be a parallel between failing to take public action against politicians who persist in their pro-abortion positions and actions and the resulting harm done to the faithful on the one hand, and the past failure to take strong action against sexual abusers and the resulting harm done to subsequent victims of their abuse .

      Their recent documents are excellent and provide good support for those of us who read them, but these documents do not reach most of the Catholic people. Firm action would reach them and mobilize them.

    • Guillermo Bustamante

      Please let me repeat, from my post in Margaret’s column
      September 15th, 2008 | 2:39pm

      “… Breyer infamously wrote the majority opinion in Stenberg v. Carhart, which struck down state laws banning the barbaric practice of partial-birth abortion.

      The Fordham-Stein Ethics Prize is scheduled to be bestowed upon Justice Breyer at a dinner in New York on October 29, 2008.

      Three weeks ago The Cardinal Newman Society President Patrick J. Reilly wrote to inform Rev. Joseph McShane, S.J., President of Fordham University, of Justice Breyer’s record. Reilly urged him to rescind the offer of the Fordham-Stein Ethics Prize to Breyer. No response was given.

      “This amounts to nothing less than Fordham University thumbing its nose at the US Bishops, whose opposition to such honors is clear.” said Reilly.

      Scandal is the worst sin, according to Jesus, because in this case leads us to think that abortion is banal, or, to lose the charity to the clergy.

      And, will be multiplied if we lay Catholics do not protest to the Vatican, and the Jesuit General Superior in Rome.

      Let me add today: IS NOT DISRESPECTFUL TO ASK:
      TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!

      That includes the ONGOING scandals of the Jesuit order in Georgetown and Fordham.

      And yes, make that outrage clear to the Nuncio in DC, and the Vatican. Just ask what situation we would have now, if the USCCB obeyed Rome YEARS AGO!

      DUTY for us all is, to clean up scandals that I repeat:
      Leads us to think that abortion is banal, or, to lose the charity to the clergy. Again then, write 100 times:
      TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!

    • Mark

      Eric G,

      You sound hysterical. Are you a transvestite?

      Anyway, you are making two mistakes which are often committed by folks on the left.

      1- All people must understand that the exception proves the rule ….. it never makes the rule

      and

      2- Hatred is not an argument.

      The fact is that the vast majority of American Bishops are good and decent men even though they have reacted too slowly to several issues in the recent past.

      Take a breath, say a prayer and be greatful that things are getting better.

    • Bridget

      In all my years going to Mass on Sundays, I have NEVER heard a preaching on the sanctity of life from the pulpit! I kid you not. There would be a small generic paragraph inserted in the weekly bulletin on “Respect for Life” day or something to that effect. I have asked myself many times “WHY” – what are the Catholic clergy afraid of? Are they afraid of losing their tax excemption status?. For crine out loud, they would be preaching within their own walls so who could touch them? Not only the politicians who legislate the killing of these innocents along with the people who put such people in office, but the Bishops will also have this blood on their hands. I hope they have a good excuse standing before their judge!

    • Jack Picknell

      Is that what people say to their enemies, betrayers, and detractors? Jesus

      Frankly, Biden is a non-issue in this election. I keep seeing McCain, Palin and Obama in headlines, but where is this Biden guy? He’s already been shelved.

      I find it amusing to see the incessant comparisons of the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate versus the Dems Presidential candidate… and when they are compared, Palin always wins out.

      Obama has no hope.

    • Ender

      I think that Mr. Bonagura is right in saying that this is a providential opportunity for the bishops to do what they must to address the issue of Catholic politicians who publicly support the legalization of abortion. Given the extraordinary publicity surrounding the situations created by Ms. Pelosi and Senator Biden it would seem that the bishops can hardly do otherwise even if they preferred to.

      What also cannot be ignored is the elevation of Archbishop Burke to the position of prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, essentially the Vatican’s version of the Supreme Court for canon law. The significance of that assignment is that last November Abp. Burke wrote a lengthy (40-50 pages) analysis of the application of canon 915 in just the situation in which Pelosi and Biden now find themselves. The Pope was surely aware of this when he appointed Burke to the Apostolic Signatura.

      On top of that (as if more was needed) Burke, in a public interview on July 22 said this: “If a person, who has been admonished but persists in serious or mortal sin in a public way, receives Holy Communion, then the minister of Holy Communion has the obligation to refuse Holy Communion to that person.” The example he gave of someone to whom this would apply was a public official who supported abortion.

      Since Pelosi’s statements were made on August 24 (and Biden’s later still) there is no reasonable way to make this look like the Church is playing politics with the issue. There is also so much public attention on the bishops that they will be hard pressed to find a way to allow (these two) Catholic politicians to continue to receive communion until they first publicly disavow their support for abortion.

      The Age of Aquarius indeed.

    • Margaret Cabaniss

      Debate is, as always, encouraged, but disparaging personal remarks about commenters will not be tolerated. Please be mindful of our Terms of Use going forward.

    • Maryanne

      All we need to do is read the Bible to know the Truth. The Truth is not a who, but a whom. It is Jesus Christ. He tells us that to whom more is given, more is expected. That it is better if a millstone is tied around one’s neck and he throws himself into the sea than to lead a little one astray. Jesus tells us that if we want to be with Him, we must abide in Him, which means keep his commands.

      While I understand it is not easy being a Bishop, they are called to be true Shepherds, just as Jesus is the one true Shepherd. He always said what needed to be said. The truth can be told with love, nonetheless, it must be told. Abortion is an intrinsic evil. So is homosexual behavior. Just to name two.

      Many of the early church fathers and martyrs spoke to what Bishops and priests must do if they are to be faithful. And that is to always speak the truth, in and out of season. We must be more concerned with our eternal life than with popularity now. It is not being pastoral to let a person commit a mortal sin and then allow them to receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Not only are they allowing the person to lose their eternal life, the bishop or priest is also sinning and perhaps losing their eternal life. In charity, we must always instruct the ignorant and admonish the sinner. That is what true love does. After all, what loving parent allows their child to do whatever they want, no matter how harmful, just so they don’t hurt their child’s feelings or so that the child does not dislike them.

      Let us pray for our priests and bishops every day.

    • EricG

      I have to disagree, strongly.

      The majority of the US Bishops were complicit, and many active, in covering up and enabling the sex abuse scandals. The abysmal state of modern Catholic liturgy is something else I can call to mind.

      The good bishops are the ones who are exceptional. That’s why we orthodox get all orgasmic with our “episcopal spine alerts” when one of them manages, almost by accident, to say or do something orthodox, or something that promotes the Gospel.

      Am I being a little hyperbolic? Perhaps, but not by much. Most of the US Bishops are morally degenerate bureaucrats.

      Oh, did I mention Phil Lawler’s book, The Faithful Departed?

    • Don Curdie

      I often get upset that the Bishops dont slam pro abortionists publically. Lets make it clear: If Obama is elected, forget Roe v Wade, because Obama, the most pro abortion candidate EVER, will appoint the most liberal, pro abortion, anti school choice, federal and USSC judges in our history. If the Bishops dont say something this election, I dont weant to EVER hear about March for Life or anything else. They will, with Barack Hussein Obama, get the “full monty” that will erase ALL the progress we have seen with Pres Bush and his appointments to the courts, which have been awesome !!

    • Guillermo Bustamante

      The USCCB is to be asked responsibility for, NOT enforcing Canon 915 with “Catholic pro-abortion” (what an oxymoron!), senators & representatives…

      Shouldn’t we ask the same action on the FIVE “Catholic” U.S. Supreme Court judges? All of them voted against Roe? (I don’t know).

      Ditto, hasn

    • Kayla

      [smiley=think]It is about time for the American Bishops to step up and claim their responsibility in the constructing the American philosophical landscape. By their silence, by their inaction, and by their sometimes open defiance, they have cooperated in the decline of our society.
      Let’s pray that the might experience repentance and become leaders that help us reach become a better people.

    • Olivia

      OK –

      Why is it the language to vote pro-life is only loud during elections?

      In the last eight years we had a government with a republican president? Pro-life?

      A Republican Senate?

      A Republican House of Representatives?

      And six of the nine Supreme Court Justices were appointed by Republicans?

      Yet abortions surgical abortions are increasing and if you add in chemical abortions you have a figure that is far superior to that of the ten Clinton years.

      Taxes were lowered but abortions were not. Adopting this to the Republican platform was the greatest con of all time. Republicans politicians don’t want to do anything on this issue because they are guaranteed your vote.

      It is flawed argument to say you can not have peace and legalized abortion. YOU WILL NEVER GET SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN ABORTIONS THROUGH THE REPUBLICAN PARTY BECAUSE IT DOESN’T AFFECT THEM OR THEIR WEALTH BUDDIES.

      Instead – become a Democrat and change that party.

      I mean after a while don’t you all start to feel like the sheep from the story animal farm? Its crazy.

      Republican House, Republican Senate, Republican President, Republican Supreme Ct = More abortions

      Granted the house and Senate have changed but my lord.

      I am pro-life but I won’t allow people to lie to me any more. Republicans high-jacked the country on this issue and for their ransom received tax-cuts, deals for the wealthy, and have almost all but bankrupted our country, made us less safe, less secure, and pushing to a second depression.

      You are as pius frauds looking forward to you tax breaks and guns to suggest people not vote for democrats when your party has practically gutted this country and not passed one significant law that has resulted in a reduction in abortion. THERE HAS NOT BEEN REDUCTION IN ABORTION.

      ZERO REDUCTION –

    • nobody

      Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Joseph Biden have been strongly and publically admonished. I hope that privately they are told not to recieve communion while still very welcome at Mass(While making such pronouncements).

      Statistics show that most Catholics who recieve Communion, shall we say, are less than accepting in all its graces-albeit they do not make public annoucements. We must be careful in judging what’s in our neighbors heart!

      Mt 18:15-17 is our best guide possibly and our debate is now centered on how do we treat our brother and sister like a pagan or a tax collector since they may refuse to repent of speaking falsely of Church Teaching.

      We must remember that there is no obligation on us to correct others in the general sense. In general, our word and deed should be enough and if good catechesis is taught from the pulpit it should suffice. Surely, if any teaching moment were to present itself take full advantage respectfully.

      That being said Mt 18:6 speaks of millstones and the depths of the sea, and Augustine said of this “woe threatens those lukewarm teachers (politicains are teachers) who spread their lukewarmness to others and even suffocate their fervour completely.”

      Clearly to not accept this correction they excommunicate themselves, that is, seperate themselves from communion and the sacrements.

    • nobody

      Olivia,

      Goerge Bush is the most “Catholic President” we ever had! The Pope’s close personal relationship with Mr. Bush unquestionably proves this.

      Instead – become a one issue voter (pro-life) and then we can address your inane-marksist-class-warfare-demogogic arguments after the democrats lose election after election.

    • John Jakubczyk

      Olivia,
      Allow me to correct your misunderstandings as to what has happened these last eight years.

      Abortions have gone down both in actual number and in percentages. Check Allan Guttmacher Institute, the Planned Parenthood research arm if you doubt my statement.

      Congress passed the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, the law preventing persons from taking minors across state lines bill, continuned to prevent tax dollars from being used for abortion, upheld the Mexico City policy, just to name a few. He vetoed the destructive embryonic stem cell funding bill twice. With a Democratic administration, none of this good would have happened. Obama has vowed to repeal it all, fund abortions with taxpayer money, and repeal the Defense of Marriage act.

      Bush appointeed Two excellent justices to the Supreme Court and there are a number of good appellate court appointmetns.

      Obama wants to increase the number of abortions by making them a part of universal health care. This way Planned Parenthood can charge the federal governmetn thousand perabortion. Obama wants to pass the Freedom of Choice Act to enshrine abortion in the law at the federal level and preempt states from any regulation.

      Could we have done more? Sure.
      Have we done enough? No.
      Am I ready to quit? Never.

      Pelosi is a pro-abortion extremist and she is the speaker of the House. The Democtatic leadership is controlled by extreme pro-abortionists. Please understand that if they wanted to lessen the number of aboritons, they could have voted to do so. They are the problem.

      Finally I was once a Democrat and the party abandoned all ofthe principles that once made it a party that respected the “little guy.: Now it exploits the poor, Blacks, Latinos, and others. It opposes allowing parents to choose better schools for their children. It attacks the Church and those who believe in God. It has a pro-abortion plank and opposes any judge who thinks that Roe v. Wade is bad law. I wish those who are pro-life and Democrat would take back theri party, but it is not going to happen as long as Howard Dean and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are in charge.

    • Maggie

      What about ex-communication?

    • Karen

      By leftist standards, I am a right wing conservative wacko (from a small Bible-clutching, gun-toting town no less) and I completely agree with EricG. So I hardly think he is a leftist.

      I think he is just paying attention.

      The timing of the bishops’ get-together to discuss pro-abortion public officials speaks volumes, doesn’t it? The upcoming election could not be a more vivid depiction of the problem with the Catholic Church in America, and they aren’t going to address it until AFTER the election.

      Everyone attacking EricG needs to spend some time educating themselves. If you spend some time studying the issue, instead of just reading the people who agree with you, you’ll come to the same conclusions he has. I’m really tired of hearing everyone defend the shepherds while they are feeding us to the wolves.

    • RK

      .
      Obama wants to increase the number of abortions by making them a part of universal health care. This way Planned Parenthood can charge the federal governmetn thousand perabortion. Obama wants to pass the Freedom of Choice Act to enshrine abortion in the law at the federal level and preempt states from any regulation.

      John Jakubczyk,

      According to Deal Hudson, you’re chummy with John McCain. If that’s true, your credibility in this election is significantly compromised. Olivia makes an excellent point regarding the virtual collusion between the two parties in maintaining the status quo regarding abortion. Since you’re apparently new to Republican politics let me clue you in about a reality. There is widespread concern among disenchanted conservatives that McCain, like Bush before him, will say whatever he needs to in order to get pro lifers to vote for him. Your post does nothing to reassure that this isn’t true.

      Pro lifers have been suckered by the GOP for decades. As Olivia suggests, voting for a Republican will not save babies. It might get John Jakubczuk in a McCain administration though.

    • Guillermo Bustamante

      It is plain that the Democrats will increase the horrendous genocide machine numbers, but is true the COLLUSION point made by RK before, and bitingly put by Primus, on Deal

    • nobody

      “Pro lifers have been suckered by the GOP for decades.”

      Please, we are ONE U.S. Supreme Court Judge away from over turning Roe vs Wade and you want to give up?

      We would be there already if the Democrats hadn’t Robert Bork”ed” Judge Bork Twenty some years ago. Instead we got abortionist Judge Anthony Kennedy.

      The choice couldn’t be clearer. While Republicans are never going to use the Catholic Catecheim as a legislative guide their party platform is clearly our best choice.

      Do ardent catholics in the democratic party actually own one? Certainly not a worn-out-dog-eared copy of the CCC?

    • nobody

      Democrats are clearly the party of death, there’s no argument.

      And their social teachings (legislation) clearly lean (I’m being charitable) towards collectivism and for state intervention–which the principles of subsidarity are opposed.

      Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church and the principles of subsidarity are explained in the CCC.

    • RK

      And their social teachings (legislation) clearly lean (I’m being charitable) towards collectivism and for state intervention–which the principles of subsidarity are opposed.

      Collectivism is a bi-partisan project. To think that that the republicans are somehow above contributing to the march toward socialism is an illusion. Somebody needs to inform Sarah Palin that the Bush Doctrine is state intervention on a global scale. Pretending to be the party of life is merely a way to get gullible pro-lifers to punch the ticket for the republican demagogue du-jour.

    • Hannah

      The Bishops are in a conflicted state on life. They argue that all abortion–at every stage of conception–is a sin against life but they do not condemn war or nuclearization that guarantees the mass loss of life or capital punishment. It is the inconsistency that confuses and the inconsistency of their ‘life’ arguments that confuse the people.

    • nobody

      Hannah,

      Please dust off your copy of the CCC and read 2266 and 2267.

      Sorry there is NO confusion here.

    • Nobody

      “that all abortion–at every stage of conception”

      Besides conception occuring once at “conception”, by denying life at conception you are also denying the Immacualate Conception. Conception not birth.

      Where are you every Dec. 8, the required Holy Day and feast day of the Immacualate Conception?

    • nobody

      The principles of subsidarity are taking place in Iraq.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Iraq

    • nobody

      RK,

      Please explain “the Bush Doctrine” without using democratic party taking points, Obama commercials, or Saturday Night Live show scripts as evidence.

      Yes, this means use Mr. Bushes own words.

    • RK

      The principles of subsidarity are taking place in Iraq.

      nobody,

      Please explain the war in Iraq without using Republican party talking points or other propaganda sources you might be inclined to cite.

    • nobody

      RK,

      First I have NOT used any “Republican party talking points!”

      I find no reason a Catholic in good standing could vote for a chief executive of this great nation from a political party that espouses the culture of death in its party platform. There is simply no argument on who to vote for.

      As flawed as I am, I attempt as much as possible to have my conscious formed by one organization and one organization only. The Magisterium of the Catholic Church and the Vicar of Christ.

      RK

    • Kathy

      Yes, the emphasis needs to be on becoming one issue voters and I agree that the bishops need to encourage that fact. This has been the accusation from liberals (Catholic ones, too)
      against pro-life voters for the past I don’t know how many years. Let us proudly own the label! Life issues are the most important. All other issues flow from these. I am a one issue voter and I am proud of it!!!!

    • RK

      It’s good that you try to have your conscience formed by the perennial teachings of the Church. I share this intention for my own life. Thus, I too am opposed to abortion without exception. I just don’t believe the Republican party, despite it’s pious rhetoric, shares our desire to have abortion made illegal (I don’t believe the Democrats are any better). The political will just isn’t there so all the rhetoric about voting for Republicans because of the court or whatever is just a waste of time as far as I’m concerned. The same empty talking points are trotted out every election. It’s bored many people since Reagan. There are real political efforts to address the scandal of abortion, but the Republican platform isn’t one of them in my opinion.

      You don’t really expect me to read the preamble you quoted and believe that this is the true expression of the Iraqi people, do you? It is well documented that the Iraq Constitution was drafted with excessive American interference.

    • Guillermo Bustamante

      Please re-focus with Mr. Bonagura, and Ms. Karen:

    • nobody

      RK “You don’t really expect me to read the preamble you quoted and believe that this is the true expression of the Iraqi people, do you? It is well documented that the Iraq Constitution was drafted with excessive American interference.”

      What about the

    • Fr. Joseph

      Olivia:

      It is a lie that abortions have not declined during the Bush Administration. You need to stop swallowing pro-abortion Democrats’ propaganda.

      Why is there talk about voting pro-life mostly at election time? Because election are when people VOTE!

      Souter and Kennedy were appointed to the Supreme Court by Republicans, but they are pro-abortion. That leaves four justices out of nine who don’t believe in the fictitious Constitutional right to kill one’s babies.

      George Bush has instituted and maintained many policies that have reduced abortions, and the funding and promotion of abortion by government.

      Obama is a Maoist. If you don’t like being lied to, voting for a Maoist is hardly the way to go.

    • Richard F

      In my humble opinion, it is quite obvious what the clergy are afraid of. They do after all have inside information on the private lives of Catholics through the confessional (which of course they can discuss in general terms without breaking the seal).

      I would expect this information leads them to believe that the majority of Catholics practice birth control. Were they to loudly and continuously condemn the practice from the pulpit, they would risk a mass exodus of the “faithful”. This could be a disaster from about any point of view – maybe even God’s. Who would pay the bills, fill the churches, attend their schools, listen to their sermons, etc. What would become of what was left of the faithful?

      In this I believe they are very wrong and misguided, but I am not a Bishop or any other type of cleric. Are they seeking the “greatest good for the greatest number”? If they are, I can sympathize with their problem but only ask what would Jesus do? Best human to answer that question should be Benedict XVI. Perhaps more than the government, national debt and other such things needs downsizing. Perhaps a smaller, holier, apostolic, Roman Catholic Church wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

    • RK

      What about the

    • hilarious

      RK:”While abortion is an atrocity, most of our elected officials avoid doing anything about it because their chances of being re-elected are greater if they use abortion merely as a tool of campaign rhetoric. More and more voters opposed to abortion have come to realize this. There are better ways to fight abortion than pledging ourselves to the Republican party.”

      Better ways? Maybe pledging ourselves to the party who vows to defend ” the right to choose”?
      I just can’t understand how people can be gullible enough to believe the canard that Obama and Co, who can’t even be brought to vote for a ban on dreadful things like partial abortion and are pretty hawkish on FOCA, are going to reduce abortion rates. And yes, abortion rates, contrarily to Catholics United mantra have indeed dropped during the last 8 years as detailed by the alan guttmacher institute who, to be sure are not in collusion with McCain/Palin.
      More to the point, progressives usually accuse prolifers to bring up the abortion issue only at election time and then go on to profess some superiority for supposedly uncovering the hypocrisy behind it. But who are the real hypocrites? Surely this must be the liberals in the democratic party who then suddenly remember the unborn at election time after feverishly seeking the endorsement of Planned Parenthood, become squeamish and suddenly concerned(the usual tragic choice rhetoric) and flare up in outrage when people who have been nominating judges to overturn Roe vs wade claim to be more pro-life than them.so much for a secular take on the matter
      From a catholic perspective, it has by now become obvious that the Biden-Pelosi-Kerry Kennedy trinity are trying to confuse the moral stance of the Church. Indeed, while reducing abortion is one of the goal of the prolife movement, the ultimate concern underpinning the catholic position is one of JUSTICE. For an unjust law supporting an intrinsic makes a moral demand on the conscience of any catholic on the public square. Hence the most importnat goal for any catholic approaching this issue is to work so that justice as understood in the tradition of the Church and natural law prevails.
      So, as for the argument that decreasing abortion rates is more important than overturning Roe vs Wade, I will point out that abolitionists did not wait until they have eliminated all racism to press for changes in the law which were their top priority. And anyone claiming to build a culture of life in a society with anti-life laws in such a legalistic western civilzation can go on to buy a bridge with my blessings. Always remember this: Making abortion “rare” only is not the teaching of the Church while fighting laws which claim that it is an unqualified good for society certainly is.
      As for elected officials doing nothing about it, Mr Bush, for whom i have no great sympathy because of the mess in irak, has been the only one who has appointed judges willing to overturn Roe vs Wade in recent history and one must give him credit for doing so.

    • RK

      I don’t believe either of the parties has the political will to end abortion. Obama doesn’t want to limit abortions so, I’m sorry, that’s not a canard. No, the canard is the compliance of Catholics and other pro-lifers in supporting the disingenuous Republicans, who repeat the same tired lines every time there’s an election. You should know better by now! If you truly care about saving unborn babies don’t vote for either of the major party candidates.

    • Guillermo Bustamante

      Richard:

      It might interest you that Benedict XVI, when he was just Cardinal Ratzinger, spoke repeatedly of this current need:
      A smaller and healthier Church.

      In other words, cafeteria Catholics please leave, and do not descredit us, neither scandalously lead the ingnorant into heresies.

      Cordially

    • SKAY

      The Communist Party USA is encouraging it’s members and “fellow travelers” to vote for Obama/Biden. They are absolutely against McCain/Palin.

      The Communist Party USA is pro abortion of course but they agree with the Democrat Party on many other issues as well.

    • Chuck S.

      From the above comments, I can only surmise that the two parties have been extremely effective in dividing the masses. Both parties need money and they can only extract it “willingly”, when their supporters are emotionally charged! Lies, innuendoes and partial truths are the norm for politicians when talking about the “opposition” and enhancing themselves. It is a fact that reporters, newscasters, et al, are also selling their “wares”. They keep their jobs by getting the masses emotionally charged as well. The truth is incidental if it is stated at all! Common sense and reason get lost in the emotion, creating an explosive atmosphere not suitable for fruitful discussions. But I digress.

      The Bishops threatening to withhold the Eucharist is as fruitless as congress passing a constitutional amendment against “flag burning”. It is unenforceable and clouds the issue. A flag burner stands out as a “nut”. The Catholic abortion supporter stands out as a hypocrite! He/she “prepares” himself at Mass as we all do. God judges their sincerity! In fact, receiving the Eucharist MIGHT be the way to conversion!