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S.C. POLITICIAN RIPS CATHOLICISM
Catholic League ^ | November 19, 2008 | Bill Donohue

Posted on 11/20/2008 3:37:04 PM PST by NYer

Beaufort County Councilwoman Laura Von Harten blasted the Catholic Church yesterday for its strictures regarding the priesthood and its teachings on abortion. She took the occasion to vent at a scheduled hearing regarding a zoning request by a local Catholic church, St. Gregory the Great in Bluffton, South Carolina, that would allow it to expand. She was quickly denounced by several area residents for her comments; when the vote was taken, she recused herself.

Von Harten ripped the Catholic Church for not allowing women priests and for its position on what she called “uterus rights,” saying they were “an affront to my dignity and all womankind.”

Here is what Catholic League president Bill Donohue had to say:

“Without the slightest provocation, Laura Von Harten decided to bash Catholicism. This suggests an animus so deep as to call into question her fitness for public service. She should do more than recuse herself on matters Catholic—she should resign from her post as councilwoman. There is no legitimate role for bigots in public life.”

Contact Von Harten: lvonharten@bcgov.net






TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Philosophy; US: South Carolina
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1 posted on 11/20/2008 3:37:05 PM PST by NYer
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To: Salvation; narses; SMEDLEYBUTLER; redhead; Notwithstanding; nickcarraway; Romulus; ...
Catholic Ping List
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list


2 posted on 11/20/2008 3:37:55 PM PST by NYer ("Run from places of sin as from a plague." - St. John Climacus)
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To: NYer

I’m sure Donohue will make Von Harten look like a hero.


3 posted on 11/20/2008 3:38:18 PM PST by nickcarraway (Are the Good Times Really Over?)
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To: NYer

How the heck can an elected official get away with that?


4 posted on 11/20/2008 3:44:43 PM PST by Dacula (So long and thanks for all the fish.)
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To: NYer

So much for their so called “Seperation of Church and State”. They seem to use it when it suits them.


5 posted on 11/20/2008 3:50:24 PM PST by RC2
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To: NYer
Symbolic of the way some want to strike back at the church for holding the line and indicative of deep-seated hatred.

I don't view abortion on a par with women priests, but am not particularly in favor of the latter.

The Vatican excommunicated that priest who ordained a woman right quick and publicly. Why they can't do the same for abortion pols I don't understand. I suppose the argument could be mad that illegitimately-ordained priests can be fatal to souls for invalid sacraments, but abortion almost seems worse, fatal to both body and souls, but I'm not talking about the aborted baby's soul but the ones who do it or are enablers.

Also by making abortion legal, it causes more sin, not just the mother, but the doctor and other people involved in it, but that's from a religious viewpoint. In the secular world we inhabit today, my argument would be considered ridiculous, irrelevant and separation between church and state. To those I would say we do not have separation of church and state for other sins such as murder, do we?

6 posted on 11/20/2008 3:51:19 PM PST by Aliska
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To: NYer

This woman should look for female priests and abortion rights in Islam, a cancer that grows in our country under the mistaken protection of our Constitution.


7 posted on 11/20/2008 3:52:00 PM PST by Jacquerie (Islam - A barbaric political system in religious drag.)
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To: NYer

The appropriate response for the chair would have been “Ah..........this is a zoning meeting”.


8 posted on 11/20/2008 3:52:00 PM PST by johniegrad
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To: NYer

I just sent her an email....

;-)


9 posted on 11/20/2008 3:54:39 PM PST by SumProVita (%)
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To: Dacula

“How the heck can an elected official get away with that?”

Well, as long as it’s an attack on Christianity, it’s ok, right?


10 posted on 11/20/2008 3:56:29 PM PST by laweeks
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To: NYer

A Better Headline: “S.C. Councilwoman makes a HUGE ASS of herself.”


11 posted on 11/20/2008 4:00:56 PM PST by gitmogrunt
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To: NYer

Uterus rights????

Just when you think you’ve heard it all.


12 posted on 11/20/2008 4:02:37 PM PST by visualops (portraits.artlife.us or visit my freeper page)
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To: laweeks

Really! Why don’t they ever “rip Islam”? Islamic countries practice female genital mutilation, stone adulteresses, don’t prosecute “honor killings” and don’t allow women to drive cars!!


13 posted on 11/20/2008 4:02:37 PM PST by Frank_2001
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To: SumProVita
I just sent her an email....

I did two days ago.

14 posted on 11/20/2008 4:04:31 PM PST by big'ol_freeper (Gen. George S. Patton to Michael Moore... American Carol: "I really like slapping you.")
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To: gitmogrunt

“A Better Headline: “S.C. Councilwoman makes a HUGE ASS of herself.””

Agreed!


15 posted on 11/20/2008 4:04:33 PM PST by Frank_2001
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To: Frank_2001

And Islam has been one of the major traders of slaves for thousands of years (and still are) and not a word is said about this . . . nothing . . . I’m sure nothing will be different with the Great and Grand Most Merciful Kenyan-born, illegal alien who never applied for a Selective Service Number Obama.


16 posted on 11/20/2008 4:06:27 PM PST by laweeks
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To: big'ol_freeper

Good for you!! I just read about this breach of civil conduct.


17 posted on 11/20/2008 4:07:11 PM PST by SumProVita (%)
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To: NYer; informavoracious; larose; RJR_fan; Prospero; Conservative Vermont Vet; ...
+

Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:

Add me / Remove me

Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of interest.

Obama Says A Baby Is A Punishment

Obama: “If they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”

18 posted on 11/20/2008 4:07:29 PM PST by narses (http://www.theobamadisaster.com/)
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To: Aliska
Also by making abortion legal, it causes more sin, not just the mother, but the doctor and other people involved in it, but that's from a religious viewpoint.

No ... this is not a religious viewpoint. For every act, there is a ripple effect. In the case of abortion, the act not only impacts the woman, it also effects the doctor, nurse, receptionist, the driver, the biological father, both families and, ultimately, us. For who know what gifts that child might have brought to this world that will never be known. The loss of that child also impacts the tax base and your future social security benefits.

19 posted on 11/20/2008 4:11:05 PM PST by NYer ("Run from places of sin as from a plague." - St. John Climacus)
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To: SumProVita

Excellent!


20 posted on 11/20/2008 4:12:09 PM PST by NYer ("Run from places of sin as from a plague." - St. John Climacus)
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To: NYer

I see that she belongs to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and they are a liberal group which believes that “Truth is not absolute; it changes over time”. They also believe in “tolerance” but maybe not of those who they view as intolerant.


21 posted on 11/20/2008 4:15:20 PM PST by Peter Horry (Mount Up Everybody and Ride to the Sound of the Guns .. Pat Buchanan)
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To: laweeks

I suspect research of Obama’ tribe in Kenya would reveal they were slave traders - I betcha! And, if I were a descendant of a slave, that would make me very unhappy.


22 posted on 11/20/2008 4:19:59 PM PST by elpadre (nation)
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To: NYer

She, either, never learned, or has forgotten, that our Lord (maybe not hers) said; “....I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) and in Ephesians 5:25; “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it.” Even in it’s earliest days the church was persecuted (Acts 8:1-4) but it brought great blessings and growth. May our God give the Church a great blessing in these days of contempt for His beloved Church.


23 posted on 11/20/2008 4:21:20 PM PST by LetMarch (If a man knows the right way to live, and does not live it, there is no greater coward--Anonymous))
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To: NYer
Here is what Catholic League president Bill Donohue had to say:

“Without the slightest provocation, Laura Von Harten decided to bash Catholicism. This suggests an animus so deep as to call into question her fitness for public service. She should do more than recuse herself on matters Catholic—she should resign from her post as councilwoman. There is no legitimate role for bigots in public life.”


You do not want to be on Bill Donohue's bad side, Miss Laura. Please go talk to him and apologize. Whoever taught you to be a Southern Lady missed a lesson or two in politeness and knowing when to keep your mouth shut and your opinions to yourself.

Really, Ma'am, go talk to Bill Donohue, you'll be a better person for doing so.

24 posted on 11/20/2008 4:22:03 PM PST by HighlyOpinionated (If the Catholic Church doesn't boldly proclaim God's Word, I'm going to convert to Judaism.)
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To: NYer
She should be equally outspoken about most protestant Churches in SC as they also stand four-square against abortion.
25 posted on 11/20/2008 4:23:01 PM PST by elpadre (nation)
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To: NYer

I certainly wouldn’t disagree with any of your points NYer, just didn’t carry it far enough, have thought those things (and argued them offline with anyone who cared to listen) many times now. But they bear repeating and glad you did.


26 posted on 11/20/2008 4:23:06 PM PST by Aliska
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To: Dacula
lvonharten@bcgov.net Tell her how you feel. I did.:)
27 posted on 11/20/2008 4:33:19 PM PST by nobama08
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To: nickcarraway

More like a ZERO.


28 posted on 11/20/2008 4:50:29 PM PST by vladimir998 (Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. St. Jerome)
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To: Peter Horry

I have a better word for Unitarians.

Heathens.


29 posted on 11/20/2008 4:51:10 PM PST by Emperor Palpatine ("I love democracy. I love Free Republic")
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To: Aliska
The Vatican excommunicated that priest who ordained a woman right quick and publicly.

The sacrament of Holy Orders (or ordination) is not within the powers of a priest (only a Bishop). So, regardless of the "discipline involved" (Holy Orders is for males only is the current discipline but will stay that way, I assure you), the priest administered an invalid sacrament and caused grave scandal and confusion. As he exceeded his authority, he was excommunicated juridically and publicly according to Canon Law. He will probably also lose his faculties as a priest and be laicized.

Why they can't do the same for abortion pols I don't understand.

Contrary to your views gathered from movies on "the Inquisition," Catholics DO have rights under Canon Law. Although Canon 915 seems to state that "those who cause grave scandal can be denied Communion," any further public process requires a judicial process or another Canon and none exists without a trial. Yes, that's right...a trial. It is not like a civil trial, but it is a trial and evidence must be introduced and weighed and the accused has an "advocate." That is why abortion pols don't get excommunicated publically at the drop of a hat.

However, you confuse, de jure excommunication--excommunication which occurs by the very virtue of the act itself--with public excommunication. Those who DO cause grave scandal (by such deeds as supporting abortion through active means such as a politician or an abortion doctor), experience "latae sententiae" de jure excommunication (meaning they are excommunicated automatically and under the pain of mortal sin. So, while you don't SEE IT, it don't mean it ain't so. To go further than that would require a trial meaning a drawing up of a bill of particulars and a presentation of evidence sent to Rome.

Clear, Aliska?

30 posted on 11/20/2008 4:51:16 PM PST by Frank Sheed (Fr. V. R. Capodanno, Lt, USN, Catholic Chaplain. 3rd/5th, 1st Marine Div., FMF. MOH, posthumously.)
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To: NYer
I didn’t realize uteri had rights.
31 posted on 11/20/2008 4:52:52 PM PST by RichInOC (Obama/Biden '08: "We Are Not Ruled By Murderers, But Only--By Their Friends."--Rudyard Kipling)
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To: Peter Horry

Unitarians = hell bound heretics


32 posted on 11/20/2008 4:57:43 PM PST by DarthVader (Liberal Democrats are the party of EVIL whose time of judgment has come.)
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To: Emperor Palpatine

“I have a better word for Unitarians”

This one is a “Texas Heathen”, what the heck is going on down there.


33 posted on 11/20/2008 4:58:26 PM PST by Peter Horry (Mount Up Everybody and Ride to the Sound of the Guns .. Pat Buchanan)
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To: nobama08
lvonharten@bcgov.net Tell her how you feel. I did.:)

Re: Zoning Meeting

Prior to the next Zoning Meeting please take meds.

34 posted on 11/20/2008 5:23:57 PM PST by TYVets
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To: DarthVader; NYer; narses; kstewskis; Tax-chick
I had a discussion with an unitarian a few years back. After coming to a consensus that God's glory and majesty cannot be fully understood by mortal man, he decided to rip into my Catholic faith. He thought that Mary's conceiving without sin was "spookism".

I threw the argument back at him by saying "Didn't we just agree that God's glory and majesty cannot be understood?"

He had nothing to say.

35 posted on 11/20/2008 6:30:59 PM PST by Northern Yankee (Freedom Needs A Soldier)
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To: Northern Yankee

Good for you!!


36 posted on 11/20/2008 6:32:49 PM PST by DarthVader (Liberal Democrats are the party of EVIL whose time of judgment has come.)
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To: DarthVader
Thanks!

Every now and then we get into one of those moments where they walk right into it!

We take em when we can.

37 posted on 11/20/2008 6:34:08 PM PST by Northern Yankee (Freedom Needs A Soldier)
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To: Frank Sheed
Yes, it's clear. Thank you. I wasn't basing it on the inquisition but have a copy of the Code of Canon Law. It's not easy to understand, as one section keeps referring to another, but it's not intended for a layperson such as myself. Now you have explained it in a way that makes sense.

I was told that after an excommunication latae sententiae for abortion, only the bishop could readmit a penitent to the sacraments, but in my diocese, the bishop delegated that authority to priests.

I've never agitated for nor desired female priests, prefer males in the ministry no matter what the denomination which may come across as archaic and sexist to some liberals, but maybe since I am elderly, it feels more comfortable and traditional, especially in the priesthood.

That doesn't mean that I think women any less intelligent or inferior than men and don't have a problem with female Eucharistic ministers. It's all moot at this point because I am not active in the church, any church, but like most of the Catholics here and support them.

38 posted on 11/20/2008 6:35:53 PM PST by Aliska
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To: NYer
Von Harten bio

The bio on this woman is just too perfectly leftwing to be believed. She was an anthropology major in college, the dept most dependably leftist on most campuses, belongs to a Universalist Church, and makes no mention of a husband or children.

She also look like a woman who's had little reason to worry about male interest in her "uterus."

39 posted on 11/20/2008 6:36:04 PM PST by beckett (Amor Fati)
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To: beckett

Yuck!!


40 posted on 11/20/2008 6:50:44 PM PST by DarthVader (Liberal Democrats are the party of EVIL whose time of judgment has come.)
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To: Northern Yankee

We philosophically eviscerated this (er) “lady” on a thread a couple of days ago. UU’s believe in crystal healing, communing with animal spirits, and space aliens among us. They are certifiable loo-loos.


41 posted on 11/21/2008 3:06:23 AM PST by Tax-chick ("I thank Thee, dear Jesus, that Thy will and not mine has been done." ~St. Frances Cabrini)
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To: NYer
What a total a$$ wipe!

This was a zoning hearing and her personal views of Catholicism and comments were completely out of line.

While she has a right to her personal views, no how wrong and addle brained they are, she should go back and read the Constitution and the First Amendment and the Establishment Clause – presuming of course that she can read or has the basic mental capacity for reading comprehension!

As a public servant, her personal views of Catholicism, or for that matter any other religion, should have absolutely no place in a public zoning hearing.

I would say this would be true whether the zoning request came from a Catholic Church, a Jewish Synagogue, a Jehovah Witness Hall, a Mormon Temple, a Buddhist retreat, a Unitarian Church or dare I even say a Mosque.

Is not a zoning hearing to address concerns about matters of traffic, demands on public utilities, adherence to local building codes and general public safety?
42 posted on 11/21/2008 3:47:07 AM PST by Caramelgal (Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.)
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To: 2A Patriot; 2nd amendment mama; 4everontheRight; 77Jimmy; Abbeville Conservative; acf2906; ...
South Carolina Ping

Add me to the list. | Remove me from the list.
43 posted on 11/21/2008 4:48:23 AM PST by SC Swamp Fox (Join our Folding@Home team (Team# 36120) keyword: folding)
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To: SC Swamp Fox

Laura Von Harten (D)

When I read the article I thought, "Another relocated liberal yankee interloping in Southern politics."

Imagine my surprise when I found out that she is from Texas and her daddy's called Bubba.

44 posted on 11/21/2008 5:30:44 AM PST by cowboyway ("The beauty of the Second Amendment is you won't need it until they try to take it away"--Jefferson)
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To: cowboyway
Imagine my surprise when I found out that she is from Texas and her daddy's called Bubba.

Evidently, she answers to "Bubba" also.


45 posted on 11/21/2008 6:00:27 AM PST by littlehouse36 (Gather up ye seeds of truth at Free Republic; then spread them far and wide.)
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To: NYer

I’m getting very sick of all the Catholic-bashing. And I’m a card-carrying Baptist.

(calming note to faithophobes: we don’t actually carry cards)


46 posted on 11/21/2008 6:11:07 AM PST by cookcounty ("A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not why the ship is built." ---Governor Sarah Palin)
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To: RichInOC
I didn’t realize uteri had rights.

Now I have this mental image of a uterus carrying a sign and marching a picket line...

47 posted on 11/21/2008 6:26:46 AM PST by Slings and Arrows (We are SO screwed.)
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To: Slings and Arrows
Now I have this mental image of a uterus carrying a sign and marching a picket line...

It will in good company with the other sign: "Keep your rosaries off my ovaries". ;-)

48 posted on 11/21/2008 9:40:23 AM PST by NYer ("Run from places of sin as from a plague." - St. John Climacus)
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To: NYer

She needs help - badly. Someone like that has no business in public office.


49 posted on 11/21/2008 3:53:03 PM PST by dixie sass
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To: elpadre

AND believe women need to be in a position of servitude.


50 posted on 11/21/2008 7:18:40 PM PST by mbraynard (You are the Republican Party. See you at the precinct meeting.)
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