Bishop: No Communion for Abortion Backers

AP ^ | 1/8/04 | AP

[Jaded]

Bishop: No Communion for Abortion Backers

LA CROSSE, Wis. - State and federal lawmakers who support abortion rights can no longer receive Holy Communion in the Diocese of La Crosse, Bishop Raymond Burke ordered in a decree made public Thursday.

Priests of parishes where such lawmakers attend Mass must withhold communion from them until the lawmakers publicly renounce their support of abortion rights, Burke said in the decree, posted on the diocese's Web site.

Burke also has written letters to three Roman Catholic lawmakers, telling them they risked their faith if they continued to vote for measures he termed "anti-life," including abortion and euthanasia.

Burke was named archbishop of St. Louis in December and will be installed there later this month. Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II has yet to name Burke's replacement.

State Sen. Julie Lassa, a Democrat, received a letter from Burke and has said she would not let religion decide how she serves her constituents.

Judie Brown, president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Life League, praised Burke and called his move a "historic first step forward in dealing with the problem of pro-abortion Catholic political figures."

The Diocese of La Crosse is home to more than 200,000 Catholics in 169 parishes in west-central Wisconsin, according to its Web site. ___

On the Net:

Catholic Diocese of La Crosse: http://www.dioceseoflacrosse.com

[Desdemona]

But, am I the only one who sees a negative backlash coming from this action?

No, you're not. But, since it will come from the same sources as so much other dissent...okay, it's going to set up an us vs. them adversarial relationship with a few orders and parishes. And the press will play it up, too.

[k omalley]

I've also heard it said that if the bishops deny Communion to pro-abort politicians then it is only fair to do the same to politicians who support the war in Iraq and even those who participate in the war since the Vatican said it was not a just war. I'm sure the folks who support this type of thinking will be coming out of the woodwork.

[american colleen]

Bishop Burke has also made the Ignatius Press catechetical series mandatory in all LaCrosse schools.

Whoa! That will solve the problem of poor catechisis in both the kids and the catechists. That series is phenomenal. I hope Bishop Burke and Bishop Hughes are friendly because the Ignatius Press series would solve all problems in catechetics that we have here in the USA if it was implemented in the dioceses. Plus it would be nice if we financially supported Catholic publishers instead of the secular publishers.

[american colleen]

Abortion is intrinsically evil, and is never morally permissible (except in the rare case where a mother's life may be endangered).

I thought abortion isn't even permissible under those circumstances (the life of the mother)?

[american colleen]

Doesn't Bishop Burke join Bishop Bruskewitz in the "non-clubbable" club with this realignment to Church teaching? Another bishop who doesn't aspire to be a Cardinal?

[presidio9]

Just when you think things couldn't get better. On the other hand, it's sad to think that he's the exception rather than the rule.

Every time I see pictures of Senator Kennedy at Mass I get the creeps.

[Desdemona]

I thought abortion isn't even permissible under those circumstances (the life of the mother)?

As far as I know, only ectopic. I know a woman who had one and was minutes from death due to a ruptured tube. They didn't even have time to check her blood type before they took it out.

[Desdemona]

Here's the article that is in the SLPD this morning. It is the lede in the Metro Section.

Burke denied communion to lawmakers
By Ron Harris and Patricia Rice
Post-Dispatch
01/08/2004


St. Louis' incoming archbishop has ordered priests in his diocese in La Crosse, Wis., to refuse communion to state and federal lawmakers who are Roman Catholic and support abortion rights or euthanasia.

Under Bishop Raymond Burke's "notification," made public Thursday, priests of parishes where lawmakers attend Mass must withhold communion from them until they publicly "renounce" their support of abortion rights and euthanasia.

"Catholic legislators, who are members of the faithful of the Diocese of La Crosse and who continue to support procured abortion or euthanasia, may not present themselves to receive Holy Communion," Burke wrote. "They are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, should they present themselves, until such time as they publicly renounce their support of these most unjust practices."

The decree was dated Nov. 23, nine days before Burke was named as the new archbishop in St. Louis and 11 days before it became public that Burke had sent letters to three Catholic politicians in his diocese. In those letters, Burke told the politicians that if they didn't change their positions on abortion, he would ask them not to present themselves to receive communion because they would not be Catholics in good standing.

In a letter Aug. 29 to Wisconsin state Sen. Julie Lassa, Burke wrote, "It is a grave contradiction to assume a public role and present yourself as a credible Catholic when your actions on the fundamental issues of human life are not in accord with Church teaching."



Burke, who is to be installed as the St. Louis archbishop on Jan. 26, acknowledged at a news conference last month in Wisconsin that he wrote the earlier letters to the politicians suggesting they not seek communion. But he did not mention his decree barring them from doing so.

Burke previously has said that if necessary, he would send similar letters to Catholic politicians in the St. Louis Archdiocese who are out of step with the church's positions. But it was unclear whether he plans to issue a decree here. Burke could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Most Catholic politicians in the St. Louis area have not been at odds - at least publicly - with the church's position on abortion and euthanasia.

Missouri Auditor Claire McCaskill, a Catholic convert who is challenging Gov. Bob Holden for the Democratic nomination for governor, is probably the state's most recognized Catholic in favor of abortion rights.

McCaskill declined to discuss Burke's notification Thursday.

"I prefer not to react to something put in writing hundreds of miles away and would like to wait until I have an opportunity to visit with the bishop," said McCaskill, who attends Mass at a parish in West County and another in Jefferson City.

St. Louis Archdiocesan Administrator Joseph Naumann, who has been leading the archdiocese since the departure of Archbishop Justin Rigali in October, said he doesn't expect Burke to issue a similar notification immediately.

"Archbishop-elect Burke will have to evaluate the situation here, as it is," Naumann said.

Judie Brown, president of American Life League, a Washington-based anti-abortion group, praised Burke for "using the authority of his office to deal with a grave public scandal."

"By issuing a formal decree barring pro-abortion Catholic politicians from receiving Holy Communion, Bishop Burke is not only enforcing Church law but is courageously stepping forward in defense of innocent human beings," Brown said.



In an interview with the Catholic Times published online Thursday, Burke said the notification became necessary because none of the three lawmakers he wrote to had accepted his invitation for a private meeting to discuss their voting records and that their letters to him showed they were not open to changing their positions.

"After several exchanges of letters, it became clear in all three cases that there was no willingness to conform to the teaching of the Church," he said in the interview. "So the notification became a necessity in order that the faithful in the Diocese not be scandalized, thinking that it is acceptable for a devout Catholic to also be pro-abortion."

The St. Louis Archdiocese has not refused communion to public figures who say they are Catholic and have supported abortion, said Naumann, who Wednesday was named coadjutor archbishop of Kansas City, Kan.

The St. Louis Archdiocese's leaders have never formally written to Catholic legislators to dissuade them from their public support of abortion and euthanasia, said Naumann, who led the archdiocese Pro-Life Committee for many years.

"We are not at that point here," he said.



Naumann said that refusing communion to Catholic lawmakers after they have continued to proclaim themselves Catholic while separating themselves from the "basic Catholic teaching" on abortion and euthanasia is a way to help the individuals, for the good of their own souls, to realize how serious their differences with the church are. The ban also helps more Catholic parishioners in the Wisconsin diocese understand the breach between the church's teaching on abortion and euthanasia, he said.



"It speaks a clear message that these legislators don't define what it means to be Catholic," he said.

Naumann said he was not surprised that Burke has not publicly talked about refusing communion to Catholic officials who differ from the church's position on another human-life issue: capital punishment. The church's stand opposing capital punishment - in nearly all cases - was developed under the current pope, unlike the church's long-standing opposition to abortion and euthanasia, he said.

[Land of the Free 04]

the Vatican said it was not a just war.

That was not a doctrinal declaration. Nor, to address other posts, does Catholic doctrine completely exclude the death penalty.

[NYer]

On the other hand, it's sad to think that he's the exception rather than the rule.

Up to 22 US bishops (sadly, not mine) are scheduled to retire this year!! (will post that story separately). Keep praying!

[johnb2004]

Finally! An authentic bishop and an authentic man. I hope it inspires some of the other compromisers to start living their faith.

[NYer]

State and federal lawmakers who support abortion rights can no longer receive Holy Communion in the Diocese of La Crosse, Bishop Raymond Burke ordered in a decree made public Thursday.

Sorry ... forgot to ping you!

[Desdemona]

Up to 22 US bishops (sadly, not mine) are scheduled to retire this year!!

Really? Wow.

[Jaded]

That could be debated because the death penalty IS biblical. Not to worry, the pro-choicers will come up with any number of things to hurl.

[Cap'n Crunch]

YES!

[ninenot]

Principle of Double Effect. Not carefully worded--it means that a doctor may act to save the life of the mother. If in so doing, the baby is lost, there is no sin.

HOWEVER, the action CANNOT be taken with the INTENTION of losing the baby--only to save the mother.

Thomas Aquinas...

[ArrogantBustard]

The leftists can pressure anyone using any propaganda technique they can think of.

Abortion is clearly and unequivocally condemned, capital punishment is not. The Church considers abortion such an egregious violation of the commandment "Thou shalt commit no murder" as to impose automatic excommunication on any who participate in it. The Church considers the death penalty legitimate in extreme cases, but many Catholics (both clergy and laity) are 'uncomfortable' with its widespread use, on prudential grounds.

There's no real traction for the leftists on the death penalty thing, whereas abortion supporting politicians could possibly be considered already excommunicated. One could consider a legislative vote in favour abortion to be participating in the commission of abortion.

[ninenot]

There can be NO debate about the liceity of the death penalty. It is Church doctrine that such may be applied.

It is also the wish of the Pope and many Churchmen that the penalty NOT be applied; rather, that life-in-prison be the preferred punishment.

That will be where the debate centers, and with good reason.

[eastsider]

"... the decree, posted on the diocese's Web site"

Here's the decree:

As Bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse, I am bound to be "solicitous for all the faithful entrusted to [my] care" (Code of Canon Law, can. 383 Sec.1). With respect to the fundamental responsibility of safeguarding and promoting the respect for human life,it is my duty "to explain, persuade, correct and admonish those in leadership positions who contradict the Gospel of life through their action and policies" (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics [November 1998], n. 29).

His Holiness Pope John Paul II, upholding the constant teaching of the Church, has frequently reminded us that "those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that attacks human life. For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them" (Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the participation of Catholics in political life [November 24, 2002], n. 4 Sec.1). A Catholic legislator who supports procured abortion or euthanasia, after knowing the teaching of the Church, commits a manifestly grave sin which is a cause of most serious scandal to others. Therefore, universal Church law provides that such persons "are not to be admitted to Holy Communion" (Code of Canon Law, can. 915).

I hereby call upon Catholic legislators, who are members of the faithful of the Diocese of La Crosse, to uphold the natural and divine law regarding the inviolable dignity of all human life. To fail to do so is a grave public sin and gives scandal to all the faithful. Therefore, in accord with the norm of can. 915, Catholic legislators, who are members of the faithful of the Diocese of La Crosse and who continue to support procured abortion or euthanasia may not present themselves to receive Holy Communion. They are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, should they present themselves, until such time as they publically [sic] renounce their support of these most unjust practices.

I ask for the prayers of all the faithful of the Diocese of La Crosse and of all people of good will within the Diocese of La Crosse, that Catholic legislators who have promoted procured abortion or euthanasia, with the help and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may undergo a conversion of heart in this most grave matter, so that human life may be protected and fostered in the greatest way possible and these legislators may be admitted once more to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

Given at La Crosse, on the twenty-third day of November, the Solemnity of Christ the King, in the Year of the Lord 2003.

[franky]

"St. Louis Archdiocesan Administrator Joseph Naumann, who has been leading the archdiocese since the departure of Archbishop Justin Rigali in October, said he doesn't expect Burke to issue a similar notification immediately.

"Archbishop-elect Burke will have to evaluate the situation here, as it is," Naumann said.

The St. Louis Archdiocese's leaders have never formally written to Catholic legislators to dissuade them from their public support of abortion and euthanasia, said Naumann, who led the archdiocese Pro-Life Committee for many years.

"We are not at that point here," he said."

NO, LET'S WAIT ANOTHER 30 YEARS!

Missouri Auditor Claire McCaskill, a Catholic convert who is challenging Gov. Bob Holden for the Democratic nomination for governor, is probably the state's most recognized Catholic in favor of abortion rights

HERE IS THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY!