Posted on 06/26/2006 1:55:29 PM PDT by NYer
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - At the installation Mass of the new Archbishop of Washington, Donald W. Wuerl, Thursday, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the representative of Pope Benedict XVI, was seen giving Holy Communion to pro-abortion Senator and former Presidential candidate John Kerry. The incident was reported by the Catholic News Service (CNS), the official news service of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
CNS states: "During the Mass, Kerry, who supports keeping abortion legal, received Communion in the hand from Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States and Pope Benedict XVI's representative to the U.S. bishops."
LifeSiteNews.com formally requested a clarification from the office of the Apostolic Nuncio. No reply was sent from Archbishop Sambi's office though LifeSiteNews.com was informed that the nuncio received the request for clarification.
LifeSiteNews.com also spoke with the Communications Assistant of the Archdiocese of Washington about the matter. Mark Adkinson indicated that the incident was likely not intentional by indicating that Archbishop Sambi was administering Holy Communion on the side where the dignitaries were seated.
CNS also reported that Archbishop Wuerl shook hands with Senators Kerry and Ted Kennedy as he processed into the church. "During his entrance procession, the archbishop shook hands with Democratic Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts, seated side by side in the third row along the center aisle," reported CNS.
However, Adkinson also downplayed the significance of the greetings telling LifeSiteNews.com that the Archbishop shook hands with "hundreds of people" as he processed into the church.
The issue of allowing pro-abortion politicians to receive Holy Communion has loomed large in the Catholic Church in the United States with a committee on the matter having been chaired by former Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick concluding only last week. While it was finally decided that bishops should decide for themselves on the matter, the church's canon law and the man who now serves as Pope Benedict XVI have indicated that such politicians "must" be denied communion.
Actually, one of the ways the Church in Italy - and even in New York - has been dealing with the Mafia is to refuse burial rites for known Mafiosi. There was a big fuss about one of these a few years ago, in Brooklyn, if I recall correctly, when everybody howled that it wasn't fair to the Mafiosi's family to deny him a Catholic funeral. Tough.
The RCC actually excommunicates very few people, with or without money. A formal excommunication is a pretty rare thing. I think a few clergy who were out there preaching heresy (such as the awful former priest, Matthew Fox, who then became an Episcopalian) have been formally excommunicated, but otherwise people in a state of mortal sin are considered to have excommunicated themselves and are not supposed to go to Communion.
That said, I'd like to see a few more formal, public excommunications, because I think that is the only thing that is going to make any impression, either on the excommunicated parties themselves or on the public.
Not to change the subject, but what's up with Kidman getting married in a Catholic church?
LOOK IT UP!
"And thank you! for pointing out that the John Kerry is the one culpable; not the Papal Nuncio. Thank you! The onus is on Kerry."
I don't know whether or not the Papal Nuncio knew that Kerry was excommunicated, and don't know the Church's rule on this kind of thing.
But one thing I DO know. Kerry was WRONG!
Thou shalt not bear false witness.
By NOT formally kicking their sorry carcasses out, their respective bishops are allowing them to scandalise the public. I offer the reactions of various people on this very thread as evidence of this scandal.
We still don't know if Papal Nuncio knew that Kerry was excommunicated.
Since several separate and distinct denominations call themselves "Christian" ("The Christian Church [Penecostal]," "The Christian Church of North America," "The Christian Church [Disciples of Christ]" etc.) some writers use the small-c "christian" to mean a generic follower of Christ.
No offense meant.
BTW I remember once getting hoppin' mad at a publication which used the lower-case "m" for "mass" (as in the Catholic Liturgy) while using caps for such non-Christian terms as "Tet" and "Shinto" and "Bar Mitzvah." We never quite got that straightened out, but I was finally satisfied that the writer was doing it in--- shall we say --- subjective good faith. ;^)
ROTFL! Does Papal Law have anything to say about what to do, if the Wafer is expulsed from the mouth (or launched out of the nose) as the result of a spit take??
Because the word "Christian" is a derivative of the proper noun, Christ, it should always be capitalized.
Just like American, Roman and Martian.
I find this shaking hands business completely bizarre as well. Where did Archbishop Weurl think he was "processing" to, the altar of God for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass or a cocktail party? Is this common in the NO, do priests shake hands with people as they proceed to the altar before mass?
I'm traveling on official military duty and can't devote a lot of time to keeping up with every thread, real or imagined. This thread was on the top when I had a very limited minute to peek in.
Sorry that I offended you sensibilities.
BTW, when I get 'deployed', I pretty much let FR go.
Discuss the issues all you want, but do not make it personal.
Wow! He's getting married for the first time at 81 years old? Amazing. Guess you could say that he waited until he was sure, LOL!
Being that her first wedding was a Scientology wedding, I'm assuming that it was treated in the same way a Las Vegas wedding would be treated - meaning she was never married in the eyes of the Church because there was no sacramental wedding. Just a bunch of Thetans or whatever-the-hell they call themselves standing around taking inventory of themselves.
Please do not post potty language - or references to potty language - on the Religion Forum.
Kerry knows he shouldn't be receiving Communion, so he went to the line where it was likely that the priest wouldn't recognize him.
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