Posted on 04/18/2008 7:43:03 AM PDT by NYer
WASHINGTON, DC, April 17, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - At the papal Mass at Nationals Park this morning with 46,000 in attendance, pro-abortion Senators John Kerry and Chris Dodd presented themselves for and received Holy Communion. Of note, pro-abortion Senator Ted Kennedy purposefully did not receive Communion. Photos taken by Tom McFadden Director of Admissions at Christendom College and provided first to LifeSiteNews.com, show Kerry and Dodd receiving while Kennedy remains seated as his row leaves to receive Communion.
American Life League (ALL) President Judie Brown told LifeSiteNews.com that no pro-abortion politicians received Holy Communion directly from Pope Benedict during the Mass. ALL had taken out a full page ad warning Catholic pro-abortion politicians not to sacrilegiously receive the Eucharist.
While the highest authorities in the Vatican and indeed the Pope himself have insisted that pro-abortion Catholic politicians be denied Holy Communion, several prominent US bishops with the leading of now-retired Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick have refused to follow such direction from Rome.
It seems from his actions today, Senator Kennedy is, at least in public, refraining from Communion and thus refusing to create what the Church calls public "scandal".
Francis Cardinal Arinze, the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, speaking at a Catholic family conference in Ohio last November confirmed that pro-abortion politicians must be denied communion. He referenced a 2004 letter on the subject sent by then-Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, who said that such politicians "must" be refused Communion (see coverage: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08040408.html).
Since becoming Pope, Benedict XVI has also addressed the subject. In March 2007 the Pope warned Catholic pro-abortion politicians against receiving Communion. In the document on Holy Communion, called "Sacramentum Caritatis" or the Sacrament of Love, Benedict XVI gave Catholic politicians a biblical warning against receiving Communion unworthily.
In a section on "Eucharistic consistency", the Pope said that politicians must adhere to "non negotiable" values "such as respect for human life, its defence from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one's children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms." He added, "Consequently, Catholic politicians and legislators, conscious of their grave responsibility before society, must feel particularly bound, on the basis of a properly formed conscience, to introduce and support laws inspired by values grounded in human nature."
"There is an objective connection here with the Eucharist," he said referencing the Biblical passage 1 Corinthians 11:27-29. That passage reads: "Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord." (see coverage: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/mar/07031303.html ; )
Thank you Tom McFadden!
Actually, I think this may be OK. Kerry changed his position to pro-life when he got in line, then changed it back as he was seated.
Finally I can say Kennedy did something right. I wish the others were denied.... as they should have been
I think if I were a priest or deacon assigned to distributing Communion at the Mass I would have a pocket full of Necco wafers, and say “And this is a special one, just for you!”
(I would also have some holy water to rinse my fingers off afterwrds, since I would still be distributing Communion.)
I’m not sure Kenneddy was up to the long walk.
Ted was just too lazy to walk all that way just to get the tiny wafer of unleavened bread. If it was a chalice filled with wine, however, he’d be first in line (and then ask for a refill).
From the original post:
"There is an objective connection here with the Eucharist," he said referencing the Biblical passage 1 Corinthians 11:27-29. That passage reads: "Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord."
Kerry is hiding what he does with the Host. creepy.
I just gained a smidgen of respect for Fat Drunk Ted.
Thanks.
I really missed that......
As far as Kennedy is concerned, HE should be giving THE POPE communion.
The mechanics may be similar but the theology is quite different. That picture of Kerry is an absolute abomination. Kennedy at least has the decency to refrain from heaping one sin upon another.
> Finally I can say Kennedy did something right. I wish the others were denied.... as they should have been
Informed self-interest, probably. He didn’t want to burst into flame, or be smitten by lightening bolts. Darkness doth abhor the Light.
Pope Benedict XVI has always taken God's words totally literally. In the areas of abortion, birth control, and the problem of priests abusing children he will stand steadfast in the word of God and no mortal will make him accept less than what God spoke in the Ten Commandments and through Jesus.
If Pelosi, Kennedy, Kerry, and other Catholics-in-name-only don't realize that God is speaking directly to them through Pope Benedict when he does not permit communion be administered to those advocates of abortion and birth control, then they have made a conscious decision to ignore God and listen to the devil and the people through whom the devil speaks and has influenced. They might want to cloud their decisions to acquiesce to public pressure based on the rationales of men, but it is just their desire to hold political office and remain “popular” that has become more important than what they know to be what God wants.
Pope Benedict XVI, through his steadfast commitment to uphold God’s rules and by his action to exclude pro-abortion supporters is quite strongly reminding them they will never gain “popularity” with God for turning away from the laws and standards He set. Benedict is acknowledging the obvious: that they are openly succumbing to the temptations of self-gratification for their own mortal agendas and careers. And every time they attend a Mass and receive Communion they are flagrantly repeating the sin that not only scars their souls, and are also making an arrogant statement that they do not consider God’s rules important, nor the lives of the aborted children lovingly created by God.
These politicians and abortion supporters will pay in a way that will be far worse than loosing an election here on earth. Whatever success they have in this life, and no matter how they have tried to justify their decisions and actions, God will not forget the millions of lives they have allowed to be destroyed just so they could satisfy their own egos and personal desires for worldly acclaim.
They might always have supporters on earth and we might not witness their demise, or see the punishment they will face, but we can hold onto the knowledge that in the end God has the final judgment. On the day these people stand before Him, (no matter how many times they have kissed the Pope’s ring, or spoken to a Pope, or attended a Mass) God will not be influenced by any political action group, or lobbyist, or popular movement promulgated by those who have found it easier and advantageous to their own goals to destroy a life and succumb to the devil’s desires. When we do not respect the gift of life that God blessed us with, there is no loophole to slide through into Heaven.
Maybe he heard there was no alcohol in the wine?
Big difference in the Communion between Catholics and Protestants. Not “nuanced”
Do some research.
Oh, Avacado, how we do love to forget that passage!
****************
Agreed, although I doubt mine will be long-lived.
One point for Teddy, then. Of course the score is still negative one zillion. Perhaps he thought his alcohol-soaked body would burn for a week should he get the zot.
That has been one of the disappointments I've had from going from an Episcopal church to a non-demoninational church.
Slipped it into the secret compartment along with the hat?
No, just tell me.
I said I was not Catholic.
Algore put his in a lock box.
(clapping my hands here)
As much as I detest this kennedy...he DID do the right thing.
The more upsetting thing to me though is why the Pope nor the Cardinal Arinze didn’t follow through on what they said regardin pro abortion politicians and Holy Eucharist. They just let it slip by. How are other Catholics supposed to do what is right then? There’s one rule for politicians, celebrities and clergy and other rules for the average Joe, the average Catholic. This is very disturbing and the Pope should admonish them for going against his word. Otherwise, what good IS his word???
Not only that, he does not know how to take it properly. You can take it directly on to your tongue or having your right hand cupped under your left, have the Priest place it in your left hand then pick it up with your right and place it in your mouth.
It is possible His Holiness will in fact admonish them when someone sends him the pictures.
On the other hand, those who have gotten away with sacrelige all their lives may believe that nobody’s keeping score....
My sister’s little girl once remarked that “The devil tells you nobody’s watching.”
I thought that Uncle Ted refrained because he is divorced and remarried. Does he usually receive?
Having been brought up Presbyterian and having converted to the Catholic Church, I will explain the main points:
1a. Presbyterians believe the Lord’s Supper is merely a commemoration.
1b. Catholics believe that during the Mass, time is transcended and “we are there” at the foot of the Cross.
2a. Presbyterians believe that the grape juice and crackers are just a reminder of the bread and wine Christ used.
2b. Catholics believe that at the moment the priest says, “This is my body” that the bread becomes the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus (transubstantiation), even though we still see only bread and wine. This belief is taken directly from Sacred Scripture: throughout John Chapter 6, Jesus talks about His body as the bread given for the life of the world and that unless we eat His body and drink His blood we will have no life in us. In addition, St. Paul talks about eating and drinking damnation unto ourselves if we do not discern the Body of the Lord.
3a. Presbyterians celebrate the Lord’s Supper only occasionally.
3b. Mass is available for Catholics every day, the “daily bread” referenced in the Lord’s Prayer.
And from the Lutherans:
I recently learned that Lutherans view communion as landing somewhere between the “transubstantiation” (it literally changes to blood and flesh) of Catholicism and the “representationism” (represents blood and flesh) of other “low church” Protestantism.
sKerry looks as if he’s trying to hide what he is doing......like he KNOWS he is sinning, and he can hide it......
Evangelicals and Catholics DO NOT practice Holy Communion the same way. Many Evangelicals deny that there is the Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
You’re right...annulment.
ping
They believe in Real Presence. Catholics have the most complicated dogma regarding the Eucharist, but in general Catholics, Orthodox, and some Protestants believe that Christ is literally present in the Eucharist. Some other Protestants (like Baptists) deny this and say it is only a symbolic ceremony.
For that matter, so is John Kerry. Perhaps Ted Kennedy has finally reconciled himself to a clearer understanding of Catholic teaching. At least, I would like to believe that all of our prayers for him have made a difference.
He heard they didn't have a chaser.
This "problem" is present in all denominations and churches. When you participate in a denomination, you are expected to conform to their dogma or you become a "stumbling block" for the other members. If members see nothing happens to the Kennedy's or Kerry's of the church, they don't take their commitment to Christ as serious as they should. What happens when we find a homosexual choir leader, or the deacon runs off with the organ player, or some leader raids the building fund? Many members are disillusioned and become more cynical.
The Cafeteria Catholics are suffering just from that syndrome. If you don't believe the dogma, leave and go somewhere else. The turmoil in the church about marrying priests, women priests, abortion, homosexuals marrying, etc all come from liberals wanting the illusion of Catholicism, without believing any of it. We are in a spiritual war. This war doesn't end at the church house doors.
My church went as far as noticing who had Democrat bumper stickers in the parking lot. We discussed their belief system and the Democrat platform and challenged them to align that with the teachings of Christ. After some discussion, some removed their stickers and others left the church. We felt if sin was going on in front of the church members, it was dividing the church.
What do you think the church Bill Clinton was thinking during his troubles? They did nothing!. He would have been asked to leave our church, president or no president. He couldn't bring himself to repent, so he wasn't compatible with our belief of what Christ requires to belong to our church body. In many churches today of all denominations, there are lier's, fornicators, pedophiles, and thieves. How can a preacher preach against fornication if many in the flock are living together without marriage? How can you take the name of Christ, if you support abortion, and homosexuality? It's their choice to believe what they want to, but it's the church's responsibility to uphold the standards of Christ. You can't get forgiveness without true repentance.
Kerry got an annulment as well.
A Catholic is supposed to be in a state of grace when receiving Holy Communion. Any sins he is conscious of must be confessed to and absolved by a priest in Confession. He must have a firm resolve to repent of the sin. Abortion is a violation of the Commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” It is a sin to perform, have, or assist another in procuring abortion. Poliiticians who flaunt a pro-abortion stance are in a state of grave sin. They must repent before receiving Communion, because they are clearly not in communion or agreement with God’s laws. You are correct, ultimately it is between the individual and God. But in the Catholic Church it is considered a scandal to publicly and unashamedly approach the altar in a state of sim. It would be the same if someone were publically committing adultery or stealing. It is an affront to God and the community.
sim=sin
The difference stems from the fact that most other denominations don’t believe that Communion is objectively and literally the body and blood of Christ (although Lutherans and many Episcopalians do). Since the bible warns that he who receives the body and blood of Christ unworthily drinks death upon himself, the Church sees itself as having a moral, charitable responsibility not only to prevent the desecration of the Eucharist, but to save souls from destruction.
As distasteful as I find Kerry, Dodd and Bela Pelosi receiving communion given their very public stands on abortion and homosexual marriage, I have to give Kennedy a bit of grudging respect. At least he knows he’s an unrepentant public sinner and has the humility not to pretend he isn’t.
Amen!
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