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It is incomprehensible that O'Malley allowed the Body of Christ to be given to a person living in an obvious state of mortal sin.

It is simply amazing that you can be so judgemental and still consider yourself a catholic! How do you know whether or not Kerry went to confession? You are no better than Kerry by judging his soul and the souls of others with whom you disagree.

How do you know whether or not Kerry went to confession?

That's a silly question; no priest knows the status of his communicants' souls. Only God does.

However, you don't play guessing games with the Body of Christ, when it comes to a public person living in an unrepentant, flagrant state of mortal sin.

You and O'Malley apparently don't have the same appreciation of the Body of Christ as I do.

Do you really believe Kerry went to confession? If so, he should be denouncing the evils of infanticide by now.

The author of this article has already determined the actions that will be followed by the new bishop and condemned him .... and the installation is still 2 days away!

And Land of the Irish comments on their invitation by stating: If O'Malley had one ounce of guts, those minions of Satan would never had been invited in the first place.

38 posted on 07/28/2003 7:00 PM CDT by NYer (Laudate Dominum) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]

The author was right, I was right, and you were wrong. Get over it.

Dear NYer,

One can't guess whether or not an individual is in mortal sin, at least not subjectively, not culpably.

Nonetheless, one can accurately state that Chappaquiddick Ted and Comrade Kerry have publicly committed acts which are gravely evil, and are unrepentant for them. Thus, they are public sinners.

After fair warning (and every Catholic politician in the world has had such warning, repeatedly), they ought to be refused Holy Communion. Plain and simple. They are public sinners, and Church law specifies that they ought to be forbidden the Eucharist.

As well, it's just plain common sense. We can never say with certainty that someone is subjectively culpable of mortal sin, but we can say that their PUBLIC ACTIONS are gravely evil. And in these cases, these men are unrepentant of their crimes against God and humanity. It is the merest prudence to deny them the Blessed Sacrament.

Further, it is an act of charity. For a Catholic priest or prelate, there is not a stronger way to say, "Repent! You are on the wrong path! Turn back before it is too late!"

Especially a bishop has an absolute moral obligation to try to assist these men to obtain the salvation of their souls. These men embrace the most filthy and putrid of evils and call it holy, virtually a sacrament to them and their followers. The bishop OWES THEM THE OBLIGATION of calling them out, publicly, to turn away from their sin.

It is strong, very strong medicine, but these patients are sick, very, very sick, and even this medicine may be too little too late.

Finally, it becomes a teaching event: if you wish to deny the most basic moral truths of the Holy Catholic Church (you will not protect in law the slaughter of innocent human beings), and you wish to proclaim this as a moral good, then you are outside the community of faith.

All are edified that these things really mean something, that sin is serious, and it is taken seriously by those whose duty it is to teach, rule, and sanctify.

Sorry, no one has yet explained to me how this was not an opportunity for Archbishop O'Malley to accomplish all three things.

sitetest

You are no better than Kerry by judging his soul and the souls of others with whom you disagree.

I have judged no souls and I challenge you to show otherwise. No Catholic is obliged to bite his tongue when he sees sin and sacrilege. Just because I state that I think Kennedy and Kerry are currently living in a state of mortal sin, doesn't mean I condemn them to eternal damnation. It doesn't even mean I'm right.

I've prayed the rosary outside an abortion clinic while a butcher was killing babies. Why? Because I wanted to pray for the Holy Innocents, future victims, and a conversion of heart of the butcher, himself, because I thought he was in a state of mortal sin.

If you call that judgemental, so be it.

If you want to give an abortion pass to O'Malley and Kerry, I'll voice my objections, but I will judge no one.