Scranton bishop threatens to deny sacrament to Casey

Republican Herald ^ | April 30, 2009 | BORYS KRAWCZENIUK

[NYer]

For the first time publicly, Diocese of Scranton Bishop Joseph F. Martino made it clear Wednesday that he might eventually bar U.S. Sen. Bob Casey from receiving communion if the senator doesn’t follow his advice on opposing abortion.

The bishop also said the senator should now think twice about receiving communion after voting Tuesday to confirm an abortion rights supporter, former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, as Health and Human Services secretary.

“If necessary, future determinations will be made regarding whether Sen. Casey is worthy to receive Holy Communion,” a Diocese of Scranton statement on Casey’s vote said. “However, at this point Bishop Martino believes it is incumbent upon Sen. Casey to reflect on his actions and ask himself if he should receive the sacrament.”

The bishop said he plans to continue to monitor Casey’s positions and votes on “life issues.” He also believes he has “a pastoral responsibility to instruct the senator about these serious moral issues” because Casey is a member of the diocese.

In letters last month and earlier this week, the bishop warned Casey against voting for Sebelius.

As he has for months, Bishop Martino declined to make himself available to answer questions about his position.

“The bishop isn’t available for an interview,” diocesan spokesman Dan Gallagher said in an e-mail.

In a telephone interview, Casey, who opposes abortion, declined to comment directly on the bishop’s new warning, but defended his support of Sebelius.

“Although I disagree with her on some issues, including a number of the decisions she has made on abortion, I believe my vote in favor of her confirmation was correct,” he said in a statement.

Casey also said:

· Leaving the position vacant as the country faces a possible flu pandemic “would be highly irresponsible.”

· The country cannot afford a further delay in appointing the official who will lead the fight to make sure more than 40 million uninsured Americans have health insurance and to reform the nation’s health care system.

· Sebelius has executive experience both as a governor and Kansas insurance commissioner that will help her carry out her duties.

“While the Secretary of HHS will have a limited role in defining abortion policy, I look forward to working with the president to reduce the number of abortions through measures like my Pregnant Women’s Support Act legislation,” Casey said in the statement.

The diocesan statement questions whether Casey is as opposed to abortion as he says he is and accuses him of having an “inconsistent” voting record.

It praises Casey’s support for legislation to aid pregnant women and families, but says he voted:

· Against restricting the payment of American tax dollars to foreign family planning groups that refuse to renounce abortion. Casey says such groups are already forbidden from using American tax dollars for abortions and the new restriction is unnecessary.

· To confirm Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan as solicitor general, despite her support of partial-birth abortion and her opposition to withdrawing federal money from taxpayer-funded abortion clinics and funding for teen-pregnancy counseling by religious institutions.

· To confirm Sebelius, who vetoed laws to restrict late-term abortions, including one that would have allowed lawsuits against doctors who perform abortions illegally and required late-term abortion providers to give “a fuller account” of each abortion. Sebelius also took hundreds of thousands in contributions from “one of our nation’s most notorious abortionists.”

That’s “ample evidence for the anti-life evidence she will make in this key position,” the diocesan statement said.

[NYer]

Bishop Joseph F. Martino

[nina0113]

And his father, Bob Casey, who actually WAS pro-life, gets a new job as St. Peter’s office fan.

[SumProVita]

Casey has never been fully PRO-life....

Good for the Bishop!

[pnh102]

It is always encouraging to see clergy not only with balls, but the willingness to use them... unlike the pathetic cowards who run Notre Dame.

I hope this guy keeps up the pressure.

And for those of you not familiar with Penna. politics, Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. is the son of the late, great, radically pro-life governor Bob Casey. This was the same Gov. Casey who spoke at the 1992 GOP convention after being kicked out of the DNC for his opposition to abortion. This is also the same Gov. Casey who was so opposed to abortion that he refused to campaign for his fellow Democrat Lt. Governor in his own bid for the governorship because said candidate was pro-choice.

The late governor must be rolling over in his grave over his son's betrayal of his legacy.

[fatima]

Thanks you Bishop Joseph F. Martino.

[Kolokotronis]

Bishop Martino is something of a joke when it comes to theology and a loose canon to boot but he certainly has the authority to say this to Casey and to bar him from the sacraments if he decides that’s necessary.

I wonder how much longer Latin Rite Catholics will or should hold elective office in this country? Personally, I doubt I would vote for any pol who gets his/her voting instructions from a bishop or any other cleric or preacher for that matter. In fact, it probably would be a good idea from here on out to ask Latin Rite politicians if they intend to represent their bishops’ interpretation of Latin Church dogma or their constituents.

[philly-d-kidder]

How about eliminating her because she didn’t pay her taxes..

[ArrogantBustard]

Are you going to ask the same question of Baptist, Presbyterian, Orthodox, Mohammedan, Zoroastrian politicians?

Would you, then, only vote for unprincipled spineless poll-driven morons?

Seems like Bill Clinton is the very model of the perfect politician, for you.

Or, perhaps you'd like to revise and extend your remarks ...

[Tennessee Nana]

Good for him !!!!

[Kolokotronis]

“Are you going to ask the same question of Baptist, Presbyterian, Orthodox, Mohammedan, Zoroastrian politicians?”

Of the first three, absolutely; in fact I have. I’d never vote for a Mohammedan and the only Zoroastrian I know isn’t a citizen.

“Would you, then, only vote for unprincipled spineless poll-driven morons?”

No, likely I’d vote for the first politician willing to stand up and proclaim that the floor of hell is paved with the skulls of bishops.

“Seems like Bill Clinton is the very model of the perfect politician, for you.”

Never voted for the man.

You know, AB, principled politicians are rare birds and often worth voting for for that single reason alone. What I won’t vote for is a craven lickspittel of any cleric, who quakes at the thought that he/she will be denied communion for voting in a manner the cleric finds objectionable.

[al_c]

Scranton bishop threatens to deny sacrament to Casey

And once again, the stupid media try to make it look like the bishop is the bad guy by "denying" the sacrament. He is protecting Casey from committing a sacrilege. Receiving the eucharist is not a right ... it's a gift. And if someone received is while not in a state of grace, they "eat and drink damnation upon themselves."

[bmwcyle]

LOL, and good post

[m4629]

Since when has any of these pro-abort politicians heeded the advise of the bishops? Like Casey, Pelosi, Kennedy, Kerry etc.

Time for dialogue has long passed. It’s time for the bishops to act with real action, or shut up.

[ArrogantBustard]

You seem to be missing the point ...

These pro-death bozos are going around

1) Claiming to be Catholic
2) Supporting in every way possible the bloody murder of unborn children.

Their behaviour is scandalous. They need to be told, flat out, that (2) above is incompatible with (1) above ... and that if they persist in (2) that (1) will be declared null. Bishop Martino (and others) should simply declare them excommunicated and be done with it. If Bishop Martino's skull becomes a flagstone in Satan's Courtyard, it may very likely be because of what he hasn't done. And the flagstone next over may well be Casey's skull.

You seem to forget that part of a Bishop's job is to teach.

[ArrogantBustard]

principled politicians are rare birds and often worth voting for for that single reason alone.

That's frightening. Does in not matter to you at all what those principles are?

[nanetteclaret]

***voting in a manner the cleric finds objectionable.***

It’s not what the “cleric” finds objectionable, it’s what the Church, the Bride of Christ, finds objectionable. Surely you know that the Church has always condemned abortion - even back to the “Didache” of the second century. The “cleric” has a duty to warn people that if they receieve the Blessed Sacrament in a state of mortal sin, they are condemning themselves to hell. “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” I Cor. 11:27 I know you, as a member of the Orthodox church, know this. You are just trying to pick fights with whatever position the “Latin Rite” Church takes. You can never say one good thing about us - there’s always something wrong.

[SoothingDave]

This was the same Gov. Casey who spoke at the 1992 GOP convention after being kicked out of the DNC for his opposition to abortion.

No, Casey did not speak at the convention. He was denied a slot because he was pro-life.

[Terry Mross]

A bishop tells a politician to vote agaisnt abortion. Notre Dame invites an abortionist to speak. The Catholic Church sounds as divided as the GOP.

[Kolokotronis]

“You seem to be missing the point ...”

I don’t think so. My point is that I, as an Orthodox Christian, do not hold that a pro-life position trumps all other Christian positions, or conversely, that a pro abortion position necessarily outweighs all other Christian positions. I can and I have voted for politicians whose public positions support what you and I call a pro abortion stance, and I have done that while being active in our state’s Right to Life movement. My Church does not teach me that a pro life position is the only test for my vote. Under the circumstances, I don’t want to be represented by someone who votes a certain way because his/her bishop holds a position not held by Orthodoxy and insists that a politician under obedience to him vote in accordance with that theological position.

“Their behaviour is scandalous. They need to be told, flat out, that (2) above is incompatible with (1) above ... and that if they persist in (2) that (1) will be declared null. Bishop Martino (and others) should simply declare them excommunicated and be done with it.”

AB, that’s fine with me. Like I said, its the bishop’s call. But if I lived in his diocese, I’d NEVER vote for any pol who qualifies as or hopes to qualify as a good Latin Rite Catholic.