Free Republic

A TASK force of Catholic bishops, headed by Wash ington, D.C.'s Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, is now engaged in the prickly examination of what to do about Sen. John F. Kerry: Should the presumed presidential nominee, who professes the Catholic faith but publicly and consistently flouts its tenets on abortion, be permitted to receive Holy Communion? -snip- In fact, it's a no-brainer: The church's Code of Canon Law 915 states explicitly that Communion must be denied those who have "obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin." Kerry and a whole herd of so-called Catholic politicians fit the bill. -snip- Since all politics...

Wishy-Washy Statements by Catholic Bishops on Abortion and Voting Leading to Scandal TORONTO, June 23, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Over the past few months at least several individual US and Canadian Catholic Bishops have given clear, strong directions on the primary importance of the life and family issues when making voting decisions. However, statements by US and Canadian Bishops Conferences have left many Catholics in the dark as to the pre-eminent importance of the direct life issues such as abortion and euthanasia. These statements have often lumped abortion and same-sex marriage in with much less absolutely immoral issues such as poverty,...

  Catholics in Political Life We speak as bishops, as teachers of the Catholic faith and of the moral law. We have the duty to teach about human life and dignity, marriage and family, war and peace, the needs of the poor and the demands of justice. Today we continue our efforts to teach on a uniquely important matter that has recently been a source of concern for Catholics and others. It is the teaching of the Catholic Church from the very beginning, founded on her understanding of her Lord’s own witness to the sacredness of human life, that...

DENVER (Reuters) - American Catholic bishops, seeking to avoid a political collision within their ranks, voted overwhelmingly on Friday to allow each diocese to decide for itself on whether to refuse communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights. The decision comes five months before Americans vote in national elections in November and appears to be a compromise between conservative bishops who have said they will refuse communion to politicians who support abortion rights and others who say the best way to counter abortion is through persuasion. The issue of whether Catholic candidates will support the church's position on abortion...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- If Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry were to attend Mass at a Spokane-area Catholic Church, he should be given Communion, Bishop William Skylstad said Thursday. The sacrament should not be used as a weapon, Skylstad said in a message to parishioners. Several Catholic leaders around the country have said either that they would not give Communion to Kerry, who is Catholic and supports abortion rights, or that Kerry should not attempt to take Communion. The Catholic Church is opposed to abortion. "Eucharist is God's gift to us, God's presence among us," Skylstad, vice president of the U.S....

<p>WASHINGTON -- Forty-eight Roman Catholic members of Congress have warned in a letter to Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C., that US bishops will revive anti-Catholic bigotry and severely harm the church if they deny Communion to politicians who support abortion rights.</p>

The Faithful and the Faithless May 6, 2004 If elected in November, John Kerry would be our third Catholic president. John Kennedy was of course the first. Who was the second? Give up? Ronald Reagan. As I understand it, he was baptized a Catholic in infancy, though he was raised as a Protestant. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, if you’re baptized in the Church you remain a Catholic all your life. That’s one of the many things even most Catholics don’t realize anymore. There’s a general impression that the Second Vatican Council suspended the old rules and left...

Lesbian and gay Catholics in the UK call for withdrawal of Catholic Bishop's Diversity and Equality Employment Guidelines The Roman Catholic Caucus Steering Group has issued the following statement: The Roman Catholic Caucus of the Lesbian & Gay Christian Movement (RCC-LGCM) notes with considerable concern recent reports of at least one job-offer withdrawal and a dismissal from post on grounds of sexual orientation, by Catholic employers. Regrettably and predictably, such action is supported by the current insidious Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, the subject of a recent Judicial Review and whose judgement is imminent. Just as we feared,...

Baghdad (AsiaNews) – Early this morning the Provisional Governing Council (PGC) ended their long meeting upon approving the draft of Iraq’s temporary constitution. The document will be signed this Wednesday on the Shiite holiday of Ashura (celebrating martyrdom ofImam Hussein, the son of Ali, and cousin, son-in-law of the great Prophet). The last days’ discussion dealt with difficult obstacles to overcome. The heart of disagreement revolved around three points: federalism, the role of Islam and the role of women in the future of Iraqi society. PGC spokesman, Intifad Kanbar, pointed out that the main points the new temporary constitution will...

<p>Eighty-one percent of sex crimes committed against children by Roman Catholic priests during the past 52 years were homosexual men preying on boys, according to a comprehensive study released yesterday on the church's sex abuse crisis.</p> <p>The John Jay study was commissioned 20 months ago by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in response to hundreds of sex-abuse accusations that were made in nearly every U.S. Catholic diocese. It covered the years from 1950 to 2002 and found 10,667 cases of abuse.</p>

<p>Early detractors of Mel Gibson's hit film, "The Passion of the Christ," are backing away from their critical remarks after the movie grossed a record-setting $26.6 million on its opening day.</p> <p>"The Passion," which opened Wednesday on 4,643 screens at 3,006 theaters, set a record for the biggest opening day for a movie released outside the summer (May-August) and winter holiday months (November-December).</p>

Unquestionably, canon 915 is the most discussed canon in the Codex Iuris Canonici, or Code of Canon Law, in recent Church history. Many in the media have reported on the January 8, 2004 canonical actions of Archbishop Raymond Burke, then bishop of the La Crosse, Wisconsin diocese. His actions have rocked the Catholic Church. Because of much misinformation, speculation and outright resentment, confusion reigns regarding the Archbishop's promulgation of his 'canonical notification' based on canon 915, the official communication of what the Church's discipline is.

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's Roman Catholic bishops have expressed outrage over the Fox administration's decision to hand out the controversial "morning-after pill" at government-run family planning clinics In a series of statements this week, the bishops said the pill is a method of abortion comparable to murder. Some said women who use the pill are effectively excommunicating themselves from the church. "Contraception and abortion are both products of an anti-life mentality, which comes from the culture of death," Bishop Rodrigo Aguilar, head of the Mexican Bishops Conference's Family Committee, said in a statement. The morning-after pill has been available in...

BOSTON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- The major public policy voice of the Jewish community in greater Boston has voted overwhelmingly to back same-sex marriage. The endorsement by the Jewish Community Relations Council, an umbrella organization representing 42 Jewish groups, is part of a growing effort by liberal religious voices to counter the strong opposition to same-sex marriage voiced by the state's Catholic bishops, the Boston Globe said Friday. The bishops of the state's four Catholic dioceses planned to announce a major campaign to defeat same-sex marriage Friday. Several Jewish organizations had already endorsed same-sex marriage, including the largest Jewish denomination...

Resolution on Immigration Reform A Resolution by the NationalConference of Catholic Bishops November 16, 2000Spanish Version 1. We, the bishops of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, at our annual meeting in Washington, D.C., call upon our federal policymakers to reexamine our immigration laws and enact legislative and administrative reforms which uphold the basic dignity and human rights of immigrants and preserve the unity of the immigrant family. 2. Immigrants from lands across the globe have helped build our great nation. Newcomers have contributed to our nation by strengthening our cultural and social fabric and adding their energies and...

BISHOP BANKS NEVER ACCEPTED BLAME FOR SHIELDING ABUSERS Bishop Robert J. Banks, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 75, gave up control of the Diocese of Green Bay on Dec. 12, 2003. Although all those who rule can claim certain "accomplishments," those who are supposed to be spiritual leaders have far graver responsibilities. They must not only care for the souls of their flock, but possess a sensitive conscience, set a good example, avoid scandal and, especially, possess humility, for a humble person admits his sins and seeks the forgiveness of those he has harmed. However, Bishop Banks admits...

To: National Desk Contact: Erik Whittington of American Life League, 540-226-9004 or ewhittington@all.org WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Calling it "a historic step forward in dealing with the problem of pro-abortion Catholic political figures," American Life League president Judie Brown expressed her gratitude to Bishop Raymond Burke of La Crosse, Wis., 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." Bishop Burke...

On ABC's This Week with George Stephonopoulous, the top US Bishop, Gregory Wilton, was totally unwilling to condemn homosexual priests. George S. gave him multiple opportunities to say what is obvious: that Church laxity as to homosexual priests and seminaries and priest-cliques of gay priests and bishops, have all conspired to result in [A] the child abuse and teenaged boy sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the past 30-35 years; and [B] the Church hierarchy's impotent response to the surfacing of this abuse--namely shuffling priests from place to place where they retain the Church's bona fides in order to pounce...

Dear Friend, I have a challenge for you -- see if you can tell me what all these quotes have in common: * "I'm spiritual. I'm religious. I'm a strong Christian and I'm a Catholic but I go to Presbyterian Church. Occasionally I go to the Catholic church too. I take communion. I haven't transferred my membership or anything. My wife and I consider ourselves -- she considers herself a Catholic." --Gen. Wesley Clark, in an interview with Beliefnet * "Under the Constitution, the public has a right to know that, in the end, the votes I cast are driven...

MADISON, WIS., December 4, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Bishop Raymond Burke of La Crosse, who was appointed the new Archbishop of St. Louis by Pope John Paul II Tuesday, has warned Catholic pro-abortion politicians that by voting against life they have put themselves outside of communion with the Church. "They can't promote any legislation, which would either continue or worsen the anti-life practices," Archbishop-elect Burke said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "If they were to continue to do that, I would simply have to ask them not to present themselves to receive the sacraments because they would not...