Posted on 08/24/2004 7:12:20 AM PDT by Mershon
Thursday, August 05, 2004 The Associated Press
ATLANTA - Three Southern Catholic bishops said Wednesday that politicians who support abortion rights should be denied Holy Communion unless they publicly recant their views.
The statement by the archbishop of Atlanta, along with bishops in Charlotte, N.C., and Charleston, S.C., is the most stringent yet as Catholic bishops nationwide debate whether pro-choice politicians are worthy of the rite. The announcement affects at least 200 churches in Georgia and the Carolinas.
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A handful of the nation's 300 or so bishops have already said that abortion-supporting politicians should be denied Communion, but none of those went as far as the three Southern bishops, who wrote that politicians would have to publicly disavow any support for abortion rights and get permission from a bishop before again receiving Communion.
"By supporting pro-abortion legislation they participate in manifest grave sin," the bishops wrote.
In June, U.S. bishops could not agree whether all politicians who favor abortion rights should be denied Communion.
The Communion debate gained national attention after Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis said in January he would deny the sacrament to presidential candidate John Kerry, a Catholic who supports abortion rights.
The three bishops signing the statement were Atlanta archbishop John F. Donoghue, Charleston Bishop Robert J. Baker and Charlotte Bishop Peter Jugis.
The pull is becoming overwhelming.
Amen! We moved here 6 years ago and I feel more at home in that short amount of time than I did in my whole life up North. As for Georgia's Bishop Dononhue....thank God for his leadership. With his backing we will keep those lefty priests in line!
Well said.
And we have the Traditional Latin Mass in two locations. Near Charleston (Stella Maris)every Sunday at 5:30 and the second and third Sunday at Prince of Peace in Taylors (Greenville), South Carolina.
Good weather, affordable housing and low unemployment. Come on down!
Heck, if they could get the Archdiocese of Seattle to do that, I'd convert tomorrow.
August 4, 2004
As bishops, we have the obligation to teach and guide the Catholic Faithful whom we shepherd in the Body of Christ. A fundamental teaching of our Church is respect for the sacred gift of life. This teaching flows from the Natural Law and from Divine Revelation.
Life is a gift bestowed upon us by God, a truth underscored by the commandment: "You shall not kill" (Deut 5: 17 ). The Old Testament also teaches us that human life in the womb is precious to God: "...I formed you in the womb..." (Jer 1: 5). The right to life is a value "which no individual, no majority and no State can ever create, modify or destroy, but must only acknowledge, respect and promote" (Pope John Paul II, Evangelium vitae, 71a). A law, therefore, which legitimizes the direct killing of innocent human beings through abortion is intrinsically unjust, since it is directly opposed to the natural law, to God's revealed commandments, and to the consequent right of every individual to possess life, from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.
Catholics in political life have the responsibility to exemplify in their public service this teaching of the Church, and to work for the protection of all innocent life. There can be no contradiction between the values bestowed by Baptism and the Catholic Faith, and the public expression of those values. Catholic public officials who consistently support abortion on demand are cooperating with evil in a public manner. By supporting pro-abortion legislation they participate in manifest grave sin, a condition which excludes them from admission to Holy Communion as long as they persist in the pro-abortion stance (cf. Canon 915).
Holy Communion is where Catholics meet as a family in Christ, united by a common faith. Every Catholic is responsible for being properly prepared for this profound union with Christ. Participation in Holy Communion requires certain dispositions on the part of the communicant, namely, perseverance in the life of grace, and communion in the faith of the Church, in the sacraments, and in the hierarchical order of the Church (Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 35-38).
The Church also recognizes that there is a manifest lack of a proper disposition for Holy Communion in those whose outward conduct is "seriously, clearly, and steadfastly contrary" to the Church's moral teaching (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 37b). A manifest lack of proper disposition for Holy Communion is found to be present in those who consistently support pro-abortion legislation. Because support for pro-abortion legislation is gravely sinful, such persons should not be admitted to Holy Communion.
We also take this opportunity to address all Catholics whose beliefs and conduct do not correspond to the Gospel and to Church teaching. To receive the great gift of God - the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ - we must approach Holy Communion free from mortal sin. Those who are conscious of being in a state of grave sin should avail themselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to Holy Communion. To partake of the Eucharist is to partake of Christ Himself, and to enter into sacramental communion with our Lord we must all be properly disposed.
Because of the influence that Catholics in public life have on the conduct of our daily lives and on the formation of our nation's future, we declare that Catholics serving in public life espousing positions contrary to the teaching of the Church on the sanctity and inviolability of human life, especially those running for or elected to public office, are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in any Catholic church within our jurisdictions: the Archdiocese of Atlanta, the Dioceses of Charleston and Charlotte. Only after reconciliation with the Church has occurred, with the knowledge and consent of the local bishop, and public disavowal of former support for procured abortion, will the individual be permitted to approach the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
We undertake this action to safeguard the sacred dignity of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, to reassure the faithful, and to save sinners.
Most Reverend John F. Donoghue
Archbishop of Atlanta
Most Reverend Robert J. Baker
Bishop of Charleston
Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis
Bishop of Charlotte
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I'm glad for Catholics in the South. Maybe those bishops can have a talk with our heretics and apostates out West.
Maybe. But I doubt they would listen.
When did Stella Maris begin offering the Mass once a week? That's great news for the Charleston area.
First Sunday of Lent. It is weekly now. Msgr. Lawrence McInerny, JCL.
Soon to be Prince of Peace in Taylors, SC also (near Greenville)
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