Our Bishops rarely fail to disappoint, but today they stood up like men and did the right thing, resisting pressure from the Vatican, and the Pope’s henchmen among their ranks.
A Step in the Right Direction
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 41 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
About time. Canon Law is very clear on the matter of reception of Holy Communion. Those priest & bishops who continue to give the Eucharist to Biden & those politicians like him who publicly support abortion, are themselves committing a sacrilege and are putting their own sous in jeopardy.
Amen to this. Those politicians need to be rebuked in public by being denied the Eucharist in public. Praying this decisions by the Bishops enables the Clergy who are in the position at the time have the courage and Grace to do so. Can’t wait!
A small blessing. I’ll take it. It has no effect on the politicians. If Church teaching on moral question meant squat to them, they’d stick to local government, or they’d be working within Republican ranks, or they’d stay out of political life entirely. It may help to get the attention of some lax clergy and lax pew sitters.
I think it was a secret vote. Too bad Bishops didn’t have to actually give their names publicly, although most probably know the names of the abortionistas anyway. What a pleasant surprise. Will some have to equate this atrocity of child murder with climate change in the final document. Hope not.
Very good news…for once. But thanks, anyway.
While it is of course desirable for politicians who support grave error to repent, the bigger effect of these sorts of documents is to avoid scandal. If a politician says “I will support these laws even though I have a ‘personal objection’ to them” or “it’s not the business of the Church to tell me what is right or wrong” and the Church does nothing, it invites the flock to think that the politician is right. If the politician is publicly rebuked it may or may not lead to him repenting, but it prevents him from misleading the flock about the real position of the Church.
We will see how this plays out. I do not know yet if the Bishops are so hard against the wall they have no choice but to insist on some very minimal standards.
Hopefully a vision of better things to come! They get a big attaboy of this one.
May the end result be in the saving of innocent babies in the womb.
Inertia is a thing that works in both directions; hope this step gains momentum.
I saw on Instapundit that 74% of polled Catholics support this.
Logical consistency question. If that apples to Abortion Joe, what about any Catholic that similarly supported abortion by that contributed $ to Abortion Joe and voted for him?
Stats I saw said three of eight (38%) of Catholics voted for Abortion Joe. The rest of his votes were Xeroxed and mailed in.
Stats I saw said three of eight (38%) of Catholics voted for Abortion Joe.
The ones you might see at Mass more than twice a year are on the payroll.
Well, the “catholic” Democrats don’t like it one bit…
https://catholicvote.org/outpouring-of-anti-catholic-hate-threats-as-bishops-gather/
Biden’s attitude conveys all we need to know about his “faith.” Pray for this man, he is close to the river and Charon awaits.
Pray for this man, he is close to the river and Charon awaits.
His father lived to be just short of 90 and his mother just past 90. If his is a vascular dementia, the odds are he won’t last two years. If it’s Alzheimer’s, he could easily last in that state another nine years. If it’s the Lewy body or frontotemporal sort, not sure. The vast majority of the demented have the Alzheimer’s type. Alzheimer’s can go on and on.
I was glad to see Bishop Kevin Rhoades is President of the USCCB and shepherded this vote to a good end. He was Bishop of my diocese (Harrisburg) and is a right thinking guy. He’s now bishop of South Bend (Notre Dame?).
JFK:
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It would appear that “catholic” Democrats have a greater loyalty to the government than they do to the Church. In the First Commandment God says that we should place no false gods before Him. In the original Hebrew the word gods could also be translated as powers or judges. Activist judges have played a major role in legalized abortion. These people sound like they are burning incense to the government.
It would appear that “catholic” Democrats have a greater loyalty to the government than they do to the Church.
I can appreciate the dilemma with which John LaFalce was presented. He’d entered politics at a time when the abortion issue was more a matter of conflict with each party than between the parties. (As late as 1988, he was able to get 60 Democratic members of Congress to sign a petition decrying the escalatingly intolerant orthodoxy on the issue in the national Democratic Party).
Of the 270-odd Democratic members of Congress as we speak, only about 20 were elected to that body prior to the day Gov. Robert Casey was denied a speaking slot at the 1996 Democratic National Convention. (The most populous state with a Democratic governor at that time was Florida, followed by Pennsylvania). There are very few Democrats in Congress who didn’t know the score at the time they set up their first campaign committee.
Art Deco:
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I resigned a lifetime membership in the Democratic Party and became an Independent around the time frame that you mentioned. To the media the DNC appears to be the voice of the party. They can spin any victory for a Democrat as a victory for the party platform.
I must have missed something but what they voted on was creating (another) document. Biden stands more of a chance of being crushed by the document than reprimanded (excommunicated) by his Bishop. Actually, stands more of a chance of tripping on document than any action being done. We have seen the long, sad history of their previous methods to being about conversion.
It just boggles my mind that the mafia can be excommunicated but pro abort Catholics, no. It would seem the mafia has a better chance of repentance.
I will predict what will happen; they will write and finally through much editing, agree on a document. It will have some good points but will fail to put any teeth in it to deal with pro abort politicians. And it may come down to something like, well if we had to include the pro aborts, we would have to include those who vote to go to war or wanted a wall on the border etc.
And it will be as useful bringing about conversion as say Faithful Citizenship document.
They, pro abort Catholics, already know what diocese and parishes to avoid.
That is how this is going to end. I don’t mean to be a downer, but this is the politics of the USCCB. And, btw, a diocese does NOT have to use documents. They are just meant to aide in teaching…
We have been down this sorry road before. I don’t want to go down it again.
This is where I think is the only disadvantage of our clergy not having children (although we are supposed to be viewed as their sons/daughters). There comes a point in raising children that talk is cheap/not listened to; you have to act.
MRSOPEY, I believe your prediction is correct. (BTW, is it Mrs Opey or Mr Sopey?) 😁
It speaks volumes about where we are as a Church, that those of us who believe and try to live the true Faith, as handed down from the Apostles, are genuinely excited that the USCCB has agreed, after much talk, to produce a document about a point of teaching that comes directly and clearly from Sacred Scripture. Merely the agreement to “write something” is enough to energize our hope, before one word has been written and “approved” by this body that, as a body, lacks any ecclesial authority whatsoever.
How unutterably sad.
It speaks volumes about where we are as a Church, that those of us who believe and try to live the true Faith, as handed down from the Apostles, are genuinely excited that the USCCB has agreed, after much talk, to produce a document about a point of teaching that comes directly and clearly from Sacred Scripture.
Against pressure from the Vatican Frank. That has to be remembered. That makes it highly unusual and potentially very significant.
It’s Mrs Opey 🙂
@Donald, what I remember is the Vatican urging that they don’t come out and focus on one item (pro abortion), that they address it broadly. And preserve “unity”. Unless I am wrong, this is exactly what the Bishops are doing.
I would expect to see “green” sins mentioned now right along with abortion. So if I’m a pro life politician, and I vote against electric cars BECAUSE I do not believe we should use child labor in other countries to make us greener, it could now be equated to a mortal sin.
I will be more than happy to admit that I am wrong but I have seen this dance too many times.