The Democrat Presidential candidate, John Kerry, proclaimed recently to all Americans that he is a ‘faithful Catholic’ in good standing, yet promised that if elected:

In other words, this pro-abortion legislator has set himself outside of the Catholic faith and has incurred, according to canon law 1398, a common excommunication, latæ sententiæ, a censure incurred by the very fact of committing a crime. 

Yet, ironically, a majority of U.S. Catholic Bishops is unwilling to discipline legislators who support procured abortion from the sacrilegious reception of the Eucharist in most of the nation’s Catholic dioceses.  Sixty million U.S. Catholic laity is scandalized and confused by the refusal of most Bishops to dutifully govern and correct. 

World media are reporting with amusement individual Bishops' reaction.  Currently, 2 Archbishops and 10 Bishops have stated publicly they would obey the Church’s Divine Law and deny the Sacrament of the Eucharist to legislators who support procured abortion.ⁱⁱ   

The rest of the total 365 U.S. Bishops, 46 U.S. Archbishops, and 12 U.S. Cardinals, including the remaining 184 of the 196 diocesan Bishop heads, have made no such statement.ⁱⁱⁱ   In fact, many Bishops have spoken wrongly against the denial of Holy Communion to anyone, at anytime, for any reason.

Is the silence of this majority of Bishops sending a loud, clear message to all Americans that being pro-abortion is not a grave offense against God?

The Code of Canon Law n. 1369 instructs all Bishops: "A person is to be punished with a just penalty who gravely harms public morals."  Who could refute the fact that for years Senator Kerry, Senator Kennedy and over 500 pro-abortion ‘Catholic’ U.S. politicians have participated in abortion by writing, endorsing, encouraging, and passing pro-abortion and pro-homosexual legislation?  Canon 915 specifically prohibits persons receiving the Eucharist who obstinately persist in their grave manifest sins.  This is a no-brainer.

In fact, Senator Kerry’s pro-abortion record is so strong; he is the first presidential candidate (including Clinton and Gore) to be endorsed by the evil Planned Parenthood abortion group.

Senator Kerry supports human cloning, favors the creation and destruction of human embryos for ‘research,’ and has voted repeatedly against a federal ban on ‘partial birth abortion.’

This is from an interview ‘Catholic’ candidate John Kerry gave the Telegraph Herald of Dubuque, Iowa, picked up in a secondary report by the Washington Post:

Does not the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's note, "Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life" carry any authority with American Bishops and clergy?  It said that ‘lawmaking bodies have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that attacks human life’ (emphasis in the original).^iv

Why, as it has been recently revealed by CWNews, have three of the twelve prominent members of the USCCB ‘Review Board’ flagrantly and traitorously disobeyed Church teachings and supported pro-abortion Kerry’s presidential campaign financially?^v

As Senator John Kerry travels throughout the U.S. in his bid for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency, this pro-abortion, heretical 'Catholic' legislator receives sacrilegious Holy Communions wherever and whenever he attends the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  Why?

Each Sunday, pro-abortion Senator Kerry enters a different U.S. parish, approaches the altar, receiving the Eucharist while obstinately refusing to obey the Church's clearly defined laws against his unlawful reception of Communion.  Every parish receives advance notice of Kerry's clamorous arrival, yet, in parish after parish, both ‘Ministers of Holy Communion’ (pastors, priests, deacons) and ‘Extra-ordinary ministers of Holy Community’ (laymen) willfully give Kerry sacrilegious Communions.

The Catechism teaches that all clergy who administer the Sacrament of the Eucharist to manifest, obstinate, persistent sinners also participate in this grave cardinal sin of sacrilege (CCC, n.1755).  Is it not clear they must deny these pro-abortion politicians the Eucharist?

In fact, canon 915 places the responsibility on the minister -- 'ne admittantur' -- who, in some canonists' opinion, could be punished themselves according to canon 1389 §2, should he unlawfully administer the sacrament with the consequent danger of scandal for the rest of the faithful.  Canon 1339 prescribes the possibility of punishing any person who causes grave scandal by any violation of a divine or ecclesiastical law.

Some have suggested that the silence of most of the Bishops is because U.S. clergy overwhelmingly vote as Democrats and do not want to offend their leaders.  A recent poll suggested this was the case, at least, in the diocese of Chicago.

According to an exclusive Illinois Leader analysis^vi of the voting habits of the Chicago Archdiocese's voting Catholic priests, more than 75% of them sided with Democrats in the March 2002 primary election.  Consequently, many U.S. Catholics are receiving a message from many priests and Bishops, however subtle, that the Church wishes them to vote for the Democrat Party, the official abortion party in America.  Is this why many of our pulpits are silent on the infallible Church teachings regarding morals and faith, teachings that definitely offend Democrats?

Could another reason be U.S. Bishops fear losing more money donated in weekly offertory collections?  Do some U.S. Bishops fear offending powerful Democrat parishioners?

Dear Bishops, you are the leaders and shepherds of our church; we stand beside you in deepest prayer and respect.  Please stop the scandal and sacrilege of the Eucharist, we pray.

©Barbara Kralis 2004, All Rights Reserved.

Endnotes

i.   2004 Transcript of John Kerry’s address at the January 21, 2003 NARAL Dinner: http://www.bankofknowledge.net/2004/archives/000135.html
Cf. “Kerry Sets Pro-abortion Litmus Test for Judges,” by NewsMax.com Wires, 6/26/04; also, “A Few Questions for the Presidential Candidates,” by Radley Balko, 8/1/04, FoxNews.com; Cf. l994 Congressional Record.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,127374,00.html
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/1/26/180901.shtml

ii.   The distinguished list of Bishops to date (10/7/04) is: Archbishop Raymond L Burke of St. Louis, MO; Archbishop John F. Donoghue Archbishop of Atlanta, GA; Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz of Lincoln NE; Bishop Henry Rene Gracida, Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi, TX; Bishop Robert F. Vasa, Baker, OR; Bishop Joseph Galante of Camden, NJ; Bishop John M. Smith of Trenton, NJ; Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs, CO; Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger of Evansville, IN; Bishop Robert J. Baker Bishop of Charleston, SC; Bishop Peter J. Jugis Bishop of Charlotte, NC;; Bishop John Y. Yanta, Bishop of Amarillo, TX.

iii.   Cf. 2004 General Summary, ‘The Official Catholic Directory, 2004,’ pg. 2051, published annually by P.J. Kenedy and Sons.  This number includes current governing Bishops and living Bishops Emeritus.

iv.   Cf. § 2, n.4: Link

v.   “The Forum: 3 members of Review Board support Kerry,” special to Catholic World News, 10/6/04:
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=32578

vi.   “Illinois Leader Study: Chicagoland Catholic Priests vote 4 to 1 Democrat,” by ‘The Leader-Chicago Bureau,’ 11/01/02: http://www.illinoisleader.com/news/newsview.asp?c=2776

Barbara Kralis and her husband, Mitch, live in the great State of Texas, and co-direct the Jesus Through Mary Catholic Foundation. 

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