- Even the Pope made such noises, before giving knighthood to an abortion proponent
TN alerted us to this item from the Springfield State Journal-Register:
Springfield bishop reaffirms no communion for Sen. Durbin (excerpt)
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Springfield Roman Catholic diocese has reaffirmed that U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, should not be allowed to receive Holy Communion because of a recent vote on an abortion issue.
According to a statement issued by Paprocki on Feb. 13, Durbin was among 14 Catholic members of the U.S. Senate who voted against a bill that would have prohibited abortions starting at 20 weeks after fertilization. The bill, dubbed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, on Jan. 29 got only 51 of a needed 60 votes to move forward in the Senate.
“Because his voting record in support of abortion over many years constitutes ‘obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin,’ the determination continues that Sen. Durbin is not to be admitted to Holy Communion until he repents of this sin,” Paprocki said.
It was in 2004 that then-Monsignor Kevin Vann of Blessed Sacrament Church in Springfield said he would not give Holy Communion to Durbin because of the lawmaker’s stand that abortion should be legal. Vann is now a bishop in Orange, California. . . .
Bishop Paprocki’s full statement via LifeNews.com
I agree completely with His Eminence, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, who called the U.S. Senate’s failure to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act “appalling.”
Fourteen Catholic senators voted against the bill that would have prohibited abortions starting at 20 weeks after fertilization, including Sen. Richard Durbin, whose residence is in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. In April 2004, Sen. Durbin’s pastor, then Msgr. Kevin Vann (now Bishop Kevin Vann of Orange, CA), said that he would be reticent to give Sen. Durbin Holy Communion because his pro-abortion position put him outside of communion or unity with the Church’s teachings on life. My predecessor, now Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, said that he would support that decision. I have continued that position.
Canon 915 of the Catholic Church’s Code of Canon Law states that those “who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.” In our 2004 Statement on Catholics in Political Life, the USCCB said, “Failing to protect the lives of innocent and defenseless members of the human race is to sin against justice. Those who formulate law therefore have an obligation in conscience to work toward correcting morally defective laws, lest they be guilty of cooperating in evil and in sinning against the common good.” Because his voting record in support of abortion over many years constitutes “obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin,” the determination continues that Sen. Durbin is not to be admitted to Holy Communion until he repents of this sin. This provision is intended not to punish, but to bring about a change of heart. Sen. Durbin was once pro-life. I sincerely pray that he will repent and return to being pro-life.
Observed by the Pope , in the breach . . .
A 2013 letter from Pope Francis says pro-abortion politicians should not be eligible for communion in the Catholic Church.
In the letter, Pope Francis directed the Argentinean bishops to govern the Church there following the Aparecida Document.
The text states, in part, “[people] cannot receive Holy Communion and at the same time act with deeds or words against the commandments, particularly when abortion, euthanasia, and other grave crimes against life and family are encouraged. This responsibility weighs particularly over legislators, heads of governments, and health professionals.”
“These are the guidelines we need for this time in history,” the pope wrote to the bishops. . . .
Priests for Life founder Father Frank Pavone praised and commented on the Pope’s letter:
(excerpt)
“Some Church leaders mistakenly think we are advocating the use of the Eucharist as a ‘weapon.’ In fact, we are defending the Eucharist from being used as a political tool. “
They want the image of being good acceptable Catholics in communion with the Church.
Indeed Pelosi and other notorious pro-abortion Catholics received communion at a mass honoring Pope Francis with him in attendance From LifeNews.com:
So we have frank Francis words, as above, but then he allows such ilk to ignore them, and he also turns around and awards knighthood to a virulent pro-abortion politician:
Pope Francis Awards Architect of Safe-Abortion Fund with Pontifical Honor
So does a Catholic pay more attention to what he does than what he says or what says than what he does? It is confusing.
*When one is of a different religion or by implication have differences that are so fundamental, or other ineligibility, but are willing to show respect we believe the etiquette is to approach the communion distribution head down with hands crossed against the chest ? Why pro-abortion politicians do not approach as such is probably because they are intent on expressing that they are better Catholics than the Pope and the Bishops and know that Bishops such as Bishop Paprocki are rare birds.
