Faithful Priests Call on All Bishops to Back Archbishop for Denying Communion to Abortion-Supporting Politicians

From "Faithful Priests Call on All Bishops to Back Archbishop Burke on Denying Communion to Abortion-Supporting Politicians" by Lifesite.org, posted 10/9/07

The Confraternity of Catholic Clergy (CCC), a national association of 600 priests and deacons dedicated to following the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church, have publicly endorsed the rationale of St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke to deny Holy Communion to politicians who obstinately and openly support abortion or euthanasia. "We respectfully urge all his brother bishops to universally and decisively support this initiative at the upcoming General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in November," said the group in a release.

"The Code of Canon Law (#915) explicitly states that those 'who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to Holy Communion,' said the release. The confraternity explained, "Giving consent to an evil act is de facto formal cooperation in evil. Equally culpable are persons who are 'personally opposed to abortion' yet provide necessary assistance for the evil to occur. This is clearly understood as material cooperation in evil."

Rebutting excuses which have been made to refuse to deny communion to pro-abortion politicians, the CCC says: "It is specious to say that denying Holy Communion causes scandal to the faithful. Recall the parable in Matthew 22 where the man is physically removed from the banquet for not wearing a wedding garment. Some might consider it unfair treatment yet the gospel shows there is no excuse. The man was 'speechless' and Catholic politicians have no excuse, either. If they openly support abortion and/or euthanasia, even if 'personally opposed', they are in fact publicly unworthy to receive Holy Communion due to their cooperation in evil."

The CCC concludes, "Greater scandal is given when bishops, priests, and deacons do not protect the sanctity and dignity of the Most Blessed Sacrament by allowing public persons notoriously known for their positions which directly violate the Divine and Moral Laws."

16 Catholic Senators Support Pro-Abortion Bill

Catholic pro-life groups are condemning a major pro-abortion vote cast by more than a dozen Catholic U.S. senators.

From "16 Catholic Senators Support Pro-Abortion Bill" by Jim Brown, posted 9/26/07, at OneNewsNow.com

Sixteen Catholic senators recently voted against an amendment that would have restored the Mexico City Policy. The policy, instituted by President Reagan in 1984, prohibited U.S. taxpayer dollars from funding organizations that perform or promote abortions in foreign countries. Catholic activist Judie Brown, president of American Life League, says she was especially disappointed by the vote of a freshman Democrat from Pennsylvania who claims to be pro-life.

"Other than Robert Casey, who is an enormous disappointment to me, I think we could have expected the pro-abortion vote from the other 15 so-called Catholic senators," says Brown. "It's no surprise to me that those 15 individuals voted against life because they've been doing so consistently for a very long period of time."

A big part of the reason this is happening is because leadership in American Christendom is very weak. These politicians should have been called to account long ago and put out of the church in order to spur repentance for their own sakes and the sake of the church. Instead their sin is allowed to encourage other Christians to sin and confuse the unbelieving world. Shame on our leaders for lacking the courage of their convictions and respect for the positions in which they have been placed.

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Christian Teens Seek to Hold 'Christian' Principal Accountable

From "Students Protest Outside Principal's Church, Home" by Koula Gianulias, posted 5/6/07, at cbs13.com

A school protest turned personal when demonstrators targeted a church, and the home of a Citrus Heights principal.

Protestors were lashing out at the principal for banning t-shirts with a biblical message that some considered anti-gay.

One student at the protest was suspended for wearing the t-shirt, On Sunday he was demonstrating against his principal in front of his church.

Churchgoers were surprised and disappointed, but tried to turn the other cheek.

A few hours later, demonstrators planted themselves in front of the principal’s house, raising their voices as neighbors came out to look.

Principal Terwilliger was visibly shaken by their visit and notified police, but he didn’t want to talk on camera, fearing the situation would only get worse. All of this was sparked by National Day of Silence, an event at high schools to promote tolerance. Some students retaliated by wearing biblical t-shirts that the principal considers anti gay.

The principal already reversed the suspensions hoping to open a dialogue. He also says it is his duty to maintain a safe learning environment.

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While I don't condone their method, I do admire the idea behind it. This principal is in open rebellion to God's Word. His CHURCH should be holding him accountable. Apparently Christian teens are willing to go where adult Christians fear to tread...