Shouldn't The Courageous Members Of The USCCB Be Saying This...
Instead of just one, lone priest?
Here's some of the article from The Greenville News; (Emphasis mine)Priest advises penance for Obama vote
Parishioners shouldn't take Communion until they do because of president-elect's abortion view, he says
The priest at St. Mary's Catholic Church in downtown Greenville has told parishioners that those who voted for Barack Obama placed themselves under divine judgment because of his stance on abortion and shouldn't receive Holy Communion until they've done penance.
The Rev. Jay Scott Newman told The Greenville News on Wednesday that church teaching doesn't allow him to refuse Holy Communion to anyone based on political choices, but that he'll continue to deliver the church's strong teaching on the "intrinsic and grave evil of abortion" as a hidden form of murder.
In a letter posted on St. Mary's Web site, Newman wrote that "voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exists constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."
Catholics who did so should be reconciled to God through penance before receiving communion, "lest they eat and drink their own condemnation," Newman wrote, echoing a I Corinthians admonition for anyone who partakes "without recognizing the body of the Lord."
The response from parishioners has been supportive by a margin of 9 to 1, Newman said. He also cited Scripture in urging parishioners to pray for Obama and cooperate with him wherever conscience permits.
Stephen Gajdosik, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, (why the hell isn't the bishop saying this? Too much of a political hot potato, so an underling makes the announcement? Ahhhh... I see now) told The News that calling parishioners who voted for a candidate who supports legalized abortions to penance is a question of how best to deepen a flock's relationship to God and a move left up to local priests. He said such a move is appropriate and in line with church teaching.
In an e-mail interview, Newman cited a survey earlier this year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life that showed fewer than 25 percent of the 65 million Americans who call themselves Catholic attend Mass each Sunday, a "disturbing fact of life" that he said shows the vast majority of those baptized into the church "do not live as disciples of Jesus Christ in any observable way." (Thank you, 'Spirit' of Vatican II. That must be the whole 'Springtime' thingee I've been hearing about)
Newman calls abortion the "chief battleground" in the so-called culture wars, and different from "prudential" matters such as health care, education or the war on terror. A Catholic who gets an abortion, encourages one or assists in the procedure is automatically excommunicated from the church, Newman said, a penalty he said doesn't apply to other forms of killing.
"The reason is that abortion is usually murder in secret and it lays axe to human life at its root," he said. With nearly 50 million abortions since Roe v. Wade, Newman said Obama would seek to make "hidden murder" a legally protected right, and anyone who voted to give him such power "will be complicit in the legal holocaust which will follow."
Newman said, "An uninformed vote is an irresponsible vote," and that no informed voter this year could have mistaken the candidates' abortion positions.
No matter the intention of the voter, Newman said a vote for Obama is "material cooperation" with his goal of extending the use of lethal violence against unborn children. I don't know what's scarier... that just one solitary (brave) priest who reinforced Church Teaching makes headlines, or that our courageous bishops where overwhelmingly silent and nervously looking the other way.
And yes, there are other priests in this country who have said as much as Father Newman, and they don't get the headlines. But let's be honest... if all the priests who defended Church Teaching from the pulpit were brought together in one spot, they could have their meeting in a phone booth.
I've said it before and I'll say it again -- the vast majority of clerics in this country are go-with-the-flow moral cowards. Don't believe me? Just ask 10 priests at random if they'll state this Sunday from the altar that abortion is intrinsically evil. Period.
Don't be surprised by the responses you get.
Instead of just one, lone priest?
Here's some of the article from The Greenville News; (Emphasis mine)
Parishioners shouldn't take Communion until they do because of president-elect's abortion view, he says
The priest at St. Mary's Catholic Church in downtown Greenville has told parishioners that those who voted for Barack Obama placed themselves under divine judgment because of his stance on abortion and shouldn't receive Holy Communion until they've done penance.
The Rev. Jay Scott Newman told The Greenville News on Wednesday that church teaching doesn't allow him to refuse Holy Communion to anyone based on political choices, but that he'll continue to deliver the church's strong teaching on the "intrinsic and grave evil of abortion" as a hidden form of murder.
In a letter posted on St. Mary's Web site, Newman wrote that "voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exists constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."
Catholics who did so should be reconciled to God through penance before receiving communion, "lest they eat and drink their own condemnation," Newman wrote, echoing a I Corinthians admonition for anyone who partakes "without recognizing the body of the Lord."
The response from parishioners has been supportive by a margin of 9 to 1, Newman said. He also cited Scripture in urging parishioners to pray for Obama and cooperate with him wherever conscience permits.
Stephen Gajdosik, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, (why the hell isn't the bishop saying this? Too much of a political hot potato, so an underling makes the announcement? Ahhhh... I see now) told The News that calling parishioners who voted for a candidate who supports legalized abortions to penance is a question of how best to deepen a flock's relationship to God and a move left up to local priests. He said such a move is appropriate and in line with church teaching.
In an e-mail interview, Newman cited a survey earlier this year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life that showed fewer than 25 percent of the 65 million Americans who call themselves Catholic attend Mass each Sunday, a "disturbing fact of life" that he said shows the vast majority of those baptized into the church "do not live as disciples of Jesus Christ in any observable way." (Thank you, 'Spirit' of Vatican II. That must be the whole 'Springtime' thingee I've been hearing about)
Newman calls abortion the "chief battleground" in the so-called culture wars, and different from "prudential" matters such as health care, education or the war on terror. A Catholic who gets an abortion, encourages one or assists in the procedure is automatically excommunicated from the church, Newman said, a penalty he said doesn't apply to other forms of killing.
"The reason is that abortion is usually murder in secret and it lays axe to human life at its root," he said. With nearly 50 million abortions since Roe v. Wade, Newman said Obama would seek to make "hidden murder" a legally protected right, and anyone who voted to give him such power "will be complicit in the legal holocaust which will follow."
Newman said, "An uninformed vote is an irresponsible vote," and that no informed voter this year could have mistaken the candidates' abortion positions.
No matter the intention of the voter, Newman said a vote for Obama is "material cooperation" with his goal of extending the use of lethal violence against unborn children.
And yes, there are other priests in this country who have said as much as Father Newman, and they don't get the headlines. But let's be honest... if all the priests who defended Church Teaching from the pulpit were brought together in one spot, they could have their meeting in a phone booth.
I've said it before and I'll say it again -- the vast majority of clerics in this country are go-with-the-flow moral cowards. Don't believe me? Just ask 10 priests at random if they'll state this Sunday from the altar that abortion is intrinsically evil. Period.
Don't be surprised by the responses you get.
posted by Kevin Whiteman at
11:50 AM
6 Comments:
My wife and I have friends who live in Greenville and we visit them from time to time. When we're there on Sundays, we'' go to Mass at the church closest to their home. Next time, we'll be sure to go to St. Mary's instead.
The USCCB destroys testicular fortitude for the bishops' to stand up.
In answer to yur question: "why the hell isn't the bishop saying this?" Simple, the diocese has no Bishop at this time, he was moved to Birmingham. So, until the Pope appoints a new one, all they have is a diocesan administrator.
Which also may explain why he was able to do so without repercussions.
Al,
I know that the bishop (Foley, I think was his name) was transferred some time ago. STILL no replacement, 'eh?
And it's sad when a Catholic priest can't preach solid Catholicism without worrying about "repercussiobns", huh?
Well... maybe not. I'm punching up a story now how Fr Newman is getting shot down by the Diocesan Administrator.
Gutless by any other name.....
It's good to know that there is one man left in the pulpit.
The letter in the parish bulletin has been taken down.
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