I was trying to hunt down this story this morning when Sean kindly emailed me a more direct source.
Consequently, if a Catholic publicly and obstinately supports the civil right to abortion, knowing that the Church teaches officially against that legislation, he or she commits that heresy envisioned by Can. 751 of the Code. Provided that the presumptions of knowledge of the law and penalty (Can. 15, § 2) and imputability (Can. 1321, § 3) are not rebutted in the external forum, one is automatically excommunicated according to Can. 1364, § 1.
Moves have been afoot this year to excommunicate John Kerry for his belief in abortion which directly opposes the belief of the Catholic Church. This is the first direct response from the Vatican than says such politicians should be “automatically” excommunicated.
I personally believe abortion is wrong. I may not be 100% convinced that an embryo is yet a human life, but I believe that it might be a human life and we owe the unborn every right available to them since they can’t speak for themselves. Most Christian churches in the U.S. have similar beliefs regarding abortion.
For the Catholic Church, abortion is a mortal sin. The Church does not permit any other belief; a mortal sin must be recanted, and a member is ineligible to receive the Sacraments of the Church. (And you left-wingers don’t try to tell me this is unfair; any organization has the right to set rules for their own members. Do you think PETA would allow you to be a member if you like your steaks medium-rare?)
John Kerry wants to be a member of the Catholic Church without holding onto the Church’s core beliefs. A Catholic in name only. He wants the support of both religious Catholics and anti-religious abortionists. It’s hypocrisy – if you firmly, deep in your soul, believe according to Catholic faith that abortion is murder, then you cannot support abortion. If you do not believe abortion is murder, then you cannot be a Catholic. You can’t have it both ways.
Kerry’s position recently has been, “I believe abortion is wrong, but I don’t believe I should impose my faith on others.” The Catholic Church still says this is wrong; a pro-choice Catholic politician who says he is “personally opposed to the act of abortion still commits heresy by publicly supporting the civil right to choose abortion.
John Kerry is being told by the Catholic Church to make a choice: be a Catholic, or be a supporter of abortion. Kerry cannot be both; the Church does not permit it.
Chasing the Wind 
So much for separation of church and state. I take issue when someone’s religious beliefs affect my rights as a citizen on this country.
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The Constitution doesn’t mandate a separation of Church and State. It says government may not establish a religion nor abridge the freedom of religion.
Your rights are unchanged. John Kerry is free to decide he is not Catholic after all; being Catholic is entirely voluntary. And if Kerry is your candidate, wouldn’t you prefer that he’s not a member of a church?
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Personally, I don’t care whether or not he’s a member of a church. I just do not want his religious beliefs to dictate his policy making. For example, deciding that since he’s a Catholic, he can on allow goverment supported hospitals and health insurance plans to cover contraception.
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Just saying hi! been awhile since I have been around this way!
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I prefer a candidate who is consistent in his beliefs. Kerry might just as well be saying, “I believe that embezzelment/murder/animal sacrifice is wrong, but I can’t impose my beliefs on the American people” All of our laws in this country have been formulated based on our beliefs. Rape, murder, incest, polygamy, etc are all things that someone thinks they should be able to do. Others imposed their beliefs on society as a whole, and society is better off for it.
On a lighter note – What’s in a name?
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*Michael pats the spam filter on the back for catching Vox’s post*
Heh. I had to approve that one because of the naughty words. 😛
Imposing a belief on others is what the government does. What are laws except a belief system mandated upon society? Our Founding Fathers correctly understood that all rights are granted by our Creator, and the government can only take away those rights. We subscribe to this system as Americans because a lack of laws is anarchy, too many laws is tyranny.
I don’t have a problem with religious people holding public office and being guided by their beliefs. I *do* have a problem with somebody claiming to be religious and *not* following those beliefs.
P.S. Hi SwtGaHoney!
P.P.S. That’s a terrific link, Miss Vox. That’s almost word-for-word with my PETA analogy. 🙂
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I was wondering where my comment went! Now I know – no more naughty words, darn it 😉
And I so like using naughty words with you 😀
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You’re such a tease. I saw the daisies; there’s another fox in the henhouse. 😛
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😀
😉
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