Archbishop Burke Keeps Up the Pressure
Archbishop Raymond Burke's recent article on Canon Law & denying pro-abortion Catholics communion has, naturally been draing attention. Not all of it positive. But rather than let that stop him, he has continued to exercise his teaching office by expanding on what he said in the article. The Archbishop pulls no punches in a Q & A session. (below) Clearly he is not afraid to get a fellow bishop or 2 upset either. (see Q 3) Shades of Ss Athanasius & John Chrysostom who were also willing to stand up to fellow bishops when they didn't follow orthodox teachings.
Archbishop Burke also does a good job of refuting the myth that Catholics have to always oppose war & the death penalty. (Q 7) The facts are, the Church allows for both under certain conditions, as the Archbishop points out. A specific war or application of the death penalty can be allowed under certain circumstances, they are not intrinsically evil like the abortion, euthenasia, etc. He fires a shot across the bow of those who don't like that fact either. & there are those who do try & make being anti-war or anti-death penalty an absolute requirement of being a good Catholic while downplaying the teaching on opposing abortion, which IS an absolute.
As I said, some people are not happy with what the Archbishop had to say. & of course Rudy Giuliani isn't too happy about the scrutiny. But as an article from FoxNews points out, it seems like Giuliani is trying to have his cake & eat it too. In other words, I'll invoke my (alledged) Catholic faith when it suits my political purposes. But don't dare look to closely to see how serious I really am about it: "Giuliani, a Republican, sometimes evokes his Catholic upbringing as he campaigns for president, yet he declines to say whether he is a practicing Catholic.
In August, when a voter in Iowa asked if he was a "traditional, practicing Roman Catholic," he said: "My religious affiliation, my religious practices and the degree to which I am a good or not-so-good Catholic, I prefer to leave to the priests."
Last week, Giuliani compared the scrutiny of his personal life marked by three marriages to the biblical story in which Jesus said only someone who was free of all sin should try to stone an adulterous woman.
"I'm guided very, very often about, 'Don't judge others, lest you be judged,"' Giuliani told the Christian Broadcasting Network.
"I have very, very strong views on religion that come about from having wanted to be a priest when I was younger, having studied theology for four years in college," he said."
In August, when a voter in Iowa asked if he was a "traditional, practicing Roman Catholic," he said: "My religious affiliation, my religious practices and the degree to which I am a good or not-so-good Catholic, I prefer to leave to the priests."
Last week, Giuliani compared the scrutiny of his personal life marked by three marriages to the biblical story in which Jesus said only someone who was free of all sin should try to stone an adulterous woman.
"I'm guided very, very often about, 'Don't judge others, lest you be judged,"' Giuliani told the Christian Broadcasting Network.
"I have very, very strong views on religion that come about from having wanted to be a priest when I was younger, having studied theology for four years in college," he said."
Here is a quote from an article in a St. Louis paper: "A Giuliani campaign spokesman, Elliott Bundy, said in an e-mail: "This is a decision that should be left up to the bishops and the priests of the Church." Giuliani has refused to talk publicly about how he lives his Catholic faith, and Bundy would not answer questions about whether Giuliani regularly receives Communion, saying only, "Those issues are private."" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, This presidential campaign, Burke's rebukes snare Giuliani )
OK Rudy, if it is up to the bishops & priests then this bishop has it right, you shouldn't receive Communion. & not just for your abortion stand. You give them the OK to judge, then you criticize them when they do. He reuses to say if he is a practicing Catholic. Well, following the Biblical admonition of judging a person's fruits, the answer has to be a resounding "NO!!!!!" He is divorced & remarried outside the Church. That is another impediment keeping him from receiving Communion.
But, Archbishop Burke is getting kudos also. As LifeSite reports: "Fidelis, a national Catholic advocacy group, applauded the courageous decision by St. Louis' Archbishop Raymond Burke to deny Holy Communion to Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, and all pro-abortion politicians running for president, regardless of their political party." (Catholic Group says "Archbishop Burke Right to Deny Communion to Giuliani") Fidelis has even taken out an ad in some Iowa papers showing where Giuliani stands on abortion.
Fidelis President Brian Burch had this to say in an article on their website: ""Faithful Catholics across the United States are thrilled to see Archbishop Burke courageously stand up for the dignity of every human person by confronting yet another Catholic pro-abortion politician. Candidate Giuliani has shamelessly supported the unlimited right to abortion, including partial-birth abortion, and has even vowed to fund abortion with taxpayer dollars, while campaigning as a devoted Catholic."
"The Archbishop's courageous decision to deny Communion to pro-abortion Catholic Giuliani -- a Republican -- proves that this not a partisan issue," said Burch.
"The Archbishop's bold defense of the Church should be a wake up call for Catholics across the country. Sadly, several recent polls still show that many Catholics are unaware of the pro-abortion positions espoused by Giuliani. Any politician looking to win the support of Catholic voters should be held to a high standard, and that includes a commitment to defend the most vulnerable and innocent in our society, particularly the unborn," continued Burch."
The Post-Dispatch also had some info in the article about the upcoming USCCB Fall meeting. "On Tuesday, the bishops said they plan to re-evaluate their document, "Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility," when they meet next month." Archbishop Burke's writings will put a lot of pressure on them to make a stronger stand this time arround. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Taken from the Archdiocese of St. Louis Website:
Q. Why did you write the article?
A. During the election campaign of 2004, some bishops found themselves under question regarding the application of canon 915. Canon 915 addresses the responsibility of priests and other Eucharistic ministers when it comes to administering Holy Communion.
I wrote the article for a scholarly international canon law journal published in Rome, Periodica De Re Canonica. You can read the entire article at www.archstl.org.
The article was published in April of this year, but the secular media has just now started covering it.
A. During the election campaign of 2004, some bishops found themselves under question regarding the application of canon 915. Canon 915 addresses the responsibility of priests and other Eucharistic ministers when it comes to administering Holy Communion.
I wrote the article for a scholarly international canon law journal published in Rome, Periodica De Re Canonica. You can read the entire article at www.archstl.org.
The article was published in April of this year, but the secular media has just now started covering it.
Q. What does the article mean to priests and Eucharistic ministers?
A. The Church teaches us that if a Catholic is in a state of grave sin, he/she should not approach the altar to receive Holy Communion. If he/she persists in a public and serious sin, the priest or other Eucharistic minister is morally obliged to deny him/her Communion, if he/she should approach to receive..
A. The Church teaches us that if a Catholic is in a state of grave sin, he/she should not approach the altar to receive Holy Communion. If he/she persists in a public and serious sin, the priest or other Eucharistic minister is morally obliged to deny him/her Communion, if he/she should approach to receive..
Q. Do all the bishops agree with this?
A. It is not a question of what number of bishops agree or disagree with the discipline. It is the discipline of the universal Church, which every bishop is required to uphold.
A. It is not a question of what number of bishops agree or disagree with the discipline. It is the discipline of the universal Church, which every bishop is required to uphold.
Q. If a politician approaches you to receive Holy Communion, and they have publicly spoken against the teachings of the Catholic Church, how will you handle that?
A. If I or another pastor of the Church had already spoken with the politician and admonished him/her not to approach to receive Holy Communion, I would not give Holy Communion to the politician. If I had not had a pastoral conversation with the politician and did not know that another pastor had spoken with the politician in the matter, then I would give him/her Holy Communion but ask to meet with the politician privately to admonish him/her not to approach to receive Holy Communion, in the future, for as long as the politician persists in a serious and public sin.
A. If I or another pastor of the Church had already spoken with the politician and admonished him/her not to approach to receive Holy Communion, I would not give Holy Communion to the politician. If I had not had a pastoral conversation with the politician and did not know that another pastor had spoken with the politician in the matter, then I would give him/her Holy Communion but ask to meet with the politician privately to admonish him/her not to approach to receive Holy Communion, in the future, for as long as the politician persists in a serious and public sin.
Q. Does that mean that, if I sin, the priest will deny me Holy Communion?
A. No. We are all sinners. However, when a person persists in committing publicly acts that are seriously sinful, and the person has been admonished not to approach for Holy Communion until he/she stops committing publicly the serious sin, then the priest or other Eucharistic minister should deny Holy Communion.
A. No. We are all sinners. However, when a person persists in committing publicly acts that are seriously sinful, and the person has been admonished not to approach for Holy Communion until he/she stops committing publicly the serious sin, then the priest or other Eucharistic minister should deny Holy Communion.
Q. I am pro-choice. Can a priest deny me Holy Communion?
A. If a Catholic publicly espouses a pro-choice position, then he/she should be admonished not to approach to receive Holy Communion and, if he/she does approach, then the person should be denied Holy Communion.
A. If a Catholic publicly espouses a pro-choice position, then he/she should be admonished not to approach to receive Holy Communion and, if he/she does approach, then the person should be denied Holy Communion.
Q. What about those politicians who are pro-war or for the death penalty?
A. First of all, a distinction must be made. On the one hand, war and capital punishment are not intrinsically evil. They can be justified in certain situations. The Church teaches that war and the use of the death penalty can only be morally permitted when certain conditions have been strictly met. On the other hand, abortion, euthanasia, human cloning and embryonic stem-cell research, for example, are intrinsically evil, that is, they can never be justified for any reason. If the politician publicly denies the Church’s teaching on war or on the use of the death penalty, then his/her pastor should speak with the politician, in order to inform his/her conscience correctly. If the politician persists in the public denial of the Church’s teaching, then he/she should not approach to receive Holy Communion.
A. First of all, a distinction must be made. On the one hand, war and capital punishment are not intrinsically evil. They can be justified in certain situations. The Church teaches that war and the use of the death penalty can only be morally permitted when certain conditions have been strictly met. On the other hand, abortion, euthanasia, human cloning and embryonic stem-cell research, for example, are intrinsically evil, that is, they can never be justified for any reason. If the politician publicly denies the Church’s teaching on war or on the use of the death penalty, then his/her pastor should speak with the politician, in order to inform his/her conscience correctly. If the politician persists in the public denial of the Church’s teaching, then he/she should not approach to receive Holy Communion.
Q. This sounds like the Church telling me what I should think or how I should vote.
A. The Church teaches us the truths of the Faith, according to which we are obliged, in conscience, to live. Voting, an important civic act, must also be in accord with the truths of the Faith. In teaching the truths of the Faith, the Church helps us to discipline our thinking correctly, including our thinking about voting. For example, the truth of the Faith, which teaches us the inviolability of innocent human life, requires that our acts of voting safeguard and promote the dignity of every human life, from the moment of its inception to the moment of natural death, especially the life of the innocent and defenseless human being. The moral duty to respect the inviolability of innocent human life cannot be morally relativized with respect to other concerns which we may have in voting.
A. The Church teaches us the truths of the Faith, according to which we are obliged, in conscience, to live. Voting, an important civic act, must also be in accord with the truths of the Faith. In teaching the truths of the Faith, the Church helps us to discipline our thinking correctly, including our thinking about voting. For example, the truth of the Faith, which teaches us the inviolability of innocent human life, requires that our acts of voting safeguard and promote the dignity of every human life, from the moment of its inception to the moment of natural death, especially the life of the innocent and defenseless human being. The moral duty to respect the inviolability of innocent human life cannot be morally relativized with respect to other concerns which we may have in voting.
posted by Al @ 4:49 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home