Mamamontezz's Mental Rumpus Room

Ex-Communicated? Heavens!

About a week ago there was a story on the wires about how aides to candidate Kerry were setting up Catholic Churches for him to attend, then calling out the press for these "Press-Ops," making sure it was seen that the "believing and practising Catholic" was in church and receiving Communion.

Now, it seems, there may just be a bit of a problem with that, beyond their use of the sacraments as a publicity stunt. It seems the Press-Op they get may not be the one they want.

In the UK Telegraph article, Catholic Church 'will refuse Kerry Communion, Julian Coman reports that traditional Catholics are ready to do exactly that over Kerry's stance on abortion-linked issues.

Parrishioners in Catholic communities across the states are approaching their priests and bishops and demanding that they follow a directive given to them by the Pope at about the time of the 2000 presidential election. This directive states that persons who would allow or encourage women to abort their unborn children were in a state of mortal sin for which there was no absolution.

In laymen's terms, this person is Ex-Comminicated, cut off from the body of the Catholic Church and no longer able to take the sacraments.

Kerry and his camp are not at all pleased with this turn of events. The Democrat Party has long depended on the votes of Catholics, who amount to 25% of the total Christian population of the country. In my extended family alone, a large proportion are Democrat and have been all their lives.

Many Catholics, however, have left the Democrat camp because of their personal stand on abortion, and it is these Catholics who are attempting to force their churches to take what they say is the only proper stand and to follow the Vatican directive in this matter.

From personal experience, I will tell you that this will not be an easy task for traditional Catholics. I got into a discussion with a priest at the hospital where I work one day on why I would not vote for any Democrat who had in his or her voting record a vote for abortion rights. He said that to vote for a Republican was to vote against helping the poor. I looked him in the eye, and told him how disappointed I was that he, the shepherd of His flock on earth, would "put the self esteem and creature comforts of grown adults who have made bad life decisions over the very right to existance of the most vulnerable among us."

He just went white and looked as though I had physically struck him. He never said a word but turned and left the office. I didn't see him for several days while he mulled that one over, hopefully repeatedly.

But isn't that what the voters are doing when they back a candidate who embraces a policy or belief that is in complete contradiction to their own? Don't you then by default bloody your own hands?

It will certainly be interesting to see what happens over the next several months as these situations, both within the Kerry campaign and within the Catholic Church, play themselves out. All I can do is vote based on my knowledge of the issues and the candidates, and on my conscience.

Posted by Mamamontezz at April 4, 2004 02:18 AM