The Bishop and the Governor
From Catholic World News:
Kansas, May. 9, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City has announced that Governor Kathleen Sebelius should not receive Communion because of her support for legal abortion.
In a column appearing on May 9 in the archdiocesan newspaper, The Leaven, the archbishop said that Governor Sebelius has sent a "spiritually lethal message" by implying that she could remain a Catholic in good standing while supporting abortion on demand.
The archbishop's column cited in particular the governor's veto of the Comprehensive Abortion Reform Act, which would have required abortionists to inform women about the effects of the procedure and alternatives to abortion.
The governor's stand in favor of abortion is particularly painful, Archbishop Naumann wrote, because Sebelius is a Catholic. He reported that he had met with her "several times over many months to discuss with her the grave spiritual and moral consequences of her public actions." Because the governor has now rejected his pleas and her public stand constitutes a scandal to the faithful, the archbishop said that he has now directed her to refrain from receiving Communion. Archbishop Naumann reported that he has asked Governor Sebelius to accept this directive, so that she will "not require from me any additional pastoral actions."
Governor Sebelius has been mentioned as a possible running mate for Barack Obama, so this story may make it into the national media soon. "That mean old bishop," they will say. "How dare he tell the governor how what to do! Separation of church and state! Theocracy! Off with his head!"
Actually, Archbishop Naumann isn't telling the governor how to do her job. He is telling her how she must behave in the church over which he, not she, is the earthly shepherd. The governor remains free to join some other denomination which is less concerned about these things. The governor is also free to attend no church at all. What she is not free to do is pretend she is a Catholic in good standing while continuing to act in ways that are contrary to centuries of Catholic teaching.
Archbishop Naumann is surely familiar with St. Ambrose who, as bishop of Milan in the fourth century, threatened his own emperor with excommunication for the murder of 7,000 people. The emperor repented and was reconciled after several months of penance. Will Governor Sebelius do likewise? For her own sake, I hope so.
2 comments:
Catholics have the freedom to express the truth as they see it, but preaching the truth is not the same as coercing the truth.
Is it prudent for Catholic leaders and teachers to choose one issue above all others and approve without discrimination any person or law that labels itself pro and condemn any person or law that can be labeled anti?
Why not just simplify things and say, "Democrats are bad and Republicans are good? Catholics may not in good conscience vote for a Democrat or hold office as a Democrat!"
This seems to be far from the way Benedict XVI would teach and act. Benedict presents the Truth in a way that reveals its beauty and proportion and, as a good shepherd, he invites us to follow.
Personally I am against abortion because it is killing. I am also against killing in war and in capital punishment. Catholic teaching is very clear about these issues but it is not coercive.
If American Catholics really followed Catholic teaching they would have stood with the Pope and the U.S. Bishops rather than following President Bush into an unjust war.
Hi Burton, thanks for the comment.
Is it prudent for Catholic leaders and teachers to choose one issue above all others and approve without discrimination any person or law that labels itself pro and condemn any person or law that can be labeled anti?
Yes, it is. You're missing a crucial distinction: abortion is intrinsically evil. There are no circumstances under which it is justified. None. This is a moral absolute.
In the case of war and the death penalty, the Church generally discourages both but allows for exceptions. War can be just. The death penalty is permitted under certain conditions I refer you to paragraphs 2309 and 2267 of the catechism.
Why not just simplify things and say, "Democrats are bad and Republicans are good? Catholics may not in good conscience vote for a Democrat or hold office as a Democrat!"
There are plenty of things for which the GOP should be held to account. Torture of prisoners, for instance. You will have to ask the bishops why they are not doing so more aggressively. It seems to me they should.
This seems to be far from the way Benedict XVI would teach and act. Benedict presents the Truth in a way that reveals its beauty and proportion and, as a good shepherd, he invites us to follow.
You should be pleased with what Abp Naumann has done, then. He is following the exact procedure then-Cardinal Ratzinger laid out in 2004: counsel the person in private, and if they persist then inform them not to receive communion.
If American Catholics really followed Catholic teaching they would have stood with the Pope and the U.S. Bishops rather than following President Bush into an unjust war.
I totally agree. However, as mentioned above this is an issue where there is room for prudential judgment by individuals. One can honestly think that this particular war is just and still remain a good Catholic. Not so with abortion.
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