From CatholicCulture.org:
"Over the weekend, the Rhode Island congressman (Patrick Kennedy) sided with abortion advocates in voting against the Stupak amendment, which barred the use of federal funds from paying for most abortions in the House’s health care reform legislation."
The article then quoted from Bishop' Tobin's letter to Kennedy:
"[I]n confronting your rejection of the Church’s teaching, we’re not dealing just with “an imperfect humanity” – as we do when we wrestle with sins such as anger, pride, greed, impurity or dishonesty. We all struggle with those things, and often fail.
Your rejection of the Church’s teaching on abortion falls into a different category – it’s a deliberate and obstinate act of the will; a conscious decision that you’ve re-affirmed on many occasions. Sorry, you can’t chalk it up to an “imperfect humanity.” Your position is unacceptable to the Church and scandalous to many of our members. It absolutely diminishes your communion with the Church.
This reminds me of Father Malloy's open letter to Nancy Pelosi, which he wrote nearly three years ago (January 14, 2007) and which retains it's force and point. Nancy Pelosi also voted against the Stupak amenment.
"OPEN LETTER TO NANCY PELOSI
Nancy, you are fooling yourself and I fear fooling many good Catholics You are simply not in sync with the Catholic Church and until you change your non-Catholic positions should stop calling yourself Catholic. Your record shows that you support embryonic stem cell research, planned parenthood, contraception, family planning funding, allowing minors to have an abortion without parental consent, and are against making it a crime to harm a fetus, etc. etc.
The fact that you favor married priests and women priests certainly would not classify you as conservative, but here is your answer to the question: “Are you a conservative Catholic?”
“I think so. I was raised, in a very strict upbringing in a Catholic home where we respected people, were observant, were practicing Catholics and that the fundamental belief was that God gave us all a free will and we were accountable for that, each of us. Each person had that accountability, so it wasn’t for us to make judgments about how people saw their responsibility and that it wasn’t for politicians to make decisions about how people led their personal lives; certainly, to high moral standards, but when it got into decisions about privacy and all the rest, than that was something that individuals had to answer to God for, and not to politicians.” (National Catholic Reporter, 1-22-03) That sounds fair and tolerant, but
your record belies high moral standards.
The NARAL rates you 100% pro-abortion. Your statement in Newsweek Magazine (10-23-06): “To me it isn’t even a question. God has given us a free will. We’re all responsible for our actions. If you don’t want an abortion, you don’t believe in it, [then] don’t have one. But don’t tell somebody else what they can do in terms of honoring their responsibilities. My family is very pro-life. They’re not fanatics and they’re not activists. I think they’d like it if I were not so vocally pro-choice.”
We elect politicians to make laws that help people honor their responsibilities, such as protecting life itself. Can politicians tell someone else not to kill? I fail to understand why you can favor partial birth abortion. How can you explain that it is proper to bring a baby part way out of the birth canal and then stick a scissors in its head to suck out the brains? Is it possible that votes mean more to you than life itself?
Yes, Nancy, we would all like it if you were not so vocally pro-choice , i.e. pro-death. Until your choice is in line with Catholic doctrine, please, Nancy, do not receive the Eucharist when you attend Mass.
–Rev. John Malloy, SDB"
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
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