Poll: Do you agree with a top Vatican cardinal who said on Friday that communion should be denied to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights, such as Democrat presidential nominee John Kerry?

PoliticalBlogger

Why must abortion be a litmus test for politicians to get communion? Either you give everyone communion and forgive for your sins, or deny everyone communion because no one 100% agrees with the church on everything.

You nailed it again Nathan.
The hypocrisy of the Catholic church is immense.
However, the flock is made up of sheep, morally bankrupt in support of an institution that failed to protect the most vulnerable of its parishioners, children, from predatory priests, all in the name of saving institutional face. And just like typical feudal or modern corporate entities, distract the flock, commoners, peasants from the real hypocrisy and crisis of church leadership by mercilessly and arbitrarily enforcing church rules
Deny Republican Catholics like Rick Santorum communion, that will be the day. The church only has room in its big tent for the sanctimonious, self-righteous, overly pious communicant with deep pockets. How else to pay for the many lawsuits from sexually abuse parishioners?

i think you guys are ignoring the obvious. NOT ALL POSITIONS ARE EQUALLY IMPORTANT.

according to catholic beliefs abortion is murder. therefore by supporting abortion democrats are supporting something way worse than the holocaust (6 million murders total versus 1 million murders every year in america alone). obviously the above position is ridiculous and even those who support it on an intellectual level CANNOT SUPPORT IT ON AN EMOTIONAL LEVEL. but it is the position of the catholic church that abortion is murder.

Personally, I'd rather see John Kerry et al articulating the kind of Catholics they are and the policies that dictates ("My personal faith and political conviction demand that we mean what we say when we promise that no child is left behind") than touting their fidelity to the policy proscriptions of the Conference of Bishops ("I'm 74% faithful!"). But this scorecard seems worth it, if nothing else, only for having elicited this tragically ironic condemnation:

"Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said both the bishops and the Democrats are confusing means with motives. 'Many of the issues they’re talking about really have nothing to do with actual Catholic teaching or religion,' he said. 'It is interpretation of economic policy.'”

The modern permutation of religion in political discourse into apologetics for social conservatism and the hollowing out of the economic justice which is central to all faiths is a deeply cynical and tragic abuse of the tradition. Where Jesus preached that the meek shall inherit the earth, Congressman King insists that whether the poor will have a share of the wealth of this nation is a matter of interpretation. This reminds me of nothing so much as last summer's declaration by the Council of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations that "the budget is not a Jewish issue."

Ah yes, the old "aside from supporting the murder of millions of unborn children, Democrats are more in line with the teachings of the Church" argument. Works every time.

-Josiah

Ah yes, the old "aside from supporting the murder of millions of unborn children, Democrats are more in line with the teachings of the Church" argument. Works every time.

-Josiah

Can someone more familiar with the position of the R.C. church answer a few questions:

(1) Is it true, as several previous commenters have claimed, that the official Roman Catholic Church position is that an abortion performed at, say, the 10th week of pregnancy, is the equivalent of the murder of a (born) human being?

(2) If the answer to question (1) is yes, are politicians that support penalties for abortion that are distinct in any way from the penalties for murder also considered to be in violation of the principles of the church, and ineligible for communion?

(3) Is my understanding correct that the R.C. Church in its "consistent life" ethic is also opposed to the death penalty, and have Bishops been asked whether or not a position in favor of the death penalty is also considered grounds for refusing communion? (Note that the death penalty, like abortion, is a human life issue rather than an economic justice issue.)

Alex,

1) The killing of an unborn child is morally no different than the killing of a born child. Culpability may vary in individual cases, however.

2) Evangelium Vita allows politicians to vote for legislation that does not fully protect life if the law is better than the alternatives.

3) The Bishops have not been considering denying communion to pro-death penalty politicians for (at least) three reasons. First, because, unlike abortion, the Church's position on the death penalty is based on prudential judgments. Second, because Church opposition to abortion has been unflagging throughout history, whereas on the death penalty the history is less clear. And third, because the number of abortions dwarfs the number of executions. To put it crassly, if the Bishops are uncomfortable with denying communion to some who favors a million murders, how likely is it that they will deny communion to someone for favoring a couple hundred?

2)

You're spinning so hard, your remaining brains have left your head through your ears. What Catholic Church are you listening to? Abortion, God helps those who help themselves, Augustinus and the righteous war. Does that sound liberal, democratic and Kerry or Republican, conservative and Bush?

Best regards from Portugal:-)