American Papist Issues Challenge to Left-Leaning Catholics: "No More Claiming US Bishops Are 'Partisan' on Abortion"

Tom Peters has issued a challenge to certain left-leaning Catholics "in the interest of dialogue":

I challenge them to explicitly and totally repudiate the pernicious claim that US Bishops, when they speak about abortion, are engaging in "partisan politics." This same claim is similarly made about American Catholics when they, essentially, mimic the talking points of the US Bishops.

The claim that US Bishops, and those who agree with them, are "partisan" when it comes to abortion is deeply hypocritcal, because such a claim is, itself, a partisan charge made exclusively by liberals.

Tom then goes on to quote L'Osservatore Romano (which the Catholic left has recently taken to treating with magesterial authority) against them:

"Obviously the Holy See and L’Osservatore Romano have been, are and will be fully at the side of the U.S. bishops in their commitment in favor of the inviolability of human life in whatever stage of its existence.

Other interpretations have no foundation, especially those that have wanted to use the newspaper’s articles to make it appear that the teachings of the U.S. episcopate on the inherent evil of abortion were an exercise in partisan politics, supposedly in contrast with a different strategy of the Holy See."

(emphasis added)

So, will the Catholic left now be willing to abandon the claim that the Bishops are acting out of partisan interests or in a partisan manner now that L'OR has put that little calumny to rest?

(Hat tip: Opinionated Catholic)

Obama and Notre Dame

• Deconstructing Notre Dame Spokesman's Comments on the Obama speech and honorary doctorate, by Dr. Francis Beckwith (Return to Rome). March 25, 2009.
  

• The Notre Dame Commencement, by Fr. James V. Schall. Catholic World Report:

  I cannot think of a single act—one so simple, so innocent, so effective—that serves to do exactly what he needs to have done, namely, plunge an arrow into the heart of Catholicism’s opposition to him, what there is of it.

• Notre Dame's Faustian Bargain, by Stephen Barr. First Things March 24, 2009:

  How can an institution that purports to be Catholic honor as a “doctor of law”—literally a “teacher of law”—a President who has made it very clear by word and deed that he intends to remove from the laws of this nation anything that defends unborn human life?

• Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix, AZ has weighed in, describing [ND President] Fr. Jenkins' invitation to Obama a "public act of disobedience to the Bishops of the United States"; praying "that you come to see the grave mistake of your decision, and the way it undercuts the Church's proclamation of the Gospel of Life in our day."
  

• Fr. Sirico of the Acton Institute pens an open letter to Rev. Jenkins: "Father, I have no degree or awards from Notre Dame to return to you to indicate how strongly I feel about this scandalous decision. So here is what I have decided to do ..."
  

• Bishop Gregory Aymond of Austin has issued a statement on Notre Dame, concluding that

  In my opinion, it is very clear that in this case the University of Notre Dame does not live up to its Catholic identity in giving this award and their leadership needs our prayerful support.

• Daniel Cardinal DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston has also responded:

  ... Particularly troubling is the Honorary Law Degree since it recognizes that the person is a “Teacher,” in this case of the Law. I think that this decision requires charitable but vigorous critique.

• More than 170,000 200,000 individuals have signed the Cardinal Newman Society's petition opposing Notre Dame's decision.
  

Archbishop Raymond L. Burke: Sebelius' appointment "greatest disappointment because she has publicly and repeatedly betrayed her Catholic faith"

Top Vatican Official Slams Choice of Kathleen Sebelius for Secretary of Health and Human Services March 13, 2009:

The head of the Roman Catholic Church's highest office overseeing Church law has slammed the nomination of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), calling the nomination "the source of greatest embarrassment" to the Catholic Church.

In an interview with Thomas J. McKenna, president of Catholic Action for Faith and Family, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, strongly supported the means by which the Governor has been disciplined by her bishop because of her public support for abortion. ...

When asked for his opinion on the nomination of Governor Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services he said, "As a Roman Catholic, her appointment is the source of the greatest embarrassment because she has publicly and repeatedly betrayed her Catholic faith."

"What is more, she has obstinately remained in her moral error after being admonished by, at least, three of her Bishops … Her position on the question of procured abortion is the source of the greatest scandal to Catholics and to all who uphold the natural moral law."

"No matter how good Governor Sebelius' record regarding other human life concerns may be, if she is not committed to the safeguarding of human life from its very inception, she should not be entrusted with the questions of health and human services for our nation" he continued.

Archbishop Burke: Democrats risk becoming a "Party of Death"

In an interview with Avvenire, voice of the Italian Bishops' conference, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke (prefect of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature) weighed in on the present state of the Democratic Party - Catholic News Service reports:

Archbishop Burke was asked if he knew that the August Democratic National Convention in Denver featured a guest appearance by Sheryl Crow, a musician whose performance at a 2007 benefit for a Catholic children's hospital the archbishop had opposed because of her support for abortion and embryonic stem-cell research.

"That does not surprise me much," the archbishop said. "At this point the Democratic Party risks transforming itself definitely into a 'party of death' because of its choices on bioethical questions as Ramesh Ponnuru wrote in his book, The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts and the Disregard for Human Life."

Archbishop Burke said the Democratic Party once was "the party that helped our immigrant parents and grandparents better integrate and prosper in American society. But it is not the same anymore."

Pro-life Democrats are "rare, unfortunately," he said.

The Archbishop went on to defend his policy of prohibiting Communion to those Catholics who publicly embrace positions contrary to the teaching of the Catholic church, noting that while the USCCB believes each Bishop should decide how best to address the matter in their own diocese, "other bishops are coming to [his own] position."

Archbishop Raymond Burke: "Pro-choice" Catholic politicians should not receive communion.

The prefect of the Apostolic Signature, Archbishop Raymond Burke, said this week that Catholics, especially politicians who publicly defend abortion, should not receive Communion. Catholic News Agency reports:

In an interview with the magazine, Radici Christiane, Archbishop Burke pointed out that there is often a lack of reverence at Mass when receiving Communion. “Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ unworthily is a sacrilege,” he warned. “If it is done deliberately in mortal sin it is a sacrilege.”

To illustrate his point, he referred to “public officials who, with knowledge and consent, uphold actions that are against the Divine and Eternal moral law. For example, if they support abortion, which entails the taking of innocent and defenseless human lives. A person who commits sin in this way should be publicly admonished in such a way as to not receive Communion until he or she has reformed his life,” the archbishop said.

“If a person who has been admonished persists in public mortal sin and attempts to receive Communion, the minister of the Eucharist has the obligation to deny it to him. Why? Above all, for the salvation of that person, preventing him from committing a sacrilege,” he added.

I can't help but recall Michael Sean Winters mocking the notion that pro-choice politicans should be denied communion this past April:

According to one American present during a spring 2004 Vatican meeting with U.S. bishops, then-Cardinal Ratzinger laughed when he heard of denying politicians communion based on their political views. After all, popes have, over the years, given communion to Communist mayors, gay legislators, and countless pro-choice politicians.

Perhaps the Holy Father meant to send a message by his appointment of the former Archbishop of St. Louis to the Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura?

[Archbishop] Burke, pope are aligned on many moral issues, by Tim Townsend. St. Louis Post-Dispatch April 21, 2005.

"We know each other and I am very grateful to him for his encouragement," said Burke in an interview Wednesday. "I have a great deal of respect for him and I can't say how happy I am that he's our new pope."

The bishop and new pope share the same views on many moral and theological issues. For instance, in June, when U.S. bishops released a statement saying lawmakers who consistently supported abortion rights or euthanasia were "cooperating in evil," and could be denied holy Communion - very much Burke's take on the topic - Ratzinger said the statement was "very much in harmony" with his view.

Benedict and Burke despise the creeping influence of secularism on the church, especially in their native continents of Europe and North America. Burke said he believes the re-evangelization of Europe, especially, was probably foremost in the cardinals' minds when they elected Ratzinger pope.

Praise God! (Via Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.

Meanwhile, Diogenes at Catholic World News wonders:

when Pope Benedict XVI issues his first encyclical letter, should we ask to see the whole text, or just rely on Cardinal McCarrick to give us a quick summary?

Archbishop Burke: Communion Battle "Not Yet Over"

Speaking from Rome during his "ad limina" visit with the Holy Father, Archbishop Burke of St. Louis, MO insists that the struggle to enforce Church teaching on communion with respect to public dissenters is far from over. Catholic News Service reports:

"It's funny because some people now characterize me as a fundamentalist, or an extremist," Archbishop Burke said in an interview Nov. 26.

"But these are questions that are at the very foundation of the life of our country. We just simply have to continue to address them," he said. . . . Archbishop Burke said he found the U.S. election results satisfying in one particular aspect -- a high number of voters said they gave priority consideration to moral questions.

Archbishop Burke said that the results of the election were both an "encouragement" as well as a persistent challenge:

". . . because now it falls to the church and to other moral leaders to continue to raise these questions, to write about them, to engage in civic discourse so that they continue to have that priority."

The archbishop said the election year, characterized by heightened interest and heightened reactions, offered an opportunity to press pro-life issues. Now that it's over, the more arduous task is "teaching in season and out of season," he said. . . .

It's not a matter of calling people on the carpet, but of calling Catholics to conscience, the archbishop said.

Underlining the sacramental consequences -- such as refusal of Communion -- is a pastoral responsibility, Archbishop Burke said. It is also a way for the church to show it is serious about these fundamental issues, he said.

"Let's just be honest, the application of the church's discipline in this regard is weak," he said.

"I've said over and over, though people don't like to hear it, but it is a source of scandal, not only to Catholics but to non-Catholics, who expect from the Catholic Church that the teaching on the sacredness of human life is firm," he said.

"The application of the Church's discipline in this regard is weak" -- and, one might add, further compromised by the lack of a collective and united voice by the Bishops.

After all, we are presently in a situation where a "pro-choice Catholic" legislator such as Senator Kerry or Ted Kennedy might be refused communion in St. Louis by Archbishop Burke, on justifiable grounds that by his stubborn opposition to Church teaching he has deprived himself of said privilege . . . only to hop on over to another diocese where, under the compassionate gaze of a more lenient and "understanding" bishop, said legislator could continue to recieve communion without the slightest fear of rebuke. ^*

That only a minority of the bishops see this discrepancy as a problem is a great disappointment. The Archbishop went on to describe the difficulty in persuading other bishops:

"One of the problems I have is bishops who say to me, 'Well, this is unheard of in the church's practice.' Actually it goes back to St. Paul in the (First) Letter to the Corinthians, when he says: The person who eats and drinks the body and blood of Christ unworthily eats and drinks condemnation unto himself," he said.

"There are a whole list of instances you can give historically where the church refused holy Communion to individuals. ... To me there has to be a clarity with regard to that discipline. And I trust it will come forward," he said.

Catholics can hope and pray Cardinal McCarrick's committee on this matter will pay attention to the Archbishop.

Source: Archbishop Burke says he'll continue politics-abortion campaign Catholic News Service. Nov. 29, 2004.

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* See Michael Gaynor on the "disintegration" of the moral witness of the U.S. Catholic Bishops.