05-13-2011, 03:40 PM
rankandfile wrote:
[quote=August West]
I took RgrF's point to be that Boehner should not be influenced by his religion in his formation of public policy.I think that is a laudable abstraction, but a practical impossibility in the current era.
And yet, did not the current Pope tell Catholics in 2004 that they could not vote for John Kerry because he had been divorced?
I would appreciate clarification of this from those of you who know more about this than I do.
It was over abortion and the distribution of Holy Communion.
This is what the Pope's letter said.
4. Apart from an individuals’s judgement about his worthiness to present himself to receive the Holy Eucharist, the minister of Holy Communion may find himself in the situation where he must refuse to distribute Holy Communion to someone, such as in cases of a declared excommunication, a declared interdict, or an obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin (cf. can. 915).
5. Regarding the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia, when a person’s formal cooperation becomes manifest (meaning a politician or other person who supports abortion rights), his Pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church’s teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist.
So, the Pope can say that if he wants. Notice that Kerry did not change his position on abortion. I don't know if his local priest or any others actually followed this, notice it does not call him out by name. There seems to be inference here that this is the Roman Catholic church, from Rome, making up an American lawmaker's mind for him. It's not. Kerry is free to do what he wants, he's an American. Pope is free to say what he wants to Catholics, he's the Pope. Listen, or don't.
Let's look at another way the Pope has inserted himself into US politics. In 2003, the late Pope John Paul II sent a letter to Pres. Bush saying that he opposed the Iraq war, noting that it did not meet the Christian standard for "just war." Like Kerry, Bush ignored it.
John Paul II stated before the 2003 war that this war would be a defeat for humanity which could not be morally or legally justified.
In the weeks and months before the U.S. attacked Iraq, not only the Holy Father, but also one Cardinal and Archbishop after another at the Vatican spoke out against a "preemptive" or "preventive" strike. They declared that the just war theory could not justify such a war. Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran said that such a "war of aggression" is a crime against peace. Archbishop Renato Martino, who used the same words in calling the possible military intervention a "crime against peace that cries out vengeance before God," also criticized the pressure that the most powerful nations exerted on the less powerful ones on the U.N. Security Council to support the war. The Pope spoke out almost every day against war and in support of diplomatic efforts for peace.
John Paul II sent his personal representative, Cardinal Pio Laghi, a friend of the Bush family, to remonstrate with the U.S. President before the war began. Pio Laghi said such a war would be illegal and unjust. The message was clear: God is not on your side if you invade Iraq.