Catholic charity abetted abortion

I ask (half-seriously): given the fact that the Catholic pulpit is nearly completely silent, day in and day out, on the evil of abortion, I can't say that I'm surprised.

Even in my own diocese, which has as solid and orthodox a chancery as any across the country (and which my wife works for) I would not be surprised to find out that there are people who work for the diocese who ardently disagree with the Church's pro-life stance. Not many, but I'd guess at least one or two.

Fortunately, my wife's office is completely 100% opposed to abortion and contraception. But I don't know that I could say that for every employee of the chancery.

My (admittedly muddled) point was that it is not surprising that there are Catholics who don't understand that the Catholic Church prohibits abortion, given the fact that the Church is all but silent on this issue vis-a-vis the average Joe and Jane pew sitter and what they hear on Sundays.

I don't mean to deflect anger from the bishops -- to the contrary, its nearly ALL their damned fault. They will pay for their cowardice eventually.

In the meantime, those of us who labor to remain true to the Church and her teachings, get it in the neck.

The CCR people involved in this horrendous scandal have been fired, and --- if they're Catholic -- they are excommunicated latae sententiae (automatically.)

However, do not assume that the CCR employees were Catholics. The underlying and greater problem here is that the vast majority of Catholic Charities' income from from contracting services via federal, state, and local governments. Their money isn't from Catholic donors, and their emplyees are social work and counseling professionals who are not necessarily Catholic themselfvs, nor even nominally committed to a Catholic ethic. (The bishops don't demand even a pro-forma declaration that they be so committed.)

For this, the U.S. bishops (as individuals and as part of the USCCB) have been derelict in their duties for decades. Not in every diocese, but I daresay in most of them. Instead of being vigilant and accountable, they have taken a "don't ask, don't tell" stance.

And now they are beginning to reap the ugly consequences.

Again, the main problem of Catholic hospitals, schools, and other agencies in America (and elsewhere) is not that they're Catholic, but that they're not Catholic enough.

Yes, other things being equal, there's an automatic excommunication attached to procuring an abortion as Julianne says. However, other things aren't always equal: canon law mentions several reasons why such a penalty may not be incurred, even in cases where it's "latae sententiae." Age is one: the girl herself, if Catholic, may not be under canonical penalty because of her youth. Ignorance is another. Just a wild guess, but I'm thinking that if a Catholic is ignorant of Church teaching with regard to abortion, they probably don't know about the excommunication either -- in which case, they don't incur it.

None of which makes anything about this mess any less repugnant ... *sigh*

Ignorance doesn't absolve one of their moral culpability for committing an intrinsically evil act; it does mean they don't also incur a canonical penalty for it. In Church law (vs. civil law), you can't be sanctioned for doing something you didn't know had a sanction attached to it. (Canon 1323 of the 1983 Code is the one listing the conditions on penalties like excommunication, for those interested.)

The Bishop of Richmond is ultimately responsible for the conduct of those in his employ. Like Bernard Law, he will probably be promoted instead of confronted. Aiding in and actually procuring an abortion is one of the most grave offenses against the Catholic Faith. On a scale from spitting on a sidewalk to capitsal murder it's right up there with murder. The only decent response is for him to resign. He hates the diocese. He has no use for any of the priests. Ironically a number of priests he threw out of Honolulu are now being restored to priestly ministry by the current administration. He has shown not an ounce of mercy or compassion. Let's hope the people of the Diocese of Richmond as well as the priests show him absolutely no mercy for what he is ultimately accountable for: not only allowing but encouraging a 16 year old juvenile to have an abortion...the murder of an innocent life. He should be thrown out.

Write to the Holy Father. Write to the Apostolic Nuncio in Washington. Do not give anything to the church collections but encourage your pastor to set aside your donations in a special fund until the bishop is removed. Show that his behavior is not acceptable. USe your voice and the power of the purse to make Rome remove him. Otherwise, if you do nothing, the un-Christian, un-Catholic behavior will continue.