This is an update from the post a couple days ago that generated so much response.
(RNS) by Daniel Burke: A South Carolina Catholic priest was wrong to warn parishioners who voted for President-elect Barack Obama to confess their sin before receiving Communion, according to the head of the priest's diocese.
Monsignor Martin T. Laughlin, administrator of the Diocese of Charleston, said in a statement late Friday (Nov. 14) that "if a person has formed his or her conscience well, he or she should not be denied Communion, nor be told to go to confession before receiving Communion."
Last week, the Rev. Jay Scott Newman of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville, said that by receiving Communion, Obama supporters "drink and eat their own condemnation," because the president-elect supports abortion rights. Newman later said he would not deny the sacrament to anyone "based on political opinions or choices."
Newman's statements "do not adequately reflect the Catholic Church's teachings. Any comments or statements to the contrary are repudiated," Laughlin said. He added that Newman pulled the church's moral teachings "into the partisan political arena" and "diverted the focus from the church's clear position against abortion."
Laughlin cites the Catholic Church's catechism, which states that "man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions."
"Christ gives us the freedom to explore our own consciences and to make our decisions while adhering to the law of God and the teachings of the faith," Laughlin said. "We should all come together to support the president-elect and all elected officials with a view to influencing policy in favor of the protection of the unborn child."
Laughlin was appointed the interim administrator of the statewide Charleston diocese when Bishop Robert J. Baker was transferred to Birmingham, Ala., last year.
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Does it matter at all that Republicans haven't done a thing but talk about ending abortions? They have appointed 7 of 9 Sp Ct Justices, and completely controlled government for the first six years of Bush's administration...and we have as many abortions now as when the Republicans first put the issue in their party platform in the mid-1970s. The greatest decrease in abortions since Row happened during the Clinton administration, and Democrats (including Obama) have been focused on actually tackling the underlying issues that cause women to choose abortions. It might feel good and self-righteous to talk about Roe, but it does little to actually address the problem.____And I'm not even going to start on the effect on "Life" of this ill-begotten and totally unjust war (using the Catholic criteria for just war) or the GOP's decision to block Democratic efforts to expand healthcare coverage for children...it seems to me there are an awful lot of white washed tombs participating in this debate!__
With the cover-up of massive child molestation cases by catholic priests from the vatican on down, i do not see how this church has ANY moral authority on anything. They are run like a twisted secular corporation where they hire attorneys, avoid admitting to wrong doing by all means necessary then go for monetary settlements to make things "go away". A priest recently came out against proposition 8 in california and they suspended him without pay; if he had molested children a while back ago, he simply would have been reassigned.
The catholic church has no moral standing in my book to pass judgment on anyone. You can't quote all the scripture you want, pray continuously for years, and act indignant but that does not change facts.
So did the Rev. Jay Scott Newman say that by receiving Communion, McCain supporters "drink and eat their own condemnation," because the Senator supports a illegal, immoral war in Iraq?
It disturbs me when those who oppose abortion rights support war. Are the lives of children (born and unborn) killed in Iraq & Afganistan any less sacred than those in the United States?
What happened to the "seamless garment" doctrine? If life is sacred then it is always sacred not just when it's in the womb.
If someone is gullible enough to believe in invisible gods and devils and demons, I guess they are gullible enough to listen to some guy in a funny collar. It’s the 21st century people, let’s try to catch up. Who’s wants to join me in the 21st century….
I had always understood that the RC church expected everyone to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation prior to receiving Communion, regardless of circumstances.
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