Cardinal O'Brien challenges pro-abortion Catholics
You always know where you stand with , the outspoken leader of Scotland's Catholics. Maybe that's because he was born and raised in Northern Ireland (and he was born on St Patrick's Day, no less). Now he has suggested that any Catholic politician supporting abotion laws should reconsider their position before receiving communion, and he is encouraging Catholic voters to reject pro-choice candidates. This in Scottish politics, which has been interpreted as a "threat" by some commentators, was delivered today in Edinburgh marking the 40th anniversary of the Abortion Act. Money quote:
In making this call, I speak most especially to those who claim to be Catholic. I ask them to examine their consciences and discern if they are playing any part in sustaining this social evil. I remind them to avoid cooperating in the unspeakable crime of abortion and the barrier such cooperation erects to receiving Holy Communion. As St. Paul warns us “whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. I would be failing as a pastor not to highlight the gravity of this situation not just to law makers but to anyone: mother; father; boyfriend; counsellor who in any way leads a mother to abortion.
Some in the media have interpreted the cardinal's comments as an indication that he will excommunicate any politician who supports abortion. This is not so. The cardinal is merely restating the canon law position as it faces Catholic legislators. Under , procuring an abortion brings with it "automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication" (Canon 1398). The offense of "being a conspiring or necessary accomplice" in an abortion may be taken to include those legislators who vote for abortion rights (and many others, as the cardinal notes). In this sense, a Catholic politician supporting abortion is already in effect excommunicated -- they have excommunicated themselves -- even if that person continues to receive bread at communion.
The real question now facing Cardinal O'Brien is whether he is prepared to follow through and instruct his priests to deny communion, in practice, to any Catholic politician who is known to support abortion rights.
Comments
Will the Cardinal be consistent and refuse the Eucharist to those Roman Catholics within government who legislate in favour of the immorality of homosexuality.
Well this really sticks it to the laity. What next, escommunication for anyone who votes for a candidate who supports abortion? I guess the Catholic church feels it hasn't lost enough followers in Europe just yet. If it tries hard enough, it might lose them all execpt of course in NI where Catholicism will always be needed as a pretext for insurrection. That's because of course it's in the genes.
The Catholic church thinks that it is taking a stand on a self-evident principle, but it is woefully wide of the mark. No parent sees the issue of abortion in the same black-and-white terms as the celibate leaders of the Catholic church.
No parent would force their own daughter to carry through a pregnancy initiated by rape, for example. Parents understand that the fertilised egg which the rapist has caused does not have the full rights of a human person and that abortion is the only humane course.
No doubt the leaders of the Catholic church feel that they must be seen to uphold rigid standards of morality in order to restore their status as pontificators, following the loss of respect incurred during the paedophile scandal. But a simple-minded rejection of abortion is unlikely to restore their battered moral authority among liberal citizens of the West. Perhaps it will work among the homophobe Catholic fundamentalists of the developing world, but is that really the path that the church wants to take?
I am delighted that the Cardinal has spoken out on abortion. It is such a relief as a catholic that the church is enforcing and upholding its position on the sanctity of life.
The abortion industry is terrible and has cost millions of lives. I for one have always opposed abortion and pray that men like Cardinal OBrien will continue to fight for the unborn children.
Please God abortion is never accepted as normal by the people of Northern Ireland. Our politicians rely on our votes and we have an obligation to take responsibility for our actions, including who we vote for.
As a parent I would never want my child to abort a grandchild of mine, no matter what the circumstances, they would always have my support and love through a crisis pregnancy.My children know that a human begins at conception and God has a planfor all of us, which leads us to Heavan if we follow His will. All our babies are loved.
The killing of children by abortion violates the Convention on the Rights of the Child which states that, 'the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, BEFORE as well as after birth.’ The Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects the right to life of ‘all members of the human family’. Since the unborn are members of the human family the UDHRs protects the right to life of the unborn. The claim that some human lives are ‘not persons’ or ‘have no legal status’ or ‘have no rights to protect’ have been used to justify slavery and the slave-trade, the Nazi persecution of the Jews and others, and of women who, for instance in Canada, had the status of ‘non-persons’ up until 1925. To claim that others are ‘non-persons’ is used to remove the moral and social obstacles for committing acts of violence. www.unitedforlife.com shows how abortion, embryo experimentation and IVF are modern forms of slavery and that clearly human embryos have human rights.