The Washington Post reported yesterday that 48 Democrat congressmen have written to Cardinal McCarrick, head of a U.S. bishop's task force charged with determining how the Church should respond to Catholic politicians who consistently take public positions in opposition to Church doctrine. The letter warns McCarrick that a decision to withhold the Eucharist from politicians who support abortion and other clearly anti-Catholic public policies could turn opinion against the Church.
The Post quotes the letter: "For many years Catholics were denied public office by voters who feared that they would take direction from the Pope... While that type of paranoid anti-Catholicism seems to be a thing of the past, attempts by Church leaders today to influence votes by the threat of withholding a sacrament will revive latent anti-Catholic prejudice, which so many of us have worked so hard to overcome."
The Democrat signatories to the letter are suggesting that bishops who faithfully teach the Magesterium of the Church are responsible for any backlash against the Church. Blending in with secular culture by betraying the Church and her teachings on the sanctity of human life is no way to overcome "latent anti-Catholic prejudice." If ignoring and diluting doctrine is the Democrat solution for anti-Catholic bigotry, then give me bigotry.
Domenico Bettinelli has an interesting interpretation. He considers the offer of a meeting with McCarrick to be a sign that the Church will blink: “What the letter did was provide a convenient escape hatch for McCarrick and his task force where they can say that they have no choice but to recommend that such sanctions not be used, lest Catholics be forcibly ejected from public life by the shadowy hordes of anti-Catholics bigots waiting in the wings."
Bettinelli continues, “Most of the anti-Catholic bigots I know of are listed on the Democrat Party’s web site as affiliated groups. Maybe the Catholic Democrats should be re-thinking their party affiliation if that’s what they’re really afraid of.”
Posted by publius at May 21, 2004 08:36 PMSo now the Catholic Church can't even decide who and who is not entitled to the sacraments for fear of Caeser? It's unbelievable. Traditionally, the fear of the Pope was the fear of foreign influence. Whether the Pope says yes or no, each Cardinal and Bishop (Americans all) have a responsibility to teach the Truth. Pro Abortion, same-sex marriage Republicans will face the same fate so this is not a partisan political matter.
Posted by: john vecchione at May 22, 2004 12:05 PM