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Our prayer service today and my words are not
meant to demonize anyone, but are intended to call attention to the diabolical
influences of the devil that have penetrated our culture, both in the state and
in the Church. These demonic influences are not readily apparent to the
undiscerning eye, which is why they are so deceptive. - Thomas J.
Paprocki
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1034625]
|
On June 6, 2019,
Paprocki issued a decree officially barring Illinois House Speaker Michael
Madigan and Senate President John
Cullerton from presenting themselves to receive the Eucharist on account of
their role in Passing the Reproductive Health Act, which removes spousal
consent and waiting periods for abortions. While singling out Madigan and
Cullerton specifically, Paprocki also asked that other legislators who voted
for the bill not present themselves for Communion either, stating that they had
"cooperated in evil and committed grave sin." Madigan stated that
Paprocki had informed him earlier that he would be forbidden from taking the
sacrament if he permitted the House to debate and vote on the measure, but that
he chose to do so.
 |
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield,
Illinois.
|
Illinois
bishop bars pro-abortion legislators from communion
Thu Jun 6, 2019 - 9:29 am EST
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, June 6, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) ― The bishop of
Springfield in Illinois has barred pro-abortion legislators from receiving the
sacrament of Holy Communion.
Bishop
Thomas John Paprocki has ruled that state legislators who are working to pass
Illinois’s new abortion bill may not present themselves for communion in his
diocese and that priests are expressly forbidden from giving the Eucharist to
both the Senate president and the speaker of the House.
“In accord with canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law … Illinois Senate President John Cullerton and Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan, who facilitated the passage of the Act Concerning Abortion of 2017 (House Bill 40) as well as the Reproductive Health Act of 2019 (Senate Bill 25), are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois because they have obstinately persisted in promoting the abominable crime and very grave sin of abortion as evidenced by the influence they exerted in their leadership roles and their repeated votes and obdurate public support for abortion rights over an extended period of time,” Paprocki wrote in a statement dated June 2, 2019.“These persons may be readmitted to Holy Communion only after they have truly repented these grave sins and furthermore have made suitable reparation for damages and scandal, or at least have seriously promised to do so, as determined in my judgment or in the judgment of their diocesan bishop in consultation with me or my successor,” he continued.Although they are not named, Paprocki included other pro-abortion state politicians in his interdict, saying, “I declare that Catholic legislators of the Illinois General Assembly who have cooperated in evil and committed grave sin by voting for any legislation that promotes abortion are not to present themselves to receive Holy Communion without first being reconciled to Christ and the Church in accord with canon 916 of the Code of Canon Law.”
Last Friday, the Illinois legislature sent
Senate Bill 25, known as the Reproductive Health Act, to the governor for
approval. Blatantly pro-abortion, Senate Bill 25 seeks to protect the
“fundamental rights of individuals to make autonomous decisions about one’s own
reproductive health.” It passed in the Senate by a 34-20 vote.
Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker has vowed to sign the
bill, which asserts that the “fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have
independent rights.” The new law will go into effect immediately upon
signature.
According to the Thomas More Society, the new Illinois
Reproductive Health Act will allow abortions for any reason throughout all nine
months of pregnancy; eliminate restrictions regarding where abortions may be
performed; allow non-physicians to perform abortions; undermine and
threaten institutional and individual rights of conscience; jeopardize any
meaningful regulation of abortion facilities; require private health insurance
policies to include coverage for all abortions, with no exemptions, even for
churches and other religious organizations; eliminate any requirement to
investigate fetal deaths or maternal deaths resulting from abortion; repeal a
law prohibiting “kickbacks” for abortion referrals; repeal the Parental Notice
of Abortion Act of 1995, which has been responsible for a more than 55-percent
reduction in abortions among Illinois minors since 2012; and force parents to
pay for their minor children’s abortions.
Paprocki issued a
press release on May 28 in which he asserted that the proposed legislation
is evil.
“I condemn the gravely immoral action of the Illinois House of Representatives in passing Senate Bill 25, labeled with a highly misleading title as the ‘Reproductive Health Act,’ purporting to declare abortion a fundamental right,” he wrote.
The bishop released a subsequent press release,
dated June 6, justifying his decision:
The Eucharist is the most sacred aspect of our Catholic faith. As sacred Scripture warns, “Whoever eats unworthily of the bread and drinks from the Lord’s cup makes himself guilty of profaning the body and of the blood of the Lord.” To support legislation that treats babies in the womb like property, allowing for their destruction for any reason at any time, is evil. It’s my hope and prayer these lawmakers reconcile themselves to the Church so they can receive Communion.
Paprocki, himself a canon lawyer, consulted with
other canon lawyers throughout North America before issuing his decree,
according to the June 6 press release.
“In issuing this decree, I anticipate that some
will point out the Church’s own failings with regard to the abuse of children,”
Paprocki said. “The same justifiable anger we feel toward the abuse of innocent
children, however, should prompt an outcry of resistance against legalizing the
murder of innocent children.”
In 2018, Bishop Paprocki barred Illinois senator
Dick Durbin from Holy Communion because of Durbin’s vote against
legislation that would have protected children from abortion after 20 weeks
gestation.
This article has been updated.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-illinois-bishop-bars-pro-abortion-legislators-from-communion
 |
Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois
(Diocese of Springfield)
|
Nation | Jun.
6, 2019
Bishop
Paprocki: Communion Prohibited to Pro-Abortion Illinois Catholic Lawmakers
In an
interview with the Register, the Springfield bishop discusses his decree that
specifically calls on Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate
President John Cullerton not to present themselves for Communion.
Matthew
E. Bunson
This week, Illinois passed the
most extreme pro-abortion state legislation in America — with some Catholic
lawmakers taking the lead in pushing forward this anti-life bill.
In response, Bishop Thomas
Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, today issued a public decree communicating to his priests that all
Illinois Catholic lawmakers who voted for the state’s new Reproductive Health
Act, or for an earlier 2017 bill that legalized taxpayer funding of abortions, should
not present themselves to receive Holy Communion in the Diocese of Springfield
“without first being reconciled to Christ and the Church.” The decree, and an
accompanying letter, were mailed earlier in the week to all of the Catholic
lawmakers who voted in favor of the bills.
And the new decree singles out by name House Speaker Michael
Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, stating that because of their
important leadership roles in the passage of the pair of pro-abortion bills,
they “are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in the Diocese of Springfield in
Illinois because they have obstinately persisted in promoting the abominable crime
and very grave sin of abortion.”
The decree cites Canon 915 of the
Code of Canon Law, which specifies that those “who obstinately persist in
manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion,” and Canon 916,
which states that “a person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate
Mass or to receive the Body of the Lord without prior sacramental confession”
except in cases where a grave reason is present and there is no opportunity of
confessing.
“The Eucharist is the most sacred
aspect of our Catholic faith,” Bishop Paprocki said in a press statement
accompanying the decree. “As sacred Scripture warns, ‘Whoever eats unworthily
of the bread and drinks from the Lord’s cup makes himself guilty of profaning
the Body and of the Blood of the Lord.’ To support legislation that treats
babies in the womb like property, allowing for their destruction for any reason
at any time, is evil. It’s my hope and prayer these lawmakers reconcile
themselves to the Church so they can receive Communion.”
In this interview with the
Register, Bishop Paprocki discusses why he felt impelled to issue the decree,
the harm being caused to the faith nationwide by U.S. Catholic politicians who
continue to ignore their bishops and pastors by supporting extreme pro-abortion
laws like the one just passed in Illinois, and the Church’s unequivocal and
unchanging teachings regarding the intrinsic evil of abortion.
This is a decree that will be of
great interest in Illinois, but also nationally, as the entire abortion debate,
continues in the United States. How did we reach this moment where it is
necessary for a decree like this?
It seems to me that we’ve arrived
at a point where we really need to be clear about the teachings of the Church,
and an action like this is really designed to protect the integrity of our
sacraments and the clarity of our teaching.
It wasn’t too long ago where you
had the so-called pro-choice politicians at least saying abortion needed to be
“safe, legal and rare,” and we’ve unfortunately come to the point where the
politicians are celebrating the fact that abortion legislation is passing that
allows for abortions right up until the moment of birth; that declares abortion
to be “a fundamental right”; that requires taxpayer funding of abortion and
additional measures like that that are really quite extreme.
And so now we’ve got politicians,
Catholic politicians who are saying that they think the
Church is wrong. They think the Church is wrong about abortion and euthanasia
and our teachings on marriage and family life. And I think that cannot be
allowed to go unchallenged. We have to be clear that you cannot be pro-abortion
and be a Catholic in good standing. And that’s what this is really intended to
do.
Have you been surprised over the
years at the shift of a number of Catholic politicians in support of abortion —
14 Catholic U.S. senators voted against an important bill just last year [the
Pain-Capable Unborn Children’s Act] and that involved Sen. Richard Durbin of
Illinois — and so many other acts the Church considers intrinsically evil?
Yes, it is somewhat surprising,
but it’s especially disappointing because you have politicians who have
publicly embraced their Catholicism and have made it made known that they
considered themselves to be Catholics, and they want Catholic voters especially
to know that they’re Catholic; but they seem then to have taken this position
that they know better than the Church. And, in fact, it seems to be the goal of
some of them, that they’re going to force the Church to change her teaching on
these matters.
And I think that we have to be
quite clear, as I [am] in my decree on this matter. I’ve got several paragraphs
in there that try to trace the history of this matter going back to the first
century of the Church, where you had the declaration and the document called
the Didache — “You shall not kill the embryo by abortion.” “You shall not cause
the newborn to perish.” So it goes back all the way from the earliest
beginnings of Christianity.
But even for those who want to
say, “Well, you know, times have changed and we’re in the post-Vatican II era
and we have to adapt to the times ...,” I also have in my decree a statement
from the declaration from the Second Vatican Council document on the Church in
the modern world, Gaudium et Spes; in Paragraph 51, it says, “Life
must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: Abortion
and infanticide are abominable crimes.” This is the Second Vatican Council
calling abortion and infanticide “abominable crimes.”
And, even more recently, Pope
Francis has used very similar language. In 2016, he used the terminology such
as abortion is “a very grave evil.” He called it “a horrendous crime.”
So we can’t have politicians
today saying, “You know what? The Church is wrong. It was wrong 2,000 years
ago. It was wrong at the Second Vatican Council. Pope Francis is wrong. The
Church needs to get with it and start accepting the reality of abortion.” And
we have to be clear that if that’s their intent then that’s simply not
acceptable.
Pope Francis, I think just a few
days ago, used the somewhat-colorful image of that you’re essentially hiring a hitman, stressing again that this is beyond simply
a medical procedure, that this is the taking of a human life. But to go back to
your pointing out, the Didache and others, can we explain, for those who may
not be that familiar with the Church’s teachings on this — and it always bears
worth repeating: why we consider abortion and euthanasia in particular, but
other things, to be intrinsically evil. And what do we mean as a Church by
intrinsically evil?
Things are intrinsically evil if
they are evil in and of themselves. So, aside from circumstances that may
condition a particular action or the intent of the person, it is, the action
itself is intrinsically evil. Now, a person’s subjective culpability may be a
different question, whether or not they are going to be judged by God for this
act. And that could depend on things like their own formation, their knowledge,
perhaps even whether or not they have proper use of reason, a deformed
conscience, malformed conscience, but something in and of itself: You can never
say that murder is okay, that murder is acceptable.
You can say there are some
justifiable moments, for example, where killing is acceptable, such as
self-defense. It’s unfortunate that someone might be killed while you’re
defending your own life, but that’s justifiable.
However, there’s no situation
where you may intentionally go out and just murder someone, and, in effect,
that’s what abortion is doing. It’s taking the life, a human life, which we
respect as beginning at the moment of conception, because there really is no
other point that you can draw this line, and I think we see the legislation
passing and some states that are trying to protect life when a heartbeat is
detectable, or when doctors and medical experts say that the unborn baby is
capable of feeling pain, and so they’re recognizing that this is not just some
tissue with a potential for human life, but it is real human life.
And we saw that very clearly in
the recent movie Unplanned, about a former Planned Parenthood
clinic director, Abby Johnson, in which she quit her job with Planned
Parenthood after clearly seeing on an ultrasound that this was a baby in the
mother’s womb who was actually trying to push away from the suction tube as it
was about to kill that little baby. And so, things like that have helped us to
recognize that we’re talking about protecting human life, and it really is
abominable when people are arguing that you should be able to take that human
life right up until the moment of birth.
You have mentioned that we have
gone from 1992, and the Democratic Party platform under Bill Clinton declaring
abortion should be “safe, legal and rare,” to today, which is effectively
abortion on demand. From your perspective as a pastor and then certainly as a
bishop, this progression toward a more radicalized approach, far more radical
than anything being previously proposed: How, from your standpoint, do we
respond to that? Because we need to respond very forcefully, and I know your
decree is part of that, but for the average Catholic, what should they think of
this?
I think they should see this as a
clear affirmation of Church teaching about the respect for human life from
conception to natural death. It should be also an affirmation of the clear
teaching that abortion is wrong. It should also be seen as a clear effort to
uphold the integrity of the sacraments and to maintain the consistency between
all of those.
It is scandalous, I think, to
people — that’s another issue here — it is truly scandalous to people when
they see Catholic politicians saying, “I’m a Catholic but I am going to vote
for this abortion legislation.” And then they do vote for it, and they vote for
this extreme legislation that is promoting abortion, and other faithful
Catholics wonder: How can they do that? How can they do that and get away with
it?
This document is not intended as
a political document. The legislation has already passed. What this document is
saying is that the people who have done this have done something that is simply
not acceptable to the Catholic Church.
So the approach I’m taking here
is, there’s two canons in the Code of Canon law, Canon 915 and Canon 916, that
are applicable. Canon 915 is the one that has received a lot more media attention,
and that is the one that basically says that those who have obstinately
persisted in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion. So
obstinate persistence requires more than one act. And that’s why my decree
really just singles out the speaker of the House here in Illinois, Michael
Madigan, as well as the president of the state Senate, John Cullerton, because
they have persistently, over a number of years now, pushed this pro-abortion
legislation.
There was a bill that was passed
in 2017 that was basically the bill that provided for taxpayer funding of
abortion and also said that if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned that
Illinois would remain a state where abortion would continue to be legal. And
then, two years later, these same legislative leaders, the speaker of the House
and the Senate president, are pushing for this passage of this so-called
Reproductive Health Act of 2019, that purports to declare abortion to be “a
fundamental right” and also declares that an unborn baby does not have
independent rights under the laws of the state. In addition to that, another
aggravating factor that I would add is the fact that, by virtue of their
position as legislative leaders, they have facilitated the passage of this
legislation. And so, for that reason, Canon 915 applies, that says they are not
to be admitted to Holy Communion.
Canon 916 is the one that applies
to really anybody who is conscious of grave sin. And that doesn’t require any
kind of obstinate persistence. One mortal sin. If you commit one mortal sin,
you shouldn’t go to Communion. And that’s basically what Canon 916 is saying.
So, in that case, in a sense, I’m just reminding — it’s a declaration or a
reminder to — other Catholic legislators who have voted even for one
pro-abortion bill. In a sense that is a very grave sin to be promoting
abortion. And so, in that case is really a question of themselves not
presenting themselves for Holy Communion, according to Canon 916. So I
think it’s important to keep both of those canons in mind and for people to be
aware of how they apply at different times to different people.
Right. Because there is often
some confusion about what exactly these are trying to accomplish in the sense
of from the Church’s standpoint, that people like to consider these simply
penalties or punishments when in fact there is a very important spiritual
component to this, isn’t there? In trying to bring them to reconciliation with
what the Church actually teaches?
Yes. And again, with Canon 916,
it’s really something that every Catholic should be aware of. And I think years
ago people seemed to be more aware of that. People who were conscious that they
had committed some mortal sin, didn’t have a chance to go to confession, so
they would go to Mass, as everyone’s always obliged to go to Mass, whether you
go to Communion or not, but they would refrain from going to Holy Communion.
Whereas now it seems everybody thinks, well, I’m at Mass; I have to go to
Communion. But, really, if a person is conscious of having committed a mortal
sin and has not gone to confession, a sacramental confession prior to going to
Mass, they should not approach themselves. Now, in many cases, the priest, the
deacon, the extraordinary minister of Holy Communion is not going to know that.
They’re not going to know what people have done in their lives privately that
may have been a mortal sin.
That’s why the burden or the
obligation on Canon 916 is really on the individual person. Canon 915 is a
situation where you have someone who is very public. That’s why it says this
“obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin.” And so that’s why, in the case
of abortion, you get somebody who was persistently, very obstinately, just
saying, “No, I’m going to go ahead and support this. I disagree with the
Catholic Church.” And in that case, that’s what’s giving scandal to the
faithful. And that has nothing to do in a sense with the person’s subjective
relationship with God, whether or not they are a culpable in a subjective
sense.
What it has to do with is objectively speaking. And the bishop
ultimately is the one in a diocese who was responsible for determining that.
And when there are people who, by their external objective actions, are
behaving in a way that is obstinately persisting in manifest grave sin, then I feel
it is my duty as a bishop that I have to respond and act accordingly.
So you have an obligation as a
pastor to teach clearly and to reiterate what the Church believes and
teaches, but you also have an obligation to make certain that there isn’t
confusion among the faithful as to what we actually do believe. Is that right?
Yes. And that’s why I talk about
the integrity of the sacraments and the integrity of the faith, that what we’re
talking about here is the burden, then, on a diocesan bishop, in terms of his
responsibility for defending the faith.
It’s not enough to simply say,
“Well, under Canon 916, if that person thinks they’ve committed a mortal sin,
they shouldn’t go to [Communion].” There’s an additional responsibility on the
shepherd of the flock to say, “The wolf is here; the wolf is in our
midst.”
And sometimes that wolf is wearing sheep’s clothing. And we have to say
that to the faithful and the members of the flock, “Beware the wolf is in your
midst. And do not follow that wolf because he will lead you down the wrong
path.” And, ultimately, the very last canon in the Code of Canon law is that
the salvation of souls is the highest law.
And for any bishop we have to be
concerned with the salvation of souls. I’m concerned for the salvation of the
souls of these politicians who are voting and promoting legislation that is
gravely sinful. But I’m also, as a shepherd of souls, concerned about the
scandal that they are giving to other people who, if we don’t respond
appropriately, they’re looking at this saying, “Well, the bishop’s not saying
anything. So I guess it’s maybe not that bad.” And that’s very scandalous, not
only for the politician to be doing that, but also for the bishop’s inaction,
in a sense. And what kind of message is that giving?
 |
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It is not hateful to say that an immoral action
is sinful. On the contrary, the most compassionate thing we can do is help
people to turn away from sin. To ignore another person's wrongful actions is a
sign of apathy or indifference, while fraternal correction is motivated by love
for that person's well-being, as can be seen by the fact that our Lord Jesus
himself urged such correction. Indeed, the call to repentance is at the heart
of the Gospel, as Jesus proclaimed, "The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent
and believe the Good News" (Mark 1:15). - Thomas J.
Paprocki
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1034620]
|
How do you respond to those
politicians, those Catholic politicians, who say, “Well, I may be personally
opposed to abortion, but it would not be appropriate for me to ‘impose my
religious beliefs’ on the civil community?”
Well, that’s an argument that goes
back to the former governor [of New York], Mario Cuomo, who tried to make that
argument, but I think that argument has been pretty well shredded over the
years. I mean, it has been shredded in terms of how we understand moral
theology; but even from a political point of view, what other area of
politics does a politician ever say, “This is my personal point of view, but
I’m not going to impose that on anybody.”
If somebody believes, for
example, that we shouldn’t have borders and that we should be more generous
about migrants, they would never say, “Well, that’s my personal view, but I’m
not going to impose that on anybody.” Somebody thinks there should be
greater gun-control laws: I’ve never heard a politician say, “Well,
gun control is my personal view, but I’m not going to impose that view on
anybody else.”
So, why do we elect legislative
leaders? We elect them. They have platforms. They state their views, and then
it’s up to the voters to decide, “Well, if this politician has views that agree
with mine, I’ll vote for him or her. And, if he or she doesn’t, then I won’t
vote for that person.” But you know, for a politician to say, “Well, these are
my personal views, but I’m not going to seek to have that enshrined in
legislation,” well, then, you should resign your job because your whole job is
really about how you promote certain values. That’s what laws are. Laws
are embodiments or codifications of values and, many cases, moral values. And
so it’s really an abdication of responsibility. And it’s a falsehood,
also, for somebody to use that argument that “I’m personally opposed, but I’m
not going to impose that on somebody else.”
Your Excellency, we’re almost out
of time, but I know that a number of other bishops across the United
States have issued similar statements. Do you expect that as the abortion
controversy, as the struggle against abortion continues, that more decrees like
this will be necessary in more and more dioceses?
Well, I hope so. You know, there
have been more statements made along those lines. The chairman of our
bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of
Kansas City [Kansas], just this past February, made a statement that politicians who support abortion should not
present themselves to receive Holy Communion. So this is the chairman of the
committee elected by the bishops of the United States. The majority of the
bishops elected him. We elected someone because he stands for certain values.
And so when, when he is saying this, he’s speaking as our leader on pro-life
issues. And so I hope other bishops will take a cue from him. I think we
are at a point now where we simply have to be more vocal and we have to be more
clear about what the Church teaches in this regard and how this affects
politicians and the consequences when they do, so very persistently and
obstinately, reject Church teaching on abortion.
Matthew E. Bunson is a Register senior editor.
This
interview has been edited for style and length. The full audio interview is
available on Register Radio.
INTERNET
SOURCE: https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/bishop-paprocki-communion-prohibited-to-catholic-lawmakers-who-voted-for-il
 |
"The
Constitution contains no right to abortion." ~Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia.
Thank you for your
faithful service Justice Scalia
 🙏 #RIP #Constitutionalist
#Scalia #SCOTUS #Catholic #ProLife #abortion — with Catherine Contreras. |
PETITION:
Support Bishop who is barring 'Catholic' pro-abortion politicians from Holy
Communion
Bishop Paprocki, leader of the
Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, has barred from Holy Communion, two
'Catholic' state politicians in leadership positions, who worked to
pass Illinois' new, radical abortion law.
After months of other
pro-abortion 'Catholic' politicians getting 'slaps on the wrist' and
'stern talkings-to' from other US bishops and Cardinals over their
promotion of abortion, Bishop Paprocki is to be highly commended for
taking such action.
This petition will send a message
of support to the good bishop, showing him that faithful Catholics
actually appreciate when their shepherds lead on difficult issues,
like abortion.
And, make no mistake: This
petition has NATIONAL (and, even international) IMPLICATIONS.
Right now, there are divisions
between US bishops on this issue. While some, like Bishop Paprocki, have taken
a strong approach to this moral blight, others have been less robust.
We want to give our support to
Bishop Paprocki - as we hope his courage inspires other bishops to take this
strong approach to admonish 'Catholic' politicians who have caused
great scandal by promoting abortion.
Moreover, we want to congratulate
Bishop Paprocki for protecting the Blessed Sacrament.
In his decree, Bishop Paprocki states:
"In accord with canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law...Illinois Senate
President John Cullerton and Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan, who
facilitated the passage of the Act Concerning Abortion of 2017 (House Bill 40)
as well as the Reproductive Health Act of 2019 (Senate Bill 25), are not to be
admitted to Holy Communion in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois because
they have obstinately persisted in promoting the abominable crime and very
grave sin of abortion as evidenced by the influence they exerted in their
leadership roles and their repeated votes and obdurate public support for
abortion rights over an extended period of time."
Of course, no-one, least of all
the good bishop, wants anyone to be deprived of Holy Communion.
But, when a politician publicly
and obstinately puts themselves out-of-communion with the Church's
teaching on the taking of innocent human life (i.e., on abortion), then the
faithful understand that the Eucharist and the Church must be protected from
such scandal.
Pro-abortion politicians should
not think that they can demean the Body of Christ - by promoting killing
other human beings - with no consequence!
But, depriving politicians of
Holy Communion is not just meant to prevent scandal; it is also
designed to bring a grave public sinner to repentance. In this way, such
an action is meant to be for the good of their souls, too.
As Bishop Paprocki also noted in
his declaration: “These persons may be readmitted to Holy Communion
only after they have truly repented these grave sins and furthermore have made
suitable reparation for damages and scandal, or at least have seriously
promised to do so, as determined in my judgment or in the judgment of their
diocesan bishop in consultation with me or my successor."
THANK YOU, BISHOP PAPROCKI for
your clear teaching, and leadership of the Catholic faithful!
Please SIGN this petition, which
sends Bishop Paprocki a message of support and prayer, and which, also, pledges
prayers for wayward Catholic politicians.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://lifepetitions.com/petition/support-catholic-bishop-barring-pro-abortion-politicians-from-holy-communion
 |
God is the only one who knows how many children
we should have, and we should be ready to accept them. One can't decide for
oneself who comes into this world and who doesn't. That decision doesn't belong
to us. – Mel Gibson
[PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.azquotes.com/quote/551113]
|
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