Nothing accomplished in other words because neither Bishops nor Popes want to be seen excommunicating which you can do on abortion because it is now condemned infallibly in section 62 of Evangelium Vitae after the Pope polled worldwide Bishops on it by mail….thus not needing ex cathedra.  Thus if the Governor appealed to Rome, he’d be rebuffed.  For the Bishops to tout “Church teaching” is imprecise. It scares no one because it includes the non infallible.  In 1520 it included burning heretics in Exsurge Domine/ art.33 condemned.  In both Third and Fourth Lateran Councils, Church teaching included chattel slavery which was promised in canons to privateers who captured those colluding with saracens.  Church teaching is not all equal.  You have clear infallibility on this issue in accordance with canon 749-3.
Use it Bishops or the Catholic press should stop reporting your exhorting only policy and it’s many waves of meetings and letters.

When some of our leaders lie, using the influence and character of our bishops, isn’t it called defamation of character? When some of our fellow human beings insist on destroying other fellow human beings brought into existence through the will of God, the laws of nature and nature’s God(from the Declaration of Independence) they must be brought to Justice, having scandalized other persons’ immortal souls, damned their own immortal soul, caved in the face of evil to violate human rights to LIFE, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, our destiny, (from the Declaration of Independence ratified by two thirds of the states, which Roe v. Wade was not. Only Congress, with the voice of the people, the will of the people, through ratification by two thirds of the states, make and pass legislation, not the president, as he has done with Obamcare and Executive Order 13575 Rural Councils to nationalize all private property, not the Supreme Court to actualize population control, social engineering, and conscience control. Does not our U.S. Constitution say in the First Amendment:“or prohibit the free exercise thereof” to man’s response to the gift of Faith from God? To prohibit the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth, or to refuse to petition God for Divine Providence, or to deny another human being his existence is contrary to the laws of God and nature and man as well as contrary to citizenship. Gov. Quinn: go find another country, a country that prospers from half truths and half lies.

This problem won’t go away until the bishops act, and calling a meeting isn’t action. Faux Catholic politicians give scandal by speaking and acting contrary to the faith, and the bishops give scandal in doing nothing about it—gee, why are so many people in the pews confused? Why do so many people lapse? Morale will improve when the excommunications begin.

Nothing was achieved.  Quinn isn’t sorry for anything he’s done wrong, and the bishops will impose no consequence on him.

Clearly, either it is not mortally sinful for a Catholic to publicly promote abortion “rights”, or else Cardinal George and the Illinois bishops are negligent in their duty to teach the faith, correct dissenters, and protect the sacraments.

Matt, can you advise me as to which is the more charitable interpretation?

Mt. 18:15-17 and then Titus 3: 10-11. None of us knows the minds of these successors to the Apostles.  If we have issues with the way they seem to be handling things, we ought to write to them, pray for them, and fast for them, not complain on message boards.

Amy
  Silence about the behaviour of Church authorities is one of the reasons sex abuse by clergy lasted 40 years instead of 4 years.
Christ was certainly not silent in public about the pharisees neither was John the Baptist silent about them….and he was a layman. 
Quote those sections for us.  This same non action dates back to Cuomo and Ferraro….decades.  Now it’s grown to over 100 pols.

One would think that when one dances around without throwing out any punches, we are not talking about the lively art of Boxing but rather we are engaged in one big game of Charades. At this hour it is late.

Amy, I suppose it’s possible that they are acting in private, but whatever private steps they have taken are plainly no longer sufficient. Public scandal must be met with public action, and when it isn’t, the result is that the bishops themselves give public scandal. When the bishops refuse to deal with public dissent and heresy by prominent Catholics, the perception is inevitably that they do not regard what has been said as being a big deal, which can only legitimize the mistakes and encourage them in the faithful (“hey, I can too support abortion—Pelosi does, and if it was wrong, the bishops would excommunicate her, wouldn’t they?”). That is on all fours with CCC2284’s definition of scandal, and the Catechism continues in the following paragraph: “Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or office are obliged to teach and educate others.”

But really, what can the bishops do? They are absolutely forbidden by their own code of law which forbids them from excommunicating any political figure who is of the same political party as the bishops.

A few years ago, such a meeting would have not occurred, let alone the issuance of such a press release.  This press release by the Bishops indicates they have come a long way in dealing with such “cafeteria Catholic politicians.”  We should give them credit for that.  However, they can and should go further.  When such politicians begin receiving impediments over their actions, then we will know the Bishops are truly serious in dealing with these people.

How do any of us know that they aren’t going to go further? I think we all need to remember that, ultimately, Christ calls them to SAVE souls (ALL souls). It is a heavy burden that the bishops bear and I am sure they do not take it lightly. When we call them to “do more and make sure it meets with our approval!”, we are no better than anyone from the “popular culture” asking them to prove themselves on other counts. Remember, this isn’t a popularity contest, it’s a war for souls and the strategy involved must be mind-boggling. Let us all pray and fast and offer up our sufferings in support of our shepherds.

This reminds me of Nancy Pelosi’s infamous meeting with the Pope in Rome back in 2009 where she, too, issued a press release (quoted here: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/nancy_pelosi_tries_to_spin_meeting_with_pope_benedict/ )  In it, she also speaks feeding the hungry, ending poverty, etc.  Feeding the hungry and ending poverty are political non-issues right now, which makes them safe.  Everyone wants to feed the hungry, because no one is shouting “hater!”  Honestly, when was the last time you heard a candidate for public office say, “If I am elected, I pledge to make as many people poor as possible, and I’ll do all that I can to starve them and their children to death.”

Anyway, Gov. Quinn has now joined the ranks of politico-Catholics who think they can roll back the admonishments of the Bishops simply by calling a press conference, as if God cares one wit about who got out in front the press first.  I attend Quinn’s home parish at Blessed Sacrament in Springfield, and in the last two years, I’ve seen him there all of once.  There are people in this forum who have said that they think politicians will fall into line when the excommunications begin.  I doubt that very much, because the politicians to be excommunicated are the ones who have already decided they don’t care about Church authority or Church teaching.  If people like Quinn only go to Mass once in a while, then they clearly do not get it to begin with.  Thus, the threat of excommunication is likely to do little to bring them around.  Getting kicked out of a Church you already don’t believe in is really no biggie.  It’s like threatening a vegan with excommunication from McDonald’s.  That said, I agree that a tougher stance on politicians and public figures might do wonders for morale within the Church as people are reaffirmed that, yes, there is truth, and yes, the Church really does take it seriously.

The truly charitable action for the Bishops to take would be to excommunicate Gov. Quinn, in order to help him realize the seriousness of his offense so that he does not pay eternally for his actions. He should then be invited to offer a public retraction of his actions and statements, vow to work to promote the sanctity of human life and marriage, and make a good confession.

It is macabre to me how many bishops have come out recently saying they fear they are going to be persecuted or put in jail for the faith while because of their cowardly silence and refusal to do the job God gave them for the past 40 years thousands of children have been murdered daily literally by being torn apart limb from limb.  These babies’ grisly murder continues even as we write about “meetings” and “talk”. The faithful look to the actions of their pastors and if the pastors hand these blood encrusted politicians’ hands the body of Jesus Christ and if Cardinals bury these unrepentant sinners as Catholics, then the faithful are right in concluding that they too can get away with murdering their babies, parents and any other relative whose care is costly or inconvenient.  These bishops had better start fearing the wrath of almighty God because they will account for the death of every one of the babies and every one of the souls that were entrusted to their care. Prison is a remote possibility compared to the certainty of hell bearing down on them like a Mack truck —but like in Jesus & John Fisher’s day all the high priests are corrupt unbelievers.

It is due to a false ecumenism that the charitable anathema is no longer recognized as being necessary for the sake of Christ, His Church, all who will come to believe, and that person who is no longer in communion because he denies an article of The Deposit Faith. I often wonder if Our Lady of Fatima asked for the consecration of Russia in order to heal the schism in her Son’s Church from the beginning. The Filioque, affirms the inherent, ordered, complementary, communion of Perfect Love that is The Blessed Trinity.

At this hour, it is late. What is needed is a Miracle, and every Miracle requires an act of Faith. Perhaps Pope Benedict and The Bishops in communion with him might consider our Lady’s full request including the call for Penance and The First Five Saturdays Devotion.

Excommunication is automatic and requires no further action by the Bishops.They have made an appropriate response, and I applaud them for that.

Bob Rowland
    Automatic excommunication is only for people proximate to the act…go here:

http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/abortio2.htm

Bob Rowland
    Automatic excommunication is only for people proximate to the act…not pols:

Can. 1398 A person who actually procures an abortion incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.

If The Bishops had responded appropriately to those who profess to be Catholic while denying The Deposit of Faith, it would have been clear to everyone that being in communion with The Catholic Church is not a matter of degree. As we speak, just to name a few, over at Commonweal, America Magazine, and The National Catholic Reporter, dissension is allowed to be promoted without any action being taken by our shepherds. At some point you realize that as we have been sleeping in Gethsemane, there are many who continue to betray Him by denying He Is The Truth of Love.

Truth begets Truth, while error begets error. Time to wake up and Be Not Afraid, for the sake of Christ, His Church, and all who will come to believe in The Word of God as He Has revealed Himself to His Church in the trinitarian relationship of Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and The Teaching of The Magisterium.

the bible supported abortion, that was done by a priest, in god’s name, in his holly temple!
the 1984 niv footnote of numbers 5:11-31 explained what “to thy thigh to rot, thy belly to swell” meant:
Numbers 5:21 Or causes you to have a miscarrying womb and barrenness” to CAUSE a miscarrying womb IS an abortion.

so “the church” is using abortion as a tool to keep the brainless sheeple inline, gov. quinn knows that and the fact the church has lost good share of its political power and atheism is on the rise—-he doesn’t fear these people in weird clothing.

the judeo-christian god is a myth and historical evidence proves it.
3.3.3 Atheism: A History of God (Part 1)
Evid3nc3

One piece of very relevant information about Gov. Quinn was left out of the story. Is he a Democrat or Republican??? Many readers who are not from Ill.-like myself—have no idea what party he is a leader in. This is very relevant because in most states all the major candidates are Repub or Dem. Also, some people believe the Dem Party is more and more becoming the anti-religion, secular party so it is important to know whether Gov. Quinn’s attitude helps confirm this growing image of the Dem party or, instead, shows that both parties (if Quinn is a repub) are slowly becoming alike in this area.

@ Gale Routh: “brainless sheeple”  Nice…I’m always amazed how the atheist intelligencia love to quote scripture out of context, cherry-picking, as it were, a few juicy passages that “seem” (and “seem” is the operative word here), that “seem” to support their assertions.  Ignoring for the moment the intellectual dishonesty of the textual incongruities created by citing an NIV footnote while quoting the KJV translation, neither of which are in use by the Church, I would ask you, belief in God or not, where does the passage place the locus of power, in the hands of the priest only or, ultimately, in the hands of God?  Note that the passage shows the power is God’s.  And there it is.  What the Church is saying is that we humans have not the authority to take the life of the unborn, only God has that right, as we are his creatures.  If God allows a miscarriage, it is not an abortion in the secular sense of that term, but rather God drawing to himself what it already His.

The Governor needs to be publicly excommunicated and an order must be sent to all of the priests in the Archdiocese that this Governor should not receive Holy Communion. Our Catholic Church has grown weak over the years by not publicly excommunicated many political figures that are pro-choice, pro-birth control, and pro-homosexual marriage. For example, Nancy Pelosi and Joseph Biden are Catholics and attend mass regularly. The priests in those Churches should refuse to give Holy communion. The Catholic Church needs to stand firmly and release public statements that so and so politician has been excommunicated and should not receive communion. Instead, the Catholic Church is trying to be politically correct and not offend anyone. Too bad I say. Jesus said that he came to earth as man not to bring peace but to bring division.

@ Deacon:  Gov. Quinn is a Democrat.

To Gale Routh: As typical, you choose a certain passage in the Old Testament about abortion and then state why doesn’t it apply today. You have a poor understanding of how the Bible is structured. Let us remember that this was old testament, and that the people of israel did not view God as a God of grace but as a God of covenants and contracts (El Oheem). While He is still a God of covenant, there is room for grace in the new covenant. So the whole idea of the ritual surrounding Numbers 5 is that we as a people cannot follow His instruction without grace, and it gives us no right to perform curses on other people who are just as imperfect as those of us who call ourselves “Christians.” To follow Christ is to follow a path of love towards everyone regardless of iniquities or imperfections.
Jesus perfected and completed the Bible with the New Testament. We are not to judge persons to death, curses, or Hell. We are to Judge actions of politicians that are pro-choice, pro-homosexual marriage, and pro-birth control. The true teaching of the Catholic Faith is that Jesus taught us to judge actions “And why do you not, even among yourselves, judge what is just?” (Luke 12:57).

I’m sorry but this is still quite pathetic! Wow, you mean they MIGHT deny him communion? Is what he says correct or not according to Catholic teaching?  If it goes against Catholic teaching then TAKE ACTION!!!  This guy is the governor, for Pete’s sake and his actions scandalize the faithful. What are you waiting for?

@Posted by Upbeat Dad on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 6:34 PM (EST):
In context, the curses came upon a woman suspected of unfaithfulness, the operative word is suspected by a jealous husband. The husband brought his wife to the temple. All these curses were written on a paper, the paper was burned and the wife had to drink the ashes in water, then run around the temple five? times. If the wife was able to do this, she had proved her innocenc and the curses did not apply. It was a ritual demanded by a jealous husband. Yes, all things, life, immortal souls, and innocence are in God’s hands, the God of Perfect Justice.

The Catholic faithful should collectively applaud the action of Bishops in this matter. The Bishops’ initial ‘come to Jesus’ with the governor, followed by their swift refutation of the governor’s false account of the meeting are bold steps indeed and send a strong message to Quinn and other Catholic politicians.  Withholding communion etc. as some have suggested is a private matter. Admonishing a sinner is totally appropriate, but crying out for Quinn’s damnation or that of the Bishops ‘for failing to act’ is itself sinful (pride, anger).

Don’t count on the Bishops to act.  Many of them are in apostasy anyway, if you go by the teachings of the pre-Vatican II councils.  The Roman Rite bishops in Americhurch have done too little too late to ameliorate the situation and have only themselves to blame that they lack the moral power to discipline an erring sheep, or, heaven forbid, actually shepherd the flock.

The Illinois bishops said, “The Catholic faith cannot be used to justify positions contrary to the faith itself.  It is a matter of personal integrity for people who call themselves Catholic to act in a manner that is consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

There in lies the problem - What ARE the teachings of the Catholic Church?  Thanks to Cardinal Bernardin and the U.S. Catholic bishops of the mid 1980s and today - those “teachings,” old and new, are now a smorgasbord, mixed together seemingly to pick and choose from.

Why did they do that?  Pure and simple, to keep Catholics from feeling they needed to remove their names from the Democrat Party because of the intrinsic evil of abortion which the Democrat Party supported since Roe v. Wade.  The word “prolife” was coined to counter the pro-abortion supporters calling themselves “pro-choice” within a year or two after Roe v Wade.  Bernardin, the head of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Chairman of the bishops’ Prolife Committee in the mid 1980s, got the organization of U.S. Bishops to go along with expanding the meaning of the word “prolife” to include “new” prudential judgment issues identified by so-called term, “Social Justice.” 

Bernardin and the bishops abandoned the unborn for the sake of protecting the pro-abortion Democrat Party.  And that is why the bishops are so weak with pro-abortion, Catholic politicians.  And the unborn and the rest of us have to suffer with their blindness to what they have done.  The bishops should read their first paragraph quoted above in their press release, and look in the mirror to see if they, themselves, are living up to what they are saying to the politicians.

Nothing will happen to Quinn as long as Cardinal George lets morons like Pfleger run around un-checked; he has no credibility to do anything to the governor when his own priests are literally out of control.  I also highly doubt any priest or member of the EMHC army will withhold the Eucharist from the Governor even if directly ordered to do so.

Sigh….................:(

How long oh Lord must I cry for help.. Hab 1:2

Sadly these Bishops have NO courage to do the right thing.

Quinn is in good company, e.g.  The Cuomo’s, Biden, Sebilus, Pelosi, Gillibrand, Kennedys, and the other sterling “Catholics” elected officials who get the pass.

They act meekly so that Government money continues to flow to their “Social Agenda Programs” for the Photo Ops and headlines showing how good they are.  Look the “Campaign for Human Development” gives to abortion clinics (unwittingly so they say !).

Another example of silence for gain is the New York’s Diocese, it has America’s Pulpit as declared by Pope John Paul AND IT IS SILENT.

If the current NY Church Leader spoke out things would change.  He would have National TV cameras in St. Patrick’s EVERY Sunday; this was so when Cardinal O’Connor was there.

Jim, public error must be met with public corruption. It is no longer simply a matter of Quinn and the bishops, but of the scandal caused to the faithful. Not only for his good but for the good of many, Quinn must make a choice, and be seen to make a choice: He can be pro-choice or he can be a Catholic, but he cannot be both.

Gov. Quinn is a liar and a coward. Pray for him as he will have to answer for the souls he might have led astray.

Jim Mazzarelli, with all due respect, admonishing one who professes to be Catholic while obstinately denying The Deposit of Faith, and proclaiming that through a false ecumenism, many of The Bishops have failed as shepherds because they were reluctant to use the charitable anathema, is not sinful, nor is it done out of pride or anger, but rather it is required for the sake of Christ, His Church, and all who will come to believe in The Word of God as He Has revealed Himself to His Church, in the trinitarian relationship of Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and The Teaching of The Magisterium.

Umm, isn’t this why we have excommunication? Why are bishops so afraid to use this which both protects and helps the church?

Sigh…. All this has been going on for a long, long time. At Boston College recently according to the Cardinal Newman Society, 28 Nov. 2011,
Professor and author Peter Kreeft told a group at the Bishop O`Conner Center in Madison, that pro-abortion Catholics have done more damage to the Church than the sex abuse scandal. During a question and answer period
an audience member brought up the kennedy political dynasty and how a group of leading theologians and college professors met with the family members in the mid 1960s and came up with a way for Catholic politicians to support pro-abortion rights platforms with clear consciences. Professor Kreeft then made one of his boldest comments of the evening, suggesting, the theologians who first convinced Democratic politicians they could support abortion rights and remain Catholic did more damage to the Catholic Church than pedophile priests which by the way have, in my view, changed forever the “follow blindly and accept without question,”
relationship between the clergy and bishops forever. Seeing all that has gone on in New York state and Arizona and Calif. with Cardinal Mahony, before he retired as well as many other places to numerous to mention with, out and out refusal by some bishops to follow Summorum Pontificum even after the letter Universae Ecclesia, and the protestantion of the Novus Ordo in many places with a deafening silence from the leadership, it is no wonder the Church is split, confused and in some cases lost with
many of the faithful deciding what is the best way for them. Sad, very sad. Pax

Contrary to popular belief among this governor, most liberals and among many bishops themselves, the role of a bishop is NOT to devise programs for the poor or give legal help to undocumented immigrants.  They need to keep in mind that they are consecrated for 3 things:  TEACH, GOVERN, SANCTIFY.

gale routh, I always get a good laugh when an atheist tries to use the bible to disprove one article of Catholic faith or another. In your case you have completely and totally misinterpreted the message.  Not uncommon for an atheist still….a little more research and you might have discovered that these verses to not speak to abortion but to adultery. A woman who was suspected of adultery was forced to drink the water of bitterness, nowhere does it say she is pregnant.  If she was guilty of adultery the water that brings the curse enters into her and causes bitter pain, and “her body shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away” and the woman shall become an execration amoung her people.  In otherwords she will be barren.  The miscarrying womb that you mention from the NIV simply means the woman will not be able to carry a baby to term.  In Catholic teaching a natural miscarriage is not an abortion; it only becomes an abortion if it is deliberately induced. But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children. 

Nowhere is pregnancy mentioned.  Nowere is abortion mentioned or implied.  So your interpretation is flat wrong. You need to read scripture in context and not just look for something you can glom onto to support your hate of religion.

Your comment about using abortion as a tool to keep the ‘brainless sheeple” in line made me laugh too.  Why is it that athiests always resort to invective when making their points?  Do you think it makes you more credible?  If you do think again.  The tide on abortion is turning.  With the advent of 4D Sonograms no longer do people describe a fetus as a mass of cells.  That’s why poles show that the majority of all people, inlcuding athiests, oppose abortion.  In addition over 80% of all people oppose partial birth abortion.  Aborting a fetus = killing a baby…now that is fact so you might want to reflect on your belief that killing babies in the womb is Okey Dokey.

One final point.  I can’t prove to you that there is a God and you cannot proove to me that God does not exist.  So both of our believe systems are faith based, welcome to the club!

What makes this whole story of concern to me is something that seems to have gone unnoticed. When Cardinal George and the Bishops left the meeting room at the Union League Club he said they had a friendly meeting. The Governor remand silent for at least 24 hours. Both the Chicago Tribune and Sun times initially reported the Cardinals response. He felt this was a pastoral meeting between the governor and his pastor.

Than it was reported by Capitalfax.com http://capitolfax.com/2011/12/19/watching-the-story-evolve-in-real-time/ that according to confidential sources of the Rainbow Sash Movement the meeting was full of tension. Cardinal George calmly told the Governor that it was his hope that the Governor would no longer speak out as a public Catholic unless he is in agreement with the Bishops on controversial issues. The Governor sat quietly and respectfully listened to Cardinal George, but then told the Cardinal that he was the Governor of all the people of Illinois, and that he will speak out for all the people of Illinois and not just the Catholic position.

The next thing I hear is that Chicago Tribune pulled their initial story jposted on their web site on the meeting describing it as being positive.

Does this all sound strange to you? How did the Rainbow Sash Movement become involved in this whole matter. Soon there after both the Cardinal and Governor issue press releases. The annoying possibility is that someone in that meeting fed them the information. Or am I being paranoid.

Jack

I FIND THE MANY REFERENCES IN THE ABOVE COMMENTS ABOUT THE POOR QUALITY OF THE BISHOPS OF THE UNITED STATES RATHER INTERESTING.  REMEMBER THAT MOST OF THEM WERE APPOINTED BY BLESSED JOHN PAUL II.

@Flamen By their fruits—not their seeds or gardners—we will know them.

I’d love to see Quinn convert back to his faith.  I’d also like to see Fr. Pfleger submit to the cardinal in obedience.  But anyone who thinks he would be edified by an excommunication needs to watch (or re-watch) the excommunication scene in the old movie Becket with Peter O’Toole and Richard Burton.  The words of that rite will make your heart turn to water, if you have a heart.  It’s the LAST thing we should wish on our fellow man.

The truly charitable action for the Bishops to take would be to excommunicate Gov. Quinn, in order to help him realize the seriousness of his offense so that he does not pay eternally for his actions. He should then be invited to offer a public retraction of his actions and statements, vow to work to promote the sanctity of human life and marriage, and make a good confession.

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/matthew-archbold/gov.-quinn-vs.-the-bishops/#ixzz1h7JPNkRt///////

//////////////////////////////  I think it beginning to dawn on the bishops that the Catholic pols have spent years preparing for the day when they must openy break with the Church, and that when they do, they will be joined by many Big Name Catholics who will be proudly shaking the dust of the Church from their shoe and loudly announcing their liberation.  This is what happens when you spent forty years looking the other way and letting a whole generation be reared ignorant of the True Faith.

The rapid decline in Catholic Church attendance can be traced back to the 1960’s when our cowardly liberal bishops first showed they lacked the intestinal fortitude to enforce church doctrine, a practice that continues to this very day. Many Catholics when their selective morality was left unchallenged by those in authority left in droves because they could see little difference between the Catholic Church and non catholic institutions.

I think the liberal bishops were not so much cowards as enablers or even abetters. Looking back , I think I see a repeat of the Reformation, where there was a long period when the Church was blind to the significance of events in Switzerland and Germany. 1968 was probably the turning point, where Paul Vi saw how events had got out of hand.

These people are called CINOS(Catholic in Name Only).  Dr. Bill Donohue could not beome Archbishop of New York for just 6 months, could he?

OK, I didn’t think so!

Patricia in St. Louis, MO

Jack, my guess is that Gov.Quinn informed the rainbow sash movement. Let us Pray that in moving forward, all of us have the courage to be Catholic:

http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_ii_decree-19651118_apostolicam-actuositatem_en.html

This is appalling ... in these days of perverse false “marriages” JUST WHAT MORE WILL IT TAKE for the US Bishops to publicly repudiate the de-facto illicit marriage of the Catholic Church to the Democrat Party of the last 50 years???

Canon 915 by ecclesiastical authority protects, among other things, the right IN JUSTICE of the faithful NOT to be misled by the bad example of another’s [Governor Quinn’s] seriously wrong public behavior if that grave wrong goes uncorrected by Church leaders.

SHOW US THE CORRECTION. Where is the clear and unambiguous condemnation of the gross errors and of the scandal created AND compounded by Governor Quinn read in EVERY pulpit in Illinois explicitly declaring the Governors position on abortion as anathema to any practicing Catholic????

Come on Bishops. Take off the gloves. The false debt for the election of JFK was paid off decades ago and this in your face “balloon” payment of Governor Quinn is beyond the pale.

@ upbeat dad

yes, “brainless sheeple” because while you was doing your useless diatribe against the very fact that YOUR bible supported abortion, you you forgot that your bible also supported the killing of infants and children… you can’t disprove it—- get over it.

you have yet to prove that your god is even real—but we both know your god is a myth.

the judeo-christian god is a myth and historical evidence proves it.
3.3.3 Atheism: A History of God (Part 1)
Evid3nc3

so i will kill any unwanted, parasitic life-form that needs my body to live—-including your precious fetus…period, get over it.

@gail routh:  I hope this is irony.  Iac, the last statement is diabolical, and like many things the devil says, an untruth discoverable by reason.  No human being is truly a parasite, a member of another species, not even an unliked in-law.  ;)

Upbeat dad???  I think sad dad is more accurate, why are you so angry?  The bible does not support abortion…it does not support killing of infants or children and you have zero evidence to support your slander.  Please show the historical evidence.  Any don’t bother to cite your atheist 3.3.3. atheist fiction is not evidence. So if you have some real evidence to support your claims cough it up else you are but noise…...As for God being myth, you can’t prove this point either.  So your disbelief in God is faith based….oooooooooo doggie, we have something in common after all.  Man, drink some decaf.

N.B., Note Bene, Note Well EXACTLY what Quinn said he said to the Bishops:  “A lot of the discussion was how we could work together to fight poverty, help the people who are less fortunate and need a helping hand,” Quinn told the Sun-Times as he left a Christmas toy give-away on the Far South Side. “Getting people jobs, helping people who don’t have enough food to eat — that’s what the church’s social mission is all about.”

Translated for the slower types this means ... come on now guys stick with Democrat playbook ... ignore the 50 million aborted American babies ... help export abortion by ignoring the dead Mexico City Policy; after all have we not substituted LGBT civil rights for this bigoted Reaganesque notion ... ignore and institutionalize the abortion and parricide riders in Obamacare; after all it is Holy Writ straight from the book of ACORN that ONLY the Democrats know how to deliver more and better health care ...  sell your outdated Christian heritage for a mess of pottage. Get with the program! Never mind these minor multiple intrinsic evils just stick with the “Social Justice” issues ... because after all are we all not just fellow Democrats? Are we not all for working together to implement the least efficient ways of fighting poverty ... the least efficient ways to help the less fortunate (except those in the womb) ... the least efficient ways of getting people jobs ... the least efficient ways of putting food on the tables of the poor ... it would be a grave sin if any but the Democrat way was advanced to minimize these Social evils. Forget any notions of subsidiarity after all the real mission of the church is to rubber stamp only Democrat solutions ... above all use all your time covering for the above because God forbid you might even remember that the Church’s original mission statement is to Evangelize ... but what did “He” know.

It all goes back to the homosexual-agenda, social justice, common good, seamless garment garbage of “bernardin” & his atheist, communist pal “alinsky” !  This cancer still infects not only the Chicago Diocese but the entire Catholic Church in America.  He twisted the USCCB to do his bidding.  His cronies were promoted & many ran corrupt seminaries & dioceses, from the late 60’s on, all of a sudden there is a massive pedophile problem.  The Church must correct this homosexual cancer & we need Bishops that enforce the Commandments instead of having meetings with the twisted members of the party of death !!

@grey bear: I have a similar opinion about Bernardin.  However, I am not sure it is true, since I know so little about the man except what I have read.  He may have been like Chaput when Chaput was young: He grew up in an era when men like George Meany headed the AFL-CIO and Catholic politicians did hold to Catholics teachings.  Even when the pols turned against the Church, he may have thought to find common ground, not realizing how that ground had been undermined by the events of the previous twenty years.

@John Schuh, see my post above (Dec. 20, 12:42 AM.) 

Here is what a long time friend (30 years) of Cardinal Bernardin wrote in his favorable biography of his friend entitled “Cardinal Bernardin - Easing conflicts - and battling for the soul of American Catholicism” - by Eugene Kennedy: “In addition, the pro-life activities of the bishops would founder if they could not be made more appealing to the vast array of priests and others who served in the front ranks of pastoral work.  A more cohesive and consistent position that recognized a spectrum of pro-life issues, ranging from peace through capital punishment, would energize the priests, clergy, and laypeople in direct contact with the Catholic population in a positive way.  Not only would this move gain greater support form Catholics and others but it would KEEP THE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT FROM FALLING COMPLETELY UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE RIGHT WING CONSERVATIVES WHO WERE BECOMING ITS DOMINANT SPONSORS.” (My emphasis.  Pages 243-244.)

I never knew “right wing conservatives” fighting for the unborn was a problem to the U.S. Catholic Bishops and clergy. Since Bernardin’s supposed “energizing” change in the definition of “pro-life,” which was a term coined to counter the pro-aborts calling themselves “pro-choice,” many more millions of unborn babies have been murdered then before Bernardin and the bishops expanded the definition of “pro-life” to include “social justice.”  So much for the cleverness of Cardinal Bernardin’s brilliance for bringing about a larger, stronger pro-life constituency.  The only thing that change “energized” were Catholic Democrats whose consciences were now soothed - enabling them to remain in the pro-abortion party.

This book was published seven years before Bernardin’s death, and such comments attributed to his thinking were never refuted by him.  Bernardin is the reason Catholics remain the single, largest voting block for the pro-abortion party.  He accepted the Chairmanship of the Pro-Life Committee of the national association of Catholic Bishops in the early 1980’s after receiving approval from the President of the Catholic bishops association to expand the definition of “pro-life” to include the so-called “social justice” issues.  Do you think his being in charge of the Archdiocese of Chicago, the largest, Catholic, Democrat run city in the country had anything to do with his meddling with the definition of pro-life?

@stillbelieve:  Once you mention the name of Gene Kennedy, you have proved your point.  I once met a priest who knew Father Kennedy.  This was in the ‘70s, when I was still oblivious to what was happening in the States since I was living overseas.  Heck, I was still thinking that Kueng had something good to say.  I asked him about Kennedy, and he looked   stricken. Pray for him, he said.  But I am now concluded that back in the ‘30s, the Church followed the lead of John Ryan and joined wholeheartedly the New Deal Coalition, even if there were so many strangebedfellows with sharp toenails.  The aim was to give the Church access to taxdollars for its social programs.  The big push came after WWII and the effort to get federal dollars for parochial schools.  But the liberal Protestant Establishment shot that down by having the Supreme Court, in Black’s opinion, essentially incorporate the Blaine Amendment into the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.  Not until Lyndon Johnson’s time did they get past that, and so the Church profited from the Great Society largess, and THAT is why the bishops were left between a rock and a hard place when the Court issued its Roe, V. Wade edict.  Here they were, joined at the hip with the Democratic party at the time when the party began to go radically to the left and to propose policies inconsistent with Catholic doctrine.  Bernardin’s attitude was something like that of the German bishops when Hitler came in.  Cardinal Pacelli has caught heck for negotiating a concordat with Hitler, but evidentally the bishops undercut him at every turn, just to prove what good Germans they were, and diplomatic mail made its way into Nazi hands, so they knew just what to say to get agreement. Like Bernardin, some clerics were playing a double game.  Not for several years did they see the cloven hoof, and realize what the Nazis’  true aims were.  Even so, they dared not challenge the Party head on, not most of them.  It is a sad reminder that bishops are so often at heart more politician than priests.

I know that one is not supposed to mention the word Nazi, but I am reminded of the events following Hitler’s coming to power in 1933.  Rome tried to make an arrangement with German like that of the 1929 concordat with Italy. I understand they were undercut by the eagerness of the German bishops to make a deal. Both Rome and The German bishops misunderstood who they were dealing with. Mussolini was a thug. Hitler and his party were something else. The attitude of the German bishops toward Nazism was quite different from that of Karl Barth, the Swiss protestant theologian. He knew the devil when he saw him.

Book, Bell, and Candle.

Time to bring back the formal ceremony.