Catholic Pro-Life Obama Supporter Denied Communion
Douglas Kmiec, a former official in the Reagon Administration endorsed Barak Obama a few weeks ago. Kmiec is decidely pro-choice, but nonetheless decided that there were reasons to support Obama. Sadly, this has had reprercussions for Kmiec, a devout Catholic, as he reports:
Read it all here.
This is, indeed, an outrage. From my limited understanding of Catholic canon law, this was also way outside the line.
Having been drawn to Senator Obama’s remarkable “love thy neighbor” style of campaigning, his express aim to transcend partisan divide, and specifically, his appreciation for faith ("secularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering into the public square"), I did not expect to be clobbered by co-religionists.
On the blogs, I have been declared “self-excommunicated,” and recently at a Mass before a dinner speech to Catholic business leaders, a very angry college chaplain excoriated my Obama-heresy from the pulpit at length and then denied my receipt of communion.
. . .
Catholic voters in this circumstance are asked to consider what other social goods Obama represents and whether they can honestly and openly say that they are supporting him for that reason and not his stand on abortion.
The American bishops have put it this way: “A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion. . ., if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate’s opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity.”
Are there “other important moral issues involving human life and dignity”? The list is long: the death and economic waste associated with an unjustified war in Iraq; failure to be good stewards of the environment; promoting a tax code that favors the wealthy and undermines a family wage; perpetuating an immigration system that divides families and overlooks the exploitation of labor and more.
Some of that “more” is also a candidate’s view toward adoption, which I again urge Senator Obama to address now in the shadow of NARAL’s endorsement so that he remains true to his method described on the Daily Kos of “making everyone uncomfortable.”
Read it all here.
This is, indeed, an outrage. From my limited understanding of Catholic canon law, this was also way outside the line.
Comments
This Kmiec person is causing grave scandal by claiming to be pro-life and campaigning for Obama. He's encouraging others to support a 100% pro-death, anti-marriage, pro-promiscuity, pro-gay candidate, pro-socialism candidate.
The priest preached on the subject in his homily. He's presumably had discussions with this person to begin with.
Everyone's talking about Kmiec's "prudential judgement"; what about the priest's?