The Vatican supports denying wayward politicians communion. Me saying, “I won’t attend church anymore” doesn’t mean much (I go to church rarely, and usually only when the mood strikes me).
What I will do is write two churches I’m likely to attend (one at home, and another by my parents) and inquire as to how they would respond. I will also (possibly depending on the response) refuse communion for the near (or long) term.
This does, quite possibly, make me not-so-much catholic – I’m not sure.
Clearly, what the church has done is within its rights. I even understand the angle (and general thrust of the document – which I have not read yet) – I just don’t agree with it. It’s also clear that not all diocese agree.
I’m not sure where I’ll go from here – I ran from the church, only to return years later, only to (seemingly) be driven away again. The Vatican is making it difficult to recall many of the good things the church has done.
My parents had a sort of similar experience, in that they gradually grew disillusioned with the synagogue they used to go to (my dad and I beating the rabbi in a theological argument had a lot to do with this), but rather than being turned away from worship as a whole (which is what happened to me), they found another synagogue with a rabbi whose attitude was more in tune with theirs. Both places and both rabbis were from the same denomination (United Synagogue), but the one was just much more welcoming to people who didn’t necessarily do everything by the letter than the other.
Jesus. No paragraph tags in comments? Someone better fix that (ahem).
Well, if they wanted a way to piss off my aunts, who are staunch Catholics and Eucharistic Ministers, they may have found it.
But yeah, more and more I feel like the Church doesn’t even want me, and at some point I’m just going to shrug and say, “Well, their loss,” and find myself an Episcopilian or Quaker church.
so being a politician who is publicly pro-choice ranks up there with committing a mortal sin and then not confessing it? weird…
Voting to allow baby-killing is very serious in the eyes of the church.
Ack, sorry about the lack of a paragraph break. And no a tags in the comments? Bummer. Here’s the link about the religious affiliation of Congress: http://www.adherents.com/adh_congress.html
I agree, the catholic church does have the right to say what “good standing” is. I’m not disputing that. And, the church has strong views on abortion (which, to some extent, I agree with). However, they make it difficult for Catholic politicians to do their work. Yes, they need to be concerned with a right to life – but they also need to be concerned with the rest of society. From the John Kerry homepage: “He believes that the Constitution protects their[women’s] right to choose and to make their own decisions in consultation with their doctor, their conscience, and their God.”
This is supportive of abortion rights, but it’s certainly not an endorsement of it. I think it’s essentially the right course to take. Does it defend babies everywhere? No – but society hasn’t determined that fetuses are babies – and catholics (and catholic politicians) have to exist in a larger sphere than just the Church. Their faith should influence their actions – but it exists in a larger cauldron of faiths than just itself.
Have you seen what else is in the document? From the LA times article: “It allows girls and women to serve at the altar if a local bishop permits it, although it says using men and boys for the practice is “laudable.””
I generally go to church whenever I’m feeling severely unsettled. Now? I don’t know – besides the abortion, the piece about limiting women’s roles in the church – I can’t imagine feeling settled in church.
what’s communion for?
by denying a person communion, what does that mean?
I’m kind of torn about this. On one hand, the Vatican has every right to say what you can and cannot do to be a Catholic in “good standing”. However, to pick just on politicians is insane. Probably close to 50% of Catholics are for abortion, and at least 90% use birth control. It’s probably almost statistically significant that of the Catholic politicians in Congress, 61% are Democrats.
Yeah. Every once in a while, I think I wouldn’t mind going to church, but then something like this happens, and I think that they don’t even really want me.^M^MGina, denying a person communion (the Eucharist) is considered very severe, as the Eucharist is one of the sacraments, and should be celebrated weekly. Generally, you are only forbidden from the Eucharist if you have committed some mortal sin which you haven’t confessed.