Politics
Tuesday September 2, 2008
Scranton Bishop Says He will Refuse Communion to Joseph Biden
TODAY'S HEADLINES
E-MAIL
PRINT
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
SCRANTON, PENN, September 2, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Catholic bishop of Scranton, Pennsylvania, has confirmed that pro-abortion vice presidential candidate Joseph Biden would be refused Holy Communion in his diocese, according to the Scranton Times.
The Times reports that "when asked whether the Democratic vice presidential candidate would be refused Communion should he tour the region, the diocese held firm" to a statement made by Bishop Joseph F. Martino in 2005 declaring that he would not "tolerate any politician who claims to be a faithful Catholic who is not genuinely pro-life" receiving Holy Communion.
"No Catholic politician who supports the culture of death should approach Holy Communion," said Bishop Martino, who added, "I will be truly vigilant on this point."
The Bishop's firm defense of Eucharist, which Catholics believe is the actual body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, is reflected by the Pope and Vatican officials, who have repeatedly stated that persistently pro-abortion politicians cannot receive Communion.
Canon law 915 states that those who "obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to holy communion".
Although Biden's own bishop has not enforced the church's law regarding Biden, he recently stated that the Democratic vice-presidential candidate would not be permitted to speak in any diocesan facility. He has also "asked" pro-abortion politicians not to present themselves for Holy Communion, but has stated his unwillingness to so far enforce this request.
"It is not my expectation that individual priests, deacons and extraordinary ministers of communion will make judgments on their own as to the worthiness of individual Catholic public servants to receive communion," Bishop Michael Saltarelli wrote in a newspaper column in 2004. "That is ultimately my responsibility in light of Catholic moral theology and the Code of Canon Law. At this stage, I much prefer the active engagement and dialogue called for by Catholics in Public Life."
According to NBC, Biden was seen last Sunday at St. Joseph of the Brandywine parish, where he was given Holy Communion by Monsignor Joseph Rebman. Rebman told NBC that the bishop and various priests have spoken to Biden about his pro-abortion stance, but none had ever denied him communion.
Delaware Senator Joseph Biden has consistently cast pro-abortion votes since the 1980s, when he and other Catholic Democrats abandoned their pro-life positions as the party's pro-abortion position solidified.
Biden normally receives a 100% approval rating from the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), which recently issued a statement confirming that "Sen. Biden has consistently expressed support for a woman's right to choose (abortion). While we have not agreed with him on every vote, we have a longstanding relationship with Sen. Biden that is open, positive, and constructive."
Bishop Martino's willingness to enforce Church law is shared by other bishops in the USA and Canada, including Bishop Fred Henry of Alberta, Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, Paterson, New Jersey Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli, Birmingham Bishop Robert J. Baker, Atlanta Archbishop John F. Donoghue, Charlotte Bishop Peter J. Jugis and former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke who has just taken up the position of Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the highest judicial authority of the Catholic Church besides the Pope himself.
Back to TopLatest Headlines
- Appeal Filed to Give D.C. Voters Right to Vote on Gay “Marriage” Law
- Cardinal George Denounces "New Ways Ministry" as Pseudo-Catholic Organization
- Vatican: Population Growth is a Means of Overcoming Poverty, Not a Cause of It
- “Bogus Compassion” is Killing Children and Corrupting Society: Belgian Philosopher
- Indian Court Rules Born and Unborn Are Equal
- United Nations Urges Nicaragua to Legalize Abortion
- Vatican Consultant Responds to 'Completely Ignorant' IPPF Accusation
- Irony: 19-Child Duggar Family Renting Former Home of Local Planned Parenthood Leader
- Document Reveals Inconsistencies in ND's Jenkins Claims on ND88
- New Country Music Star Born as Pro-Life Ballad Climbs the Charts
- Commentary on February 8 News
- Police Refuse to Release Federal "Threat Assessment" on Wis. Pro-Lifers
- Canadian Human Rights Commission Appeals Ruling against Hate Messages Statute
- Homosexual Activist Keith Norton Dies at 69
- Letters to the Editor
Most Read this Week
- Veterans, Former Army Legal Chief Defend “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
- Planned Parenthood President Lands Spot on Ford Foundation Board
- Rabbis Warn against 'Disaster' of Open Homosexuality in the Military
- Football Pros Give Support to Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad
- Clash of the Abortion Titans: Planned Parenthood Launches 'Pro-Choice' Football Ad
- Canadian Station Pulls Pro-Life Ad – Too “Graphic”
- Hijacking the Brain — How Pornography Works
- Group Exposes Media "Fraud" at March for Life
- U.S. Sisters in Crisis after Embracing “Secular Culture”: Vatican Cardinal
- NYT: Rampant Polygamy in Gay 'Marriage' May Benefit Institution
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.