AMARILLO, Texas, September 21, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Roman Catholic Diocese of Amarillo bishop John W. Yanta, responding to the notion that church and state should remain “separate,” said that religion isn’t just something you practice in church.
The Holy See and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said earlier this year that Catholic politicians who support abortion should be denied Communion. However, the USCCB said that the decision to do so would be left to individual bishops. Bishop Yanta said religion is something that one lives when in the world, and is not limited to the time spent in church. In a column in The West Texas Catholic newspaper, bishop Yanta called for Catholics to come forward to notify him if they knew of Catholic politicians who were pro-abortion. He explained that, if such a person persisted in their pro-abortion stance even after pastoral counseling, he would be left no choice but to deny them Communion. Bishop Yanta described the measure as a moral rather than a political move. “The word communion means ‘in union with,’” the bishop said, as reported by The Amarillo Globe-News. “And if they’ve already separated themselves from Jesus and his teachings, then they have no business receiving Communion. It’s a travesty. It’s a mockery. It’s a sacrilege. This is a Catholic church stand. It’s a Jesus stand. You can read about it in the Gospel and in I Corinthians.” Read the Amarillo Globe-News coverage: http://www.amarillo.com/stories/091904/new_election.shtml tv