OTTAWA, April 7, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Popular evangelical minister and television personality, David Mainse, who is in Ottawa lobbying legislators on the impending same-sex ‘marriage’ bill, has called upon Paul Martin and other politicians who claim the name ‘Catholic’ not to receive communion when attending Pope John Paul’s funeral tomorrow.
Mainse has been a vocal supporter of Calgary bishop Fred Henry who is being hauled before a Human Rights tribunal for his strong stand against homosexuality. Referring to Henry, Mainse said, “I intend to say the very same things as he has said. He’s a brave man and I appreciate him more than I can tell.”
Mainse, in comments from Ottawa on the Christian television programme 100 Huntley Street, said about the upcoming funeral, “We’ve experienced the death of a Godly Pope who stood against the deconstruction of humankind’s most enduring institution. He’s stood for one man and one woman: marriage.”
In an intense exhortation to Canadian politicians attending the funeral, Mainse said Tuesday, “May the funeral service of the Pope this week be a call to repentance. And I call on those that will be there, Prime Minister Martin, Stephen Harper… I pray that conviction of sin and righteousness and judgement to come will come upon the political leaders who attend that funeral service. And may they not be so hypocritical, those who are Roman Catholic, to receive communion who have not had absolution for something that is obviously a grave sin.”
To date, no current Canadian bishop other than Fred Henry has publicly mentioned the scandal of Catholic politicians receiving the sacrament while being publicly out of communion with their church on essential Catholic teachings. In addition, despite the work done by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops expounding on the meaning of marriage, a determined silence has been maintained on the issue of the sinfulness of homosexuality itself.
This silence has been a part of a long-standingÂpractice of the Canadian episcopate on sexual issues dating back to the late 1960’s and has caused much confusion within the Church. The pastor of Paul Martin’s parish, Rev. John Walsh has repeatedly gone public with his support of the homosexual lifestyle both in published homilies on the parish website and in the Globe and Mail. Despite the public scandal, thus far there has been no public correction from Cardinal Turcotte’s office, where Fr. Walsh’s parish is.
hw