Declaration urging bishops to deny Communion to pro-abortion politicians - signatories
We, Pro-Life Leaders, Call on the Bishops of the World to Extend Mercy to the Church’s Pro-Abortion Politicians
WHEREAS Saint Paul wrote in the eleventh chapter of First Corinthians: "For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:29);
WHEREAS Canon 915 of the Church’s Code of Canon Law states that those who are “obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion”;
WHEREAS Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote in a 2004 letter to the US bishops, called "Worthiness to receive Holy Communion", that a Catholic politician who votes for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws "must" be denied Communion after being duly instructed and warned;
WHEREAS Catholic politicians who support abortion are already in grave sin, and in receiving Holy Communion their sin is compounded by sacrilege;
WHEREAS by being given Holy Communion such Catholic politicians may well believe that they are spiritually healthy and thus not in need of any remedy;
WHEREAS distributing Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians causes scandal to the rest of the faithful in that they come to believe that support for abortion is not too serious a sin, and thus undermines pro-life work;
WHEREAS being refused Holy Communion is an effective wake-up call to return to an authentic life of faith;
WHEREAS it is unmerciful to allow our brothers living in obstinate public sin to languish there without warning;
We the undersigned ask the Bishops of the Catholic Church to withhold Holy Communion from pro-abortion politicians as an act of love and mercy towards those same politicians.
Signed,
| Duarte Falcó | Mas Vida | Spain |
| Áluaro Ortega | Mas Vida | Spain |
| Silvio Dalla Valle | Voglio Vivere | Italy |
| Chris Slattery | Expectant Mother Care | USA |
| Richard Mileti | Italo-Americani per la Vita | USA |
| Preston Noell | Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. | USA |
| Roberto de Mattei | Lepanto Foundation | Italy |
| Patrick Craine | LifeSiteNews.com | Canada |
| Virginia Coda Nunziante | Marcia per la Vita | Italy |
| Marie Meaney | Heartbeat International | USA |
| Joseph Meaney | Human Life International | USA |
| Luis Losada | CitizenGo | Spain |
| Rebecca Kiessling | USA | |
| Walter Hintz | HazteOir.org | Spain |
| Dawn Eskew | Personhood New York | USA |
| Sofia Guedes | Portugal Pro Vide | Portugal |
| Thereza Carvalho | Escola Profissional Val de Rio | Portugal |
| Jean Goyard | Droit de Naître | France |
| Theresa Deisher | Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute | USA |
| Miriam Sciberras | Malta | |
| Mark Sciberras | Malta | |
| Julia Calinescu | LifeNation | Romania |
| Fr. Linus F. Clovis | CARIFAM, Family Life International New Zealand | St. Lucia |
| Dame Colleen Bayer | Family Life International New Zealand | New Zealand |
| Hilary White | LifeSiteNews.com | Italy |
| Michael Hichborn | American Life League | USA |
| Angelika de Poncharra | Collectif en Marche pour la Vie | France |
| Dr. Tom Ward | National Association of Catholic Families | United Kingdom |
| Fr. Ryszard Halwa | SOS Ochrony Poczętego Życia | Poland |
| Michael Walczyk | SOS Ochrony Poczętego Życia | Poland |
| Anna Wiejak | SOS Ochrony Poczętego Życia | Poland |
| Robert Colquhoun | 40 Days for Life | United Kingdom |
| Jean-Marc Baijot | JURIVIE | Belgium |
| Jason Jones | HERO | USA |
| Maria Madise | Institute for the Culture of Life | Estonia |
| Carlos Polo | Population Research Institute | USA |
| Nicolás de Cárdenas | HazteOir.org | Spain |
| Jaime Hernández | Crossroads Spain | Spain |
| Pablo Santana | HazteOir | Spain |
| Antonio Brandi | Notizie Pro Vita | Italy |
| John-Henry Westen | LifeSiteNews.com | Canada |
| Steve Jalsevac | LifeSiteNews.com | Canada |
| Dan Calinescu | LifeNation | Romania |
| Katarina Mlinarević | 40 Days for Life Croatia | Croatia |
| Ignacio Barreiro | Human Life International | Italy |
| Monica Migliorino Miller | Citizens for a Pro-Life Society | USA |
| Bernadette Smyth | Precious Life UK & Ireland | Northern Ireland |
| Valdis Grinsteins | Tradition, Family, Property - Poland | Poland |
| Jakub Skolzylas | Tradition, Family, Property - Poland | Poland |
| Julio Loredo | Tradition, Family, Property | Italy |
| Bernice Follett | The Life Foundation | USA |
| Brian Follett | The Life Foundation | USA |
| Antea Cvjetkovic | 40 Days for Life Croatia | Croatia |