VATICAN, October 19, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – News which broke yesterday about a Vatican consultant’s response to a question about canon law application to Catholic politicians who support abortion, has created a media uproar and contradictory statements about the Vatican’s involvement in the response.
Washington-based Rev. Basil Cole’s response to California canon lawyer Mark Balestrieri indicated that Catholic politicians who advocate abortion are “automatically excommunicated”. This pronouncement was understood by Balestrieri to indicate Vatican support for his lawsuit against Kerry. However, with the Presidential contest in question, Vatican authorities, with unusual haste for an institution that is typically very slow to respond to even the gravest matters, today fended off any suggestion of involvement in Balestrieri’s lawsuit. Balestrieri has launched a church lawsuit against Kerry seeking to have him disciplined by Church authorities for his outspoken support for abortion In comments to the Catholic News Service, Father Augustine di Noia, undersecretary of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said Balestrieri’s “claim that the private letter he received from (Dominican Father Basil Cole is a Vatican response is completely without merit.” (https://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0405749.htm ) Of note however, neither Fr. di Noia, nor Fr. Cole contested Balestrieri’s main assertion that Kerry is “automatically excommunicated” due to his public and persistent support for abortion. In fact, in his original response, Fr. Cole notes that all Catholics who “publicly and obstinately support the civil right to abortion” while knowing the Church teaching against it, are “automatically excommunicated.” In a De Fide press release issued today, Balestrieri responds to the latest controversy over his statements. He indicates that he very carefully confirmed all facts before making his public pronouncement and that Fr. Cole clearly indicated to him that “he had been ‘delegated’ by the Very Rev. Augustine di Noia, O.P. to respond to my queries.” See the complete LifeSiteNews.com Special Report on this story at https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/oct/041019a.html See Marc Balestrieri’s complete Oct. 19 De Fides press release “Response to Vatican’s Statement Denying Contact” https://www.defide.com/news.html Fr. Cole’s complete response to Marc Balestrieri’s query https://www.defide.com/resp/response.pdf De Fides website https://www.defide.com/ See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage: Sen. John Kerry “Excommunicated,” According To Vatican Response https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/oct/04101801.html In divided Vatican opinion, Kerry appears to lead Bush https://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2004d/101504/101504a.htm jhw