Paul Martin loves gays, Vatican not amused

[Lord of The Curry 0]

VATICAN CITY—Roman Catholic bishops gathering for the first synod under Pope Benedict XVI will consider refusing communion to politicians who pass laws that violate church doctrine.

 

The discussions are especially relevant to Canadian politicians, including Prime Minister Paul Martin, who recently spearheaded a bill allowing gay marriage — a move strongly opposed by the Catholic Church.

 

Canadian bishops interviewed by the Toronto Star say the issue of withholding communion from some politicians will be raised as part of a larger discussion on the worthiness of Catholics who present themselves for the sacrament.

 

"The faithful frequently receive holy communion without even thinking that they might be in the state of mortal sin," says a working document the bishops will take into the three-week synod, which begins Sunday.

 

Two years ago, when the current Pope headed the Vatican's orthodoxy watchdog, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he described politicians who vote for same-sex union laws as "gravely immoral."

 

But Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at the time was silent on the consequences for politicians who nonetheless did so. In July, Canada became the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.

 

The withholding of communion has been a hot topic of debate in Canada's Catholic Church since the law was passed. But the five Canadian bishops attending the synod will be going without a common position on the matter.

 

Most Rev. Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Edmonton, makes clear he personally believes many of the politicians who voted for the law may not be fit to receive holy communion.

 

"If it was clear that the politician ... manifestly just rejected the Gospel, then I think the bishop would say to that person, `Come to mass, listen to the words of the Gospel, but it's really not appropriate for you to receive communion,'" Collins said in an interview yesterday. "Politics is a sacred vocation. It's a life where we need people with a conscience."

 

Collins believes local bishops should approach politicians and treat each case individually. The bishop should fully explain church doctrine, "encourage them to change their position," and give them a chance to repent through confession, he said.

 

A decision to withhold communion should only be made after the bishop himself goes through much fasting and prayer, he added.

 

"A bishop's role is not to forbid communion to people — that's a sad necessity that may unfortunately from time to time occur," he said.

 

Collins's position reflects the one taken by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. It decided last year that local bishops should decide whether politicians who support issues such as same-sex marriage or abortion should receive communion.

 

The synod's working document doesn't specifically talk of politicians. But it's filled with references that clearly apply to them.

 

"Some receive communion while denying the teachings of the church or publicly supporting immoral choices in life, such as abortion, without thinking that they are committing an act of grave personal dishonesty and causing scandal," it laments.

 

Voters, it notes, are committing a sin if they back politicians who make "immoral" choices.

 

"Some Catholics do not understand why it might be a sin to support a political candidate who is openly in favour of abortion or other serious acts against life, justice and peace. Such attitudes lead to, among other things, a crisis in the meaning of belonging to the church and in a clouding of the distinction between venial and mortal sin."

 

The synod brings together 256 Roman Catholic bishops from around the world. Under the theme of the sacrament of the eucharist, the bishops will examine key aspects of how mass is celebrated, including the quality of the homilies. The working document gives a sense of the challenge: while more than one billion people in the world are Roman Catholics, attendance at Sunday mass is less than 5 per cent in Europe and North America.

 

"It would be foolish to just jazz up the mass and make it a (media) sound bite," said Collins, who will be making a six-minute presentation at the synod.

 

"In a world that is so loud, so fast and over-stimulated, we have to help people realize that there is something here that is more profound, majestic and awesome; some place where they can find rest for their souls," he added.

 

Agreements reached at the synod will be forwarded to Pope Benedict. He will issue his verdict on the discussions in a document that could take as long as a year to be made public.

 

On matters of church doctrine — particularly issues surrounding, the family, fertility, and the possible ordination of women priests — Pope Benedict, 78, is considered a staunch conservative. He is also considering a proposal to ban gays — even celibate ones — from becoming priests, although it's not likely to be a topic at the synod.

 

In Canada, the issue of withholding communion from some politicians gained momentum in July, after the passing of the same-sex marriage law.

 

A parish priest in Martin's Montreal riding said the Prime Minister, a practising Catholic, no longer deserved the sacrament because of his support for the law.

 

"I pray that he will lose his riding in the next election," Rev. Francis Geremia said at the time.

 

NDP MP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) was then barred from receiving communion by his parish priest in northern Ontario.

 

Bishop Ronald Fabbro of the Diocese of London banned another NDP MP, Joe Comartin, (Windsor-Tecumseh), from involvement in some church activities because of his support for the law. Fabbro also publicly condemned Comartin in a letter he handed out to all parishioners and had read aloud during mass. Comartin had worked in the church as an altar server, a fundraiser, and taught marriage preparation courses with his wife.

 

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who will attend the synod as the Archbishop of Quebec, backed Comartin's expulsion from church activities at the time. But he suggested the decision to withhold communion from the two MPs went too far.

 

"You do not lose your right to belong to a community because you do not vote in the right way," Ouellet said at the time.

 

"We are all sinners in one way or another, so we have to be welcoming for all our members. We are a community of sinners."

 

Most Rev. Paul-André Durocher, Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall, said he's hoping the synod will enlighten him on the difficult subject.

 

"The question of politicians and communion remains for me a kind of quandary," he said.

 

"I don't have a personal opinion on it."

 

credit: thestar.ca

 

I'm not a huge Martin supporter but him taking the same attitude to this that he took to Iraq (aka "Eat a dick, I'll do what's best for my country") would make me support the guy just a bit more.

[Guest Biggles]

So priests would refuse to serve the politicians communion based on how they voted for the same sex marriage amendment? That's not very Christian...

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

They've been doing this in America for a while now. I was condemned to hell (I think) in my parish because I voted for Kerry.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

Oh goody. Just another reason for a separation of church and state. Sorry jesus freaks, you have to wait outside.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

Separation of church and state has never happened, will never happen, and can never happen. It's a non-issue.

[Gary Floyd 0]

As a guy who was raised Catholic, this really sucks, IMO. It's also proof of how politicized the Church is, and that Ratzinger was a bad choice for Pope.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

the catholic church just gets better and better.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

This has nothing to do with Ratzinger/Benedict, and it was happening before JP2 died.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Oh, I remember Kerry and a bunch of others being denied their dose of crackers because of their views or something.

 

I wouldn't say it's directly the fault of New Pope (get it? New Coke? Ohhkay) but he is a sign of the times. The Papal stance on Harry Potter has changed from "fiction that may teach kids good values" to "evil satan-teaching tool"

[Special K 0]

You know, Pope John Paul II condemned the war in Iraq, but I didn't hear any Catholic legislators (I'm sure there's plenty of them) getting shafted for voting for that. So I guess thousands of people dying is way better then *ew gross two guys? Ew gross. Two girls is hot tho.*

 

Or remember Mary Magdeline? How she was to be put to death, and Jesus stopped the crowd and "he who is without sin..." blah blah blah? that shit was straight out of the Gospel, not fucking Leviticus, which they ignore pretty much all of. Haven't heard of the Catholic church losing their shit over the death penalty. Fuck what about a rich man trying to get into heaven is like a camel trying to pass through the eye of a needle? (Eye of a needle being a narrow archway, meaning it's very difficult, not impossible.)

 

If we had some *Real* Christian politicians who were anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, anti-death penalty, anti-war, I'd respect them SO much more than these politicians who use their faith as justification for every fucking thing they do. There's be a good chance I'd vote for them too. Yeah, George, you're anti-death, that's why you executed mentally retarded people in Texas. Remember that time you gave most of your personal fortune to the poor, and only kept enough to live extravagantly for the rest of your life? Oh, wait that never happened.

 

It just boggles the mind the things they pick and choose to include and exclude from their religion.

[ZGangsta 0]

So, when are they going to deny communion to the politicians that support the death penalty?

 

Oh wait, not going to happen because those people are "good Christians."

[2GOLD 0]

The important question is when IS the Vatican ever amused?

[Guest Sagrada3099]

Never, to my knowledge.

 

Whatsit that was said? "Catholics dont celebrate their faith, they mourn it"

 

About sums it up.

[DMann2003 0]

Whatsit that was said?  "Catholics dont celebrate their faith, they mourn it"

 

About sums it up.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That was the character of Serendipity from Dogma written by Kevin Smith

 

I loved the parochial education I got from my Catholic upbringing but it's stuff like this that has kept me from attending church in so long, I guess that makes me lapsed, but I still have a belief & faith, probably like a lot of Catholics.