The following comes from an August 12 In the Light of the Law blog post by Ed Peters, former canon lawyer for the Diocese of San Diego:
“I am not a Roman Catholic, let alone a canon lawyer,” writes First Things contributor Carl Trueman, “but I am reliably informed that the bishop of the diocese to which [Vice President Joseph Biden] belongs does have certain powers in regard [to Biden’s brazen officiating at a ‘same-sex wedding’].” Well, I am a Roman Catholic, and I am a canon lawyer, and I can reliably inform others that the bishops of the dioceses to which Biden belongs do indeed have certain powers in this regard. In my view, moreover, it’s time for bishops to use those powers. Gracious, even some Protestants think it’s time!
Yes, I cautioned against a canonical over-reaction to Biden’s stunt (over-reactions always being more likely in the wake of decades of mostly inaction), and so I pointed not to excommunication but instead to the invocation of Canon 915, this, in response not so much to Biden’s one-off as a special officiant at a ‘same-sex wedding’, but in view of his long string of effective repudiations of fundamental Church teaching on the nature of marriage itself, the inviolability of innocent human life, and so on, such serial repudiations now being publicly crowned by his voluntary, formal cooperation with an objectively gravely evil act against marriage last week.
A few days ago, three notable bishops issued a statement critical of (obviously) Biden’s act. I readily grant, the statement was not “much”, but it was something, and it was a something that would not have been done at all even a few years ago—while there was still some hope that the US Supreme Court would, in the end, at least get the definition of marriage right. They did not get it right, of course, and, in so spectacularly not getting it right, the Court crossed a line that human nature itself says may not be crossed; thus, however small might have been the Kurtz-Malone-Wenski statement, it was not nothing.
Whether we are on the cusp of the long-awaited, major pushback by bishops in the social and political sphere (toward which approach Trueman seems inclined) or are approaching something more radical yet such as the so-called “[St.] Benedict Option” provocatively urged by Rod Dreher, I cannot tell. But something is going on. Something has to go on. We simply can’t keep going on as we have been going on up to this point.
Weak bishops lead souls to hell.
Buck up boys, we are praying for you to do the right thing and lead by example.
Unlike the early Christians who told the Roman authorities what was right and wrong, our Bishops today have no interest judging from the results.
So, the time has come…when are the bishops going to DO something?? Probably, not in our lifetimes!! I just read where the German bishops released a 200+ page report, on Aug. 9th, praising Martin Luther for being a wonderful “Gospel witness and teacher of the Faith!” I laughed and laughed! Phony ecumenism!!
To any Bishop or Priest or Catholic who supports Hillary Clinton –
Hillary CLINTON is DANGEROUS to RELIGIOUS FREEDOM and it will not stop at abortion – but all things religious that she disagrees with.
The next President will be nominating people of like mind to the Supreme Court and Federal Courts. And will be directing all Federal agencies with Presidential “Executive Orders”.
” Hillary Clinton: Make Christians Change Their Religious Views to Support Abortion” – Headline Life News.
Regarding abortion she said this on the campaign trail: “… deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed. ” – Clinton
She stands for a person to decide ..she stands for that person to be ale to take the responsibility of that decision. She stands for that person not to be forced by law to accept that she has no right to decide..if history tells us about what happens to mother and child when the law tells women that abortion is illegal. let us who want to bring our faith into the law remember what happened when abortion rights where ruled by law. Women died because abortion where performed illegally. .and by methods not practiced by doctors. Young women that became with child where sent off and forced to give up the child for adoption..in addition the church often was a apart of this process. Americans
have the freedom of choice in their practice of…
Women did die; that is true. But a great many women thought better of engaging where they should not. Men, too. Young women were often NOT forced to give up their child, but wanted to. Some young women were encouraged or forced to give up their child, but considering the prevailing attitudes regarding sex outside of marriage at that time, it often provided better for both the child’s future and that of the woman. Not killing the child and, quite often, killing the mother – body and soul.
Clinton stands for FORCING Christians to change their position. That’s a so called Christian asserting her power over FAITH. Forcing others to pay and engage in that which is evil.
Forgetting your faith is what has led to unbridled sexual license…
…and rampant baby killing as a way of life. That will also be remembered when those who claim to love God stand before Him.
Don’t let yourself be run by guilt, Jacqueline. There are any number of specters that can be held over your head with “…. and then this bad thing happened. Or this could happen.” Scare, scare, scare.
Meanwhile Planned Parenthood and the DNC treats our young women like so much cattle to be flesh farmed. All under the guise of “helping” the poor, helpless darlings. God save us from such tender mercies.
She (HC) ‘stands’ with evil = premature deaths! Picture a war with 40+ MILLION casualties. That would be HORRIFIC! But 40+ M is a choice when it is an inconvenient baby? The 1st unholy evil unleashed by the ever so helpful ‘choice’ crowd. Now the 2nd unholy evil, begins in earnest with assisted suicide & death parties. The 3rd unholy evil of euthanasia WITHOUT consent, not just the elderly or terminally ill either, is here with Obama care. (& with more victims then we hear about, per Terri Schavio’s brother @ Crisis LIFE Line.) All HORRIFIC, not helpful. Stand for God’s law, “Thou shall NOT kill”. May God help us VOTE THEM OUT.
…Not shown above, this reply is for JS. Continue with JS, ….. The next step to de-populate the US. The latest ides from the Climate Change Crowd ( = or Control the Population Crowd & HC ‘stands’ with them) They suggest a tax on CHILDBIRTH! @ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/19/climate-change-activists-tax-discourage-childbirth/ = The 4th unholy evil suggested by them, discourage childbirth. What’s next, FORCED abortions? God help us, with the numbers, to VOTE THEM OUT! If we stand with our God , maybe in His mercy He will stand with us & the gates of this HELL (premature death) will be shut.
Jaqueline simmons– Abortion is MURDER!!! Abortion is a very dangerous thing– and many young women die at Planned Parenthood, as a result of LEGAL abortions! There is NO EXCUSE for a pregnant, unwed girl, to run to a dangerous, MONEY-HUNGRY, “back alley baby killer,” to try to “solve her problem– with MURDER!! MURDER is NO SOLUTION AT ALL!!
Many years ago, I and several others talked to a religious brother, at a local church who told us he was dying of AIDS, and asked everyone to pray for him. He said he got AIDS in the Monterey area, ministering to a “loving community” of gay men, who had AIDS. He and other gay Catholic men, felt “cheated by God” out of a life, but hoped to die in a state of grace, in the Church! Well, many churchgoers were angry at him, because they felt he was lying, that he had gotten AIDS, the usual way–(NOT by “nursing his dying brothers!”) and SHOULD HAVE KOWN BETTER!!!. Again– DON’T PLAY WITH FIRE!!
A child is NOT a “CHOICE!!” A child is a big RESPONSIBILITY!! Every child is a MIRACLE, made by the hands of God, for a specific purpose! Only GOD can make a life! And only GOD can take a life! A CHILD IS NOT A “CHOICE!!” A CHILD IS A MIRACLE OF GOD– AND A BIG RESPONSIBILITY!!!
Kids need to LISTEN to their parents, teachers, and the clergy! Kids die every year, from making foolish mistakes, and disobeying their elders! They play with illegal firecrackers, swim in dangerous places and drown, take dope at rock “music” events and die, engage in sinful premarital sex– or acts of gay sex perversion— and die of AIDS and related diseases; go to unsupervised teen parties, drink alcohol (while underage), and then die in car accidents– and many other dangerous things! And unwed pregnant girls, who once died from “back-alley” illegal abortions! A kid MUST OBEY GOD AND THEIR PARENTS!!
The 2016 National Democrat Platform which was just adopted at their convention,
calls for ALL taxpayers to pay for abortions meaning the repeal of the Hyde Amendment.
This is part of Clinton’s systematic plan to change America to her belief system.
Regarding abortion – she supports the torture and murder of unborn babies at any time of development for any reason.
Vatican Cardinal to Americans: ‘In Your Nation, God Is Being Eroded, Eclipsed, Liquidated’
The Church’s challenge today is to “fight with courage and hope… and not be afraid to raise her voice to denounce the hypocrites, manipulators and the false prophets” who would lead the faithful astray.
“The battle to preserve the roots of mankind is perhaps the greatest challenge the world has faced since its origins,” Sarah said.
https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-hollingsworth/african-cardinal-american-catholics-your-nation-god-being-eroded
continued……
Cardinal Sarah continued….
“Be prophetic, be faithful, pray” for the soul of America and to “help stem the tide of evil that is spreading throughout the world,” the cardinal exhorted. “For in the end, it is God or nothing.” – Cardinal Sarah
https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-hollingsworth/african-cardinal-american-catholics-your-nation-god-being-eroded
While Christians in the middle east are brutally murdered for the faith our bishops here, except federal dollars then ignore their duties and actions so obviously called for to condemn and correct the demonic evil that Biden and others do and promote. Just days ago we saw another example of poor leadership when Oakland’s Bishop inviting baby murdering total abortionist Governor Brown to an announcement of a new Catholic school. How does one keep their faith with such poor corrupt church leadership which is the real Church crisis
Idaho Pete, the last time Pope Francis spoke at any length about Middle East Christians’ persecution was in remarks at Villa Nazareth College June 19, 2016, now 60 days ago.
By contrast, Syrian Catholic Patriarch Youseff III Younan has said “…Christians in Syria, they feel abandoned, even betrayed, by the so-called powerful nations, most particularly in the West.” (Aug 3, 2016)
https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2016/06/19/pope-says-martyrdom-not-genocide-best-word/
Please e-mail Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and your congressional representative about what Patriarch Youseff III says. It is one small way to keep attention on them.
People who are sufficiently moved to do so can help the Knights of Columbus with their direct relief of Middle East Christians: monthly donations can be made of any amount, and they are graciously appreciated:
https://www.kofc.org/en/charities/christian-relief/medical.html
You are right: we should be doing what our asleep leadership has chosen only sporadically, spasmodically to mention.
A quote from the late great Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen:
“WHO IS GOING TO SAVE OUR CHURCH? NOT OUR BISHOPS, NOT OUR PRIESTS AND RELIGIOUS. IT IS UP TO THE PEOPLE. YOU HAVE THE MINDS, THE EYES, THE EARS TO SAVE THE CHURCH. YOUR MISSION IS TO SEE THAT YOUR PRIESTS ACT LIKE PRIESTS, YOUR BISHOPS, LIKE BISHOPS, AND YOUR RELIGIOUS ACT LIKE RELIGIOUS.”
Way PAST time. Religions of ‘infidels’ are under attack but not Islam. The advancement of Sodom & Gomorrah morality from POTUS (+ Supreme Court & other judges), = unrelenting. It won’t stop either. BO has replacements. Saul Alinsky, BO’s twin, has a triplet in HC. HC wrote her college paper on Alinsky’s book, Rules for Radicals, which she memorized. If you are not familiar with RULES, the cliff note version = SOCIALISM! By wrecking America’s structures’ (life, liberty, justice, religions & religious freedom, constitution, rule of law, economy, freedom of speech, law & order, etc.). Use any means (dirty tricks) to accomplish SOCIALISM but don’t let on to the ‘dumb worker bees’. We are in the ‘use any means’ mode with BO…
Continued……………and HC is using any means to get elected so she can advance her true LOVE = SOCIALISM. So although I lament the progressive direction the USCCB is taking God’s church, I’m more concerned about the direction of my country right now. If the country goes to the ‘devil’ in this election (Saul Alinsky dedicated his book Rules for Radicals to – lucifer) it will take a miracle to reverse course. God help us.
Let me get this straight [no pun intended} stupid Uncle Joe BiteMe officiates at a gay wedding type thingie and serious Catholics actually think it rises to the level where commentary is even necessary?
On a scale of 1-10, I’d given BiteMe’s stunt a 0, look the poor man is a walking gaffe factory.
Now…where are the canonical lawyers and why haven’t they presented the case for a just war to be called by Christians against the Muslim jihadists?
These politicians’ views are no different than those of 80% of Mass-going Catholics in the U.S. The bishops will never broadly invoke Canon 915 because they know such a move would simply hasten the clearing of the pews that’s already well underway. Discussing the topic over and over doesn’t change this reality; there will be no “Benedict Option.” Sometimes I think Ed Peters must live on a different planet.
Good article about: Abortion, America’s greatest SIN. @
http://www.all.org/abortion-is-americas-great-sin/?CategoryId=1
Soon there will be articles like this that says, America’s 2nd greatest Sin =
Gender Bending Confusion or Anything Goes.
The Catholic Church ought to daily teach, preach, and deeply inculcate PURITY of Our Lady, and the Virtue of Chastity, for all, as they did, in pre-Conciliar days! Every parish should have daily devotions to Our Lady, with great respect for her, and many groups to join, for all ages (children, teens and adults) dedicated to her! Our Blessed Mother can do a great deal, to eradicate sexual sin, abortion, acts of gay sex perversion, pornography, filthy words, books, music, and movies (etc.) and worship of EVIL in our Nation!