Ed Peters: Canon 915’s moment has arrived (however excommunication is another matter)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s blatant promotion of New York’s horrid abortion law seems to have been a tipping point.

Demands, demands, that Catholic leaders do something serious to confront unbridled abortionism in the ranks of Catholic politicos are being published like I’ve never seen them urged in four decades of watching such things. To that authentic Catholic sense, right at so many levels, I give nothing but an Amen. Here’s my only concern: Catholics at various stations in the Church, most largely untrained in canon law (no shame in that, that’s what five decades of pervasive ecclesial antinomianism will get you), are making, whether they know it or not, demands for canonical actions in Cuomo’s regard, which actions might or (more likely) might not be possible under current canon law and, having missed their mark, will wrongly conclude that canon law offers no remedies in the face of Cuomo-like conduct. I refer specifically to calls for the formal excommunication of Andrew Cuomo, but the issues in this case are applicable to other cases on the near horizon.

So, first and foremost, and setting aside Richard Burton’s Abp. Becket stentoriously excommunicating enemies of the Church from the cathedral high altar, excommunication is today what it has always essentially been, a canonical penalty that can be meted out only in accord with canon law. As a canonical sanction, the application of excommunication requires, at a minimum, (1) a law in place that prohibits, under pain of excommunication, a given action, (2) accessibility to facts sufficient to demonstrate the guilt of an individual accused of doing such an act, and (3) an independent process to interpret the law and apply it correctly to the facts at hand. See Canons 18 and 221, and most of Books VI and VII of the 1983 Code.

Those who think that Andrew Cuomo should be excommunicated for signing New York’s appalling abortion law need no invitation to make their case for that canonical sanction in accord with the canon law. Thomas Becket could make his case for excommunication (the curious and Latin-literate can verify that claim by checking, say, Gasparri’s footnotes to 1917 CIC 2343 § 4, provisions that took a dim view of murdering priests). But, if moderns cannot make the case for Cuomo’s excommunication (and I, among many others trained in canon law, do not think they can), they should cease calling for the (presently) impossible and focus instead on what can (and I, along with some notable others, think should) be done in the face of a Cuomo-like affront to Church teaching and basic human dignity.

continue at In Light of the Law

The points made through this article are critical in understanding the current state of canonical penalties.  If folks want to throw around the "E" word they need to understand the context.

Also:  From Msgr Pope’s lips to the bishops’ ears

Catholic University Recognizes Pro-Abortion Club. Join the Protest.

Your voice is urgently needed because:

Scandal #1: Going against its Catholic mission, Marquette University in Wisconsin currently recognizes a pro-abortion club on campus called Marquette Empowerment. Recognized clubs such as this one receive university funding.

continue at TFP 

Marquette Discussion of When Life Begins Has No Abortion Opponent

At any university, a discussion on “When Does Human Life Begin”would be an excellent idea. And at any university, at least somebody on the panel should espouse the view that life begins at conception. This should be utterly obvious at a Catholic university.

But what happens when a pro-abortion feminist office at a “Catholic” university organizes the discussion? You can guess.

The discussion was sponsored by Marquette for Life, Empowerment (a feminist student organization), the Campus Ministry, and the Marquette University Center for Gender and Sexualities Studies. That latter one is just what it sounds like.

continue at Marquette Warrior

Bp. Paprocki declares Sen Dick Durban is “not be admitted to Holy Communion until he repents of his sin”

Pro-life Catholics who wish Catholic Church leaders would step up and deny communion to leading politicians who support abortion are getting good news today.

One Catholic bishop is denying communion to pro-abortion Democrat Dick Durbin, a top Democrat in the Senate who has long supported and promoted abortion. Durbin joined other Democrats to block a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks.

Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois says Durbin is “cooperating in evil” and persisting in “manifest grave sin” because of his abortion advocacy and must therefore “not be admitted to Holy Communion until he repents of his sin.”

In a statement on the Diocese of Springfield website, Bishop Paprocki said, “Fourteen Catholic senators voted against the bill that would have prohibited abortions starting at 20 weeks after fertilization, including Sen. Richard Durbin, whose residence is in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.”

continue at LifeNews

Slap on the Wrist: Trivial Discipline for Marquette Students Who Defaced Anti-Abortion Display

It was the kind of stunning intolerance that has become common on college campuses: members of the feminist group Empowerment (along with some other students) defaced a university-approved anti-abortion display this past October.

Marquette has failed to explain whether any punishment was meted out to the students guilty of the vandalism. They have not even issued any assurance that punishment would be imposed for an egregious infringement on free expression.

Now we know why.

continue at Marquette Warrior

Any Discipline for Marquette Students Who Vandalized Anti-Abortion Display?

It was an outrage. A bunch of feminist students, members of the campus group Empowerment vandalized an anti-abortion display on campus.

Even worse, in a huge display of chutzpah, two students bragged about doing it on Facebook, one in her own post, and another in comments to a post from the Young Americans for Freedom. One of the students admitted to a reporter that she had “tagged along” with members of Empowerment when they trashed the display.

Both the College Democrats, and the group Empowerment came out with statements supporting the vandalism.

Had any conservative group supported the vandalism of any leftist display on campus, the group would have been quickly suspended.

continue at Marquette Warrior

Feminist Steinem Touts Abortion, Ridicules Church at St. Norbert College

Abortion advocacy, support for euthanasia and applause for excommunicated and “ordained” women priests—such were the highlights of last week’s “dialogue” with radical feminists Gloria Steinem and Bell Hooks on the Catholic campus of St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis.

The event was held in the College’s campus theater on April 21, despite initial exposure by the Cardinal Newman Society last October, public protest by Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay in January, and assurances from the College that Steinem was invited only to headline a “discussion of the history of the women’s movement, especially as it may be understood in the context of domestic violence.”

Bishop Ricken lamented that Steinem’s “whole career and life is a grand affirmation of the pro-abortion movement.” And the Newman Society called on the College to rescind Steinem’s invitation, stating that its refusal to do so “adds insult to injury by disregarding Bishop Ricken.”

Nevertheless the College went forward, and the activists’ dialogue, titled “Talking Together: A Legacy of Solidarity,” predictably highlighted contempt for “patriarchal religions” and pushed support for abortion rights and euthanasia. A video of their dialogue indicates that Steinem and Hooks barely touched on the subject of domestic violence but focused instead on “reproductive rights” and societal ills caused by the patriarchy.

continue at Cardinal Newman Society

Fox11 also has coverage - more than 300 alumni, students and parents petitioned St Norbert's president to remove the invitation


Apparently the talk was a couple weeks ago, HT to Father Z. For comparison, St. Norbert's is in far worse shape as an institution than say Marquette. Remember, St. Norbert's is the same place that protested the invitation to Cardinal George, God rest his soul, even to the point of 3/4 of the staff wearing rainbow ribbons to show their support for the sin of sodomy!  Read that again, a Catholic college where 75% of the staff (forget contraception or no fault annulments) support Gender Theory, something Pope Francis has harshly criticized during his pontificate.  I don't see any way the school is salvageable, unlike Marquette where I hold onto a fools hope.

There ARE efforts to fix St. Norbert's. Today, the college hosts President of Feminists For Life to Speak at St. Norbert College for "Pro-Life Week." This was perhaps some kind of compromise worked out with the diocese.   "Pro-Life Week" efforts are somewhat mitigated by "Seamless Garment" and "Death Penalty" talks.  Certainly related, but if Gloria Steinem gets a platform to advocate specifically for abortion and euthanasia, it seems reasonable to have a counter without the need for a "death penalty" talk (Wisconsin has no death penalty).  Has St. Norbert's hosted a death penalty advocate?  It appears no talks will be given during Pro-Life Week on euthanasia for example, despite the college hosting Steinem's promotion of assisted suicide.

Chicago's Loyola University Speaker Who “Thanked God and Country for Abortion”

Loyola University in Chicago has invited a pro-abortion rights speaker to be the keynote speaker at its January 21 celebration of the life of Martin Luther King Jr. The event is sponsored by Loyola’s Department of Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.

The journalist Touré, who goes by his first name alone, is co-host of The Cycle on MSNBC. He has been invited by the Jesuit institution to deliver a speech entitled “How Racism Functions Today.”

SUPPORT FOR ABORTION AT A CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY?

Loyola University administrators are now facing criticism from pro-life Catholics including Kimberly Scharfenberger. Writing for the Cardinal Newman Society, Scharfenberger reports that on the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Touré spoke publicly about his girlfriend’s abortion and how it had “saved his life.” According to Scharfenberger, Touré touted the importance of abortion rights on MSNBC’s The Cycle:

“I knew that pregnant woman and I were not going to be able to form a lasting family,” Touré reportedly remarked. “She decided it was best to have an abortion and days later she did, we did, and in some ways that choice saved my life.”

“I cannot imagine arguing against a woman’s right to control her body,” Touré continued. He even went on to “thank God and country” for abortion, which he claimed “was there to save [him] and keep [him] on a path toward building a strong family…”

Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/kathyschiffer/2015/01/catholic-identity-abandoned-loyola-university-speaker-who-thanked-god-and-country-for-abortion/#ixzz3Op4Z2TQ7

Bishop Ricken: St. Norbert College and the Catholic vision of life

Bravo!  My empahsis.

Several months ago, I received many letters, emails, calls and complaints about St. Norbert College’s invitation to Gloria Steinem to give a presentation on their campus. The reason for inviting her, I have been told by college leadership, is to assist them in the discussion of the history of the women’s movement, especially as it may be understood in the context of domestic violence. Domestic violence is becoming a huge problem and, according to research, is almost an epidemic in the United States. I agree that domestic violence is an extremely important topic.

Many of you asked me if I knew of the invitation to Steinem or if I approved of the invitation. I want to let you know that not only did I not approve of such a decision, I did not know about it. As bishop, I have the responsibility to ensure the Catholic identity of the Catholic colleges in our diocese. Even though Gloria Steinem has appeared at St. Norbert College before my time as the bishop of this diocese, and acknowledging that she has appeared at other Catholic colleges and universities, I do not approve of the appearance of Gloria Steinem at St. Norbert College. I have conveyed my strong disapproval to the abbot, the president of the college and the chair of the Board of Trustees.

That St. Norbert College wants to look into the causes and contexts for a huge societal problem is laudable and needs consideration and attention by society and church. However, I find the invitation of Steinem to be quite mystifying. Given the historical escalation of domestic violence in the United States, and the fact that the “tried and true methods” of the past 40 years do not work, a question arises in my mind: why would St. Norbert, a Catholic college, invite someone who is such a high profile and well-known protagonist and activist of abortion rights to weigh in on the causes and contexts of a dramatic increase in domestic violence in the United States?

read it at The Compass

Yep, go read it.  This is not just a home run, but a 450 foot walk off home run.  God bless Bishop Ricken, please comment and write your support to him!

Sinsinawa Dominican attacks Catholics supporting religious freedom

Notorious Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Donna Quinn is attacking faithful Catholic organizations such as the Little Sisters of the Poor who are suing the government to secure their religious freedom not to have to insure for contraceptives, some of them abortifacient. The Sinsinawa Dominican congregation is very well aware, and, as has been the norm throughout Sister Donna’s long career of anti-Catholic activism, they are letting her do whatever she pleases. I contacted the Sinsinawa Dominican prioress yesterday for comment and assuring her of my prayers, she has not replied.

This article by a fellow “pro choice” activist appeared in the liberal Religion Dispatches Friday:

“NCAN is dismayed that the Little Sisters of the Poor, the University of Notre Dame and other Catholic organizations are challenging the Affordable Care Act. Spurred on by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops these organizations are attempting to hold hostage all women by refusing insurance to them for contraceptives,” said the 2,000-member group in a statement.

“This has gotten out of hand,” Sister Donna Quinn, head of NCAN, told RD. “It isn’t ‘faith and freedom’ when reproductive autonomy isn’t extended by the Catholic Church to women. Now we have other Christian religions seeing what the bishops are doing and saying we will do likewise. It isn’t freedom when a woman can be held hostage by the owner of a business.”

continue at Laetificat

Go read about her "magic wand" comment.  Chilling. 

"Midwest Religion Model"

Thought you might want this for your files ... I was looking at the "Faith in Public Life" website (people who organized Nuns on the Bus.)

"FPL developed the Midwest Religion Model – a first-of-its-kind tool to identify and engage people of faith. While previous tools to identify religious voters relied mostly on one-dimensional measures such as church attendance, the Midwest Religion Model reflects an in-depth understanding of their attitudes and practices."

"...FPL has also produced groundbreaking research demonstrating that religious messaging on progressive issue positions can be more effective than conventional secular messaging at motivating voters of faith. This data, coupled with our Midwest Religion Model’s ability to identify and target certain religious voters, gives progressive organizations a clear path to reaching and mobilizing religious voters."

"The Midwest Religion Model is available to groups and campaigns and has been scored to the Catalist voter file. It is also available on the VAN through America Votes, State Voices, and partner organizations."

(then check out Catalist groups)
http://www.catalist.us/clients

Voter Activation Network:
http://www.ngpvan.com/

Intervening in external affairs

[I]t must not be forgotten that the Church has the right and duty not only to safeguard her teaching on faith and morals, but also to exercise her authority over her children by intervening in their external affairs whenever a judgment has to be made concerning the practical application of this teaching.

John XXIII

Pacem in Terris

April 11, 1963

via Rorate Caeli

Intellectually bankrupt Dan Maguire of Marquette calls Paul Ryan a Scoundrel

Now that Rep. Paul Ryan is the vice-presidential candidate in the upcoming election, this follow-up to my last posting is all the more timely.  The background to all of this is an article that Prof. Dan Maguire wrote, entitled "When Religion is a Refuge for Scoundrels", in which he criticized Rep. Paul Ryan's recent federal government budget proposals.  The professor cloaked himself in the mantle of Catholicism to go after Ryan, even though he himself takes numerous positions contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church.  I heard Maguire on Wisconsin Public Radio and it is this interview that really sparked my interest.

This is not intended to be a defense of Paul Ryan's policies.  Rather, it is meant to highlight the intellectual bankruptcy of Maguire's criticism of Ryan. 

continue at The Reluctant Traditionalist

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Iowa nun says Obama has "Good Catholic Values" in Des Moines Register

via Creative Minority Report:

Sister Patricia Miller wrote an opinion piece in the DesMoines Register praising Obama and ripping Paul Ryan. She actually praises Obama for his accommodation for religious liberty in the HHS mandate. This is sick and if you needed to know why the LCWR is being scrutinized by The Vatican look no further than this:

Des Moines Reg:

The president is diligent in viewing the needs of all citizens. Iowa, in 2000, was one of the first states to require our insurance companies to cover contraception. The bishops requested that those whose beliefs were against contraception not pay for others who use them. President Obama obliged with a plan that persons not using contraceptives, because of their beliefs, would not have their insurance increased, but it was refused by the bishops.

Through all actions and laws, President Obama is not taking away our religious freedom as Catholics. He has always considered the value systems of the different religions and tries to accommodate as best possible.

The president has been a faithful and loyal partner for Catholics starting as a community organizer in Chicago working with Catholic parishes in poor neighborhoods. His salary was funded by a grant from a group of the Catholic Church.

He knows that local churches often do more good for a community than a government program ever can. The Obama administration has proven its support for Catholics worldwide in the increase of funds directed toward charities, education and volunteer services to lift the vulnerable communities at home and abroad.

I was unable to find what order she belonged to.  Al, do you know?

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Marquette professor declares "bishops are the schismatics"

Daniel Maguire, the theology professor at Marquette University, seems to like getting media attention. He certainly gets it… often! And his friends in the media are more-than-willing accomplices.

Last month, Maguire wrote in an email to The Daily Beast. “The bishops will stand with Dolan and the U.S. Catholic Conference, but on this issue, they are in moral schism since most in the Church have moved on [to] a more humane view on the rights of those whom God has made gay.”

Now, a month later, having been out of the news for a while, he’s quoted in The Columbus Dispatch: “There’s a moral schism going on in the Catholic [C]hurch, and the bishops are the schismatics, broken from the laity and theologians.”

continue at Cardinal Newman Society

We should start a Danny Maguire Award for quotations of public figures which directly contradict the truth.  Like simply claiming that "The sky is not blue" or "Canada is a great place to live" will win the award... Dear Canadians, I kid, I kid!  If Maguire accused Marquette of covering up pedophile Jesuits, how quick do you think they'd be able to get around that whole tenure thing? 

VP Biden meets with current LCWR president in Dubuque

Biden brings cookies and ice cream to LCWR president’s motherhouse
BY KATHLEEN GILBERT

DUBUQUE, Iowa, July 3, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Vice President Joe Biden [who is PRO-abortion] made a quiet visit [so quiet that there is a photo and we are reading about it now] to the religious sisters of St. Francis in Dubuque last week, the motherhouse of the current president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR).  [Coincidence?  I think not.]

David Gibson of the Religion News Service wrote that about 150 people were present at the event, and noted that the Dubuque location is the motherhouse of LCWR president Sr. Patricia Farrell, OSF. A recent newsletter also lists Farrell as one of the vice presidents of the Dubuque house. It wasn’t clear whether Farrell was present for Biden’s visit.

continue at Fr Z

NETWORK Nuns roundup

A few thoughts.  If pro-life nuns, which these are not, protested anti-life legislation, do you think anybody in the media would cover it?  On the other hand, some of the media coverage has been pretty balanced, some even questioning the credibility of the nuns on economic matters.  Also, check out this image put out by NETWORK.

How can they at one time hate habits but love them when they find them to politically beneficial?

Voces de la Frontera(pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage) join with "Nuns on the bus"  on the picket line:  https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150928569463853&id=310264703852

CBSNews: Network Nuns in Iowa

MJS: Miner: The Nuns are Here! The Nuns are Here!

NETWORK Nuns in Chicago

Laetificat

Colbert even interviewed Campbell("people used to be intimidated by those habits").

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Sr. Campbell boasts of 400 showing up for her rally in South Bend(all Notre Dame professors?)... For comparison, last night's Rosary Rally at the Capitol brought in 4-500... :)

LaetificatMadison: Chasing the NETWORK Nuns on the Bus

Fr. Z has even already picked up Elizabeth's post. 

Read the whole thing at Laetificat.

A few excerpts:

We were approaching Janesville when we saw them! Jeanne happens to be the aunt of Matt of Badger Catholic blog, and she excitedly called and left him a voicemail that we were right behind the Nuns on the Bus!

True story, I got several messages but I was in training.  I talked to Jeanne yesterday and told her it was like listening to storm chasers.

Sister Rosalia Bauer, habit-less like the NETWORK sisters but totally pro-life (Jeanne knows her) and disagreeing with them, stood up on a coffee table and was swarmed by reporters wanting to talk to her. “You disagree with what they’re doing?” asked a Milwaukee TV reporter. “I certainly do, and I’m embarrassed that my fellow religious sisters are doing this,” she replied.

I asked, because I really couldn’t figure out what [Sr Campbell] meant, what she meant when she said recently that she feels like she would get a rash if she described her social justice work as being pro-life. She didn’t comment on that.

On her way back to the bus, I asked Sr Simone whether she supported the Fortnight for Freedom. She said something about it being complicated. I asked if she opposed the HHS contraceptive mandate. It’s complicated, she said. NETWORK supported passage of the Affordable Care act, and praised the Obama Administrations for its completely inadequate “conscience accommodations,” and as far as I know have not expressed any concern since for religious freedom issues the legislation raises.

Check out the rest there. 

BusNuns: "We just had a very lovely conversation with Congressman Ryan's staff, we were well-received"

While Janesville marked just a brief stop on the bus tour, it was an especially significant one for the sisters, who have been traveling the country spreading their message.

After speaking out in other states about the Ryan budget, they took their concerns directly to his office.

The group was joined by Ryan's challenger in the upcoming election, Democrat Rob Zerban.

"A visit by a bus full of nuns is very telling about how people feel about Paul Ryan's budget and that they feel it's very wrong-minded," Zerban said.

But not everyone there agreed with the nuns' cause. The Catholic Church has criticized them, and a few other sisters showed up to support Ryan, creating a sisters showdown of sorts.

"You disagree with what they're doing?" Wainscott asked

"I certainly do, and I'm embarrassed that my fellow religious sisters are doing this," Sister Rosalia Bauer said.

But in the end, the Nuns on the Bus did what they came to do: They delivered their message.

"We just had a very lovely conversation with Congressman Ryan's staff, we were well-received," Campbell said.

Read more and video at WISN

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Liberal Nuns on the Bus en route to Wisconsin; stopping at Paul Ryan's Janesville office

A group of Catholic sisters will roll into Wisconsin on Tuesday as part of a nine-state bus tour protesting U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s proposed budget and highlighting the work of Catholic social service agencies they say will be harmed by it.

The “Nuns on the Bus” tour, organized by the Catholic lobbying group NETWORK[do we fund this group through the CCHC?], will drop off an alternative "faithful budget" at Ryan’s Janesville office around 2 p.m. before heading to Milwaukee.  [... I still think it's weird that people actually read this blog]

Here, the sisters will break bread with the homeless and poor at St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church, 1015 N. 9th St., and, on Wednesday, tour the Seton Dental Clinic at 1730 S. 13th St.

"The budget that the House passed wants to cut both medical services and food programs drastically," NETWORK Executive Director Sister Simone Campbell said by telephone from the bus Monday.

"The sound bite is that churches can take care of that. But the fact is we're running as hard as we can ... and these programs will be totally swamped by it," she said.

more at FaithWatch

I think it's fair to say the alternative will likely be the status quo dressed up to dance.  The status quo is why we need an alternative. The question I keep asking myself is; did I pay for that bus?

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