The Altar Is Not a Battlefield by Victoria Reggie Kennedy

[DaveSZ]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46729-2004May21.html

The Altar Is Not a Battlefield

By Victoria Reggie Kennedy
Sunday, May 23, 2004; Page B07


As a Catholic, I am deeply saddened and concerned by the threatened denial of Communion to pro-choice Catholic politicians. This course of action takes both the church and political discourse in this country to a new and dangerous place, and I urge that it be rejected.



The Eucharist is "the summit and source of all worship and Christian life," and participation in it is fundamental to the practice of our Catholic faith. Canon law encourages Catholics to receive Communion "most devoutly and frequently" and makes clear that "ny baptized person not prohibited by law can and must be admitted to holy communion." Thus, unless they have violated a specific provision of church law as "interpreted strictly," Catholics must not be denied the spiritual sustenance of Communion.

So, then, what is the alleged violation of church law that would subject some politicians to de facto excommunication? Essentially, proponents of this harsh penalty make the flawed and intellectually dishonest argument that a vote not to criminalize abortion is the moral and church law equivalent of the act of abortion itself. Then, building on that mischaracterization, they erroneously conclude that pro-choice politicians are "obstinately persevering" in the "manifest grave sin" of abortion and must therefore be denied the Eucharist. That argument not only misrepresents canon law, it also completely ignores the freedom-of-conscience provisions that are integral to the practice of our Catholic faith.

Pro-choice politicians -- or pro-choice citizens, for that matter -- do not support legislation to require or even encourage women to have abortions; they simply refuse to make abortion a crime punishable under non-church law. The pro-choice position recognizes that the United States is a diverse, pluralistic society where a woman has the constitutional right to make a decision based upon her own conscience, religious beliefs and medical needs. Would those who are trying to force non-Catholics by law to follow the teachings of the Catholic Church be willing to accept the governmental imposition of the laws of another faith on them?

-more

[mcar]

1. This is excellent, thanks. eom