Spanish RC Church to deny communion to pro-abortion politicians

[moobu2]

MADRID (Reuters) - The Catholic Church will deny communion to Spanish members of parliament who have voted in favour of a bill to make abortion more readily available, the spokesman of Spain's Bishops' Conference said on Friday.

"This is a warning to Catholics, that they can't vote in favour of this and that they won't be able to receive communion unless they ask forgiveness," Juan Antonion Martinez Camino told a news conference.

"They are in an objective state of sin," he said.

The government-sponsored bill, which passed the first of a series of votes in parliament on Thursday, will allow abortion until the 14th week of pregnancy and, in cases of extreme foetal deformity, at any time in the pregnancy.

The bill will also allow girls to obtain abortions from the age of 16 without parental consent, a clause that has generated dissent even within the governing Socialist Party.

Abortion is currently allowed only in cases of rape, a malformed foetus or if the pregnancy endangers the physical or mental health of the mother. In practice, Spain has a higher rate of abortion than some countries with more liberal laws, because many Spanish doctors are willing to attest to the danger to the mother's psychological health.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched against the abortion law in Madrid last month. But the government, which has fallen slightly behind the conservative opposition in opinion polls, calculates that the bill has strong support among left-leaning voters.

nytimes

[Warpy]

1. Let's hope the government fights back this time,

although the situation in Spain is very different from the one here.

I would love to see Rome's power broken in my lifetime, although I'd hate to see the church in separate countries destroyed.

England had the right idea. Now it's time for the rest of the world to follow suit.

[struggle4progress]

2. England had the right idea? England set up a state church, with the king as its head

[Warpy]

4. England broke with Rome, releasing its church from those shackles

and the Anglican church today is largely liberal, with the usual minority of gay hating conservatives that Rome is now courting.

I predicted this Pope's reign would be acrimonious and short. I got the first part right. We'll see about the second.

Rome is treading on quicksand, especially in the US. Let's hope the Spanish are equally disgusted with their meddling in state affairs.

[darkstar3]

5. I think he was talking about breaking with the Catholic Church.

Either that, or the sentiment of "Fuck off, Puritans!"

ETA: And while I was locating the Greg Proops video, he clarified his point...Oh well, the link is still funny.

[DeSwiss]

3. Nobody gives a shit....

...you irrelevant bastards.

- K&R

[ZombieHorde]

6. The Catholic church is a hate group and its adult members should be ashamed of themselves. nt