http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/religion/story/5964433p-6923638c.html Bishop challenges Davis on abortion Oppose it or stop taking Holy Communion, Weigand says. Sacramento Bishop William K. Weigand, leader of 500,000 Catholics in Northern California, called on Gov. Gray Davis on Wednesday to renounce his support of abortion rights or stop taking Holy Communion. Speaking at a morning Mass on the 30th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, Weigand told congregants at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament that Davis should refrain from taking communion while he continues to support abortion rights. "As your bishop, I have to say clearly that anyone -- politician or otherwise -- who thinks it is acceptable for a Catholic to be pro-abortion is in very great error, puts his or her soul at risk, and is not in good standing with the church," Weigand said. "Such a person should have the integrity to acknowledge this and choose of his own volition to abstain from receiving Holy Communion until he has a change of heart." Receiving Holy Communion is one of the most sacred rites in the Catholic faith. Weigand said afterward that "in general, we do not refuse communion to anyone; we try to instruct people as to when it would not be appropriate." Russ Lopez, a spokesman for Davis, said the bishop was "trying to make an example and that's sad. But Governor Davis has said repeatedly that he is proud of the legislation he has signed giving women the right to choose. He will not back down." Lopez criticized the bishop for "telling the faithful how to practice their faith." Lopez said that Weigand's comments could alienate members of the Catholic Church who support abortion rights. "There are a lot of Catholics who are pro-choice. Does the bishop want all Catholics to stop receiving Holy Communion?" asked Lopez. "Who's going to be left in church?" Weigand said Wednesday evening that he did not contact the Vatican before deciding to publicly chastise the governor. He acknowledged that he was motivated by Davis' response to a challenge by a Sacramento parish priest before Christmas, and by a doctrine by Pope John Paul II criticizing politicians who say they are good Catholics but support abortion rights. Weigand's homily quoted from the papal doctrine released in advance of the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. "Those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that attacks human life," he said. The cathedral is a short walk from the Capitol, where abortion-rights supporters held a daylong conference. At UC Davis, students rallied in support of abortion rights, while opponents shouted at them. Demonstrators on both sides of the issue spoke of a new urgency to the debate, saying the election of George W. Bush to the presidency and a GOP majority in Congress could swing the pendulum toward judicial appointments and laws that restrict abortion. In Washington, thousands of anti-abortion activists marched to the steps of the Supreme Court, where they called for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. At the morning Mass, Weigand praised Monsignor Edward Kavanagh, who last month told Davis' staff that the governor was not welcome to deliver gifts to St. Patrick's Orphanage. (The children received their gifts from Davis at the Capitol.) Kavanagh asked Davis to renounce his abortion-rights views before visiting. The governor's response to Kavanagh was blunt: "I'm unapologetically pro-choice and I'm not changing my position." Weigand said Wednesday evening that the confrontation forced him to confront Davis. "Ever since the little incident last month, people have been asking questions. They asked "how can a Catholic be in good standing and still hold that point of view? I'm saying you can't be a Catholic in good standing and hold that point of view. The governor's position is very public and contrary. ... You can't have it both ways." In a press release Wednesday marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Davis administration claimed credit for California being "the most pro-choice state in America." It cited laws Davis signed that require HMOs to cover Food and Drug Administration-approved methods of contraception, and that crack down on those who threaten the safety of pro-choice clinics. He signed legislation last year that ensures women will continue to have the right to an abortion, regardless of whether the U.S. Supreme Court continues to uphold Roe v. Wade. The governor attended a Planned Parenthood event Wednesday in Los Angeles, issuing a proclamation acknowledging Roe v. Wade. "During my entire career in public service, I've supported a woman's reproductive freedom. When it comes to a woman's right to choose, as long as I'm governor, California will not concede one inch." The governor is an active Catholic. He and his wife, Sharon, attend Mass in Southern California. The Davises, who were married originally in a civil ceremony presided over by former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Rose Bird, were married again in the late 1990s in the Catholic Church for their 15th wedding anniversary. The ceremony recognized the marriage in the church's eyes and allowed Davis to resume taking communion. "He goes to church and he says his prayers and that's good," said Weigand. "But he's been aggressive on this issue, even boastful. I'm just trying to clarify that he is not in line with the Catholic Church on an issue that the Pope has said is the most important issue of our day." Personally, I don't have much of an opinion on abortion one way or the other, but I'm interested to see how this whole thing develops. I live in Sacramento, and know a lot of people who went to that mass. I think Weigand's statement is regrettable, but in some ways unavoidable. Gray Davis has been asking for Catholic support for his pro-choice views for the last month, and the Church had to respond negatively. It could get ugly, since Davis is a true politician, and will always go with the masses, and most Californians are pro-choice, last time I checked.
There is something in the article that struck me as funny. "Lopez criticized the bishop for "telling the faithful how to practice their faith." " Ummm...he's the leader of the local clergy. Religious instruction is kinda his bag. The stupidity isn't just Gray Davis...it extends to his entire staff apparently.
ummmm... interesting. Does anyone feel that the bishop is overstepping his bounds and is trying to create doctrine that doesn't exist? I don't know of anything in the official Catholic doctrine, and certainly not the Bible, that <i>requires</i> that you be against abortion. While most Christians, including most Catholics, tend to be pro-life and find that consistent with their worldview, there have always been some who don't feel that way. I don't understand that either, but it happens. If they require that you share that particular opinion on that particular social issue, then what's next? Many Catholics today are speaking out against the death penalty; however, I know devout Catholics who want to keep the death penalty. These days, some are joining the anti-war movement. I just hope they don't start requiring you to share an increasingly specific set of beliefs before you're supposed to take communion with them. <i>(of course, if you do share all their beliefs but happen to be Protestant, then you can't take the communion either... just had to get that in there...)</i>
Isabel-- Unlike the other topics you mentioned, an anti-abortion stance has been integral to the Catholic Church for decades. My understanding is that this has been the subject of Papal proclamations, and having an abortion is regarded by the church as being a mortal sin. All of that being said, it doesn't seem that church officials would be overstepping their bounds, even if they went so far as to initiate excommunication proceedings.
You may be right. I know there were some papal proclamations about such things, but I'm not sure if they're the special kind of proclamation that has to be obeyed by the whole church or not. Lots of politicians, of course, have a religious "affiliation" they aren't too serious about - often committing numerous grave sins in their public life and no telling what all in their private life - then showing up at church anyway to look good and keep the religious voters happy. It is pretty irritating. I can see how the church would not want to be represented that way.
Well I am not Catholic so I really can't speak for them but I think " Thou shalt not kill" kinda covers it for the Bible.
Well, I'm not God, but some people, i.e. pro-choice advocates, don't believe that abortion is killing a human being. On this particular issue, I don't agree with it at all, simple as that. Sounds like someone simply using the Governor to advance their agenda.
I'm thinking that is a good thing. All I can tell you is this, having children( I don't think you have any, but correct me if I am mistaken) is a life changing experience. Going in for that first ultrasound and hearing/seeing the heartbeat for the first time, you'll have a hard time proving to yourself that it is something that is not alive. It isn't something I can explain to you it is something that you have to experience for yourself. I used to be ambivalant about the issue but since having a son my views on some things have changed. I am by no means a pro-life nutcase but the argument that abortion does nothing but remove a non-living thing from the womans body is bull IMO. CK
this is an interesting point...technology has really hurt the pro-choice side of this debate....in 1973, we didn't have sonograms and ultrasound technology...or if we did have it, we weren't using it for prenatal care. when you see your child, in the womb, sucking his thumb...responding to music...being active...it's real hard to say, "he/she is not alive." maybe that's why when younger people are polled on the issue of abortion they're much less likely to be pro-choice than older folks...
So if supporting abortion, or having an abortion is a sin...and you excommunicate someone for sinning, would you not have to excommunicate the entire world from the chuch since we are all sinners?
There is one thing I know for sure about the Catholic Church, it is that if the Pope says it, It is just like hearing it from God's lips himself.. This is a tough position for Gov Davis to be in, his faith says he should believe one way yet he knows that he should not make the entire state abide by that belief. If the entire state were Catholic, it would be one thing..but you cant and shouldnt make people of all(or none) faiths have to abide by what the Catholic Church says.
Well it is a little more complicated than that. The church is not saying "Hey Gray you're sinning ,uhh you cannot be a Christian any longer." They are saying that if he is calling himself a Catholic then he should not publicly be championing causes that go against Catholic teachings. It isn't that they are excommunicating him but asking him not to take the sacrements. Which,if my 4 years of studying Catholicism in private school is accurate, I think the church asks anyone that is taking Communion to be repentant towards their sins and if not then you should not be taking Communion. I don't think the church has a right to delve into your personal life looking for sins(that is between you and God) but when Gray Davis comes out publicly for an issue that the church is publicly against then they have no choice but to call him out. If you read the article carefully it never says that they are telling him he cannot be a Christian. THey are telling him if he continues he will not be able to partake in Catholic worship.
Thats how I read it Castor..I also have a little experience with Catholic doctrine seeing how half of my family is Catholic.. Basically the church is telling him that as long as he publicly supports somthing that runs contrary to established papal doctrine, he will not be allowed to participate in the most sacred of the rites (taking of communion). Which is/should be a big deal to most Catholics.
I think it's great. Way to tell it like it is bishop. Let's say you don't think it's murder...What if Davis was going around encouraging people to have kids out of wedlock? Would the church not be right to tell him not to have communion in that case? I mean, some people may think it's okay to have kids out of wedlock (you know, 'the right to choose' to have kids out of wedlock), but that's not cool with a church I don't think, especially if you were to encourage and brag about such behavior. The church can do whatever they want. No one forces you to be a Catholic. Maybe Davis can follow RM95's lead and start up a conversation about which faith he should choose next.
Is Davis encouraging people to have abortions? He could very well be like me, personally anti-abortion, but pro-choice for anyone else. Hell, I think 99% of the people on both sides agree that it'll be a great day when abortions never happen.
It would be one thing to have this position if there were a list of things a woman (or man) could be pro-choice about and abortion was on the list, but abortion is the only thing a woman can be pro-choice about. Anyone who is pro choice supports abortion rights. If anyone is against abortion, they should be against abortion rights.
Well, I'm against abortion, but not against abortion rights. I know many like me. To say we <B>should</B> be some way would be the same as me saying pro-lifers <B>should</B> be pro-choice. We just don't agree.
I hope you're right. I read an article the other day about the founder of Planned Parenthood. She was a frequent guest of white supremacist meetings among other things. She has some direct quotes from her own books about how the government hasn't done a good job of controlling the reproduction of idiots and people she deemed unworthy to have kids. She champions abortion for that reason...she also talked about controlling minority populations that way. didn't sound like someone who would be happy if abortions never happened...and she was the founder of an organization that exists even today.
