My parish priest and the other priests I know are not like Fr. Jay Scott Newman of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville, South Carolina.
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A priest at a South Carolina Roman Catholic church said his parishioners shouldn't take Holy Communion if they voted for President-elect Barack Obama because of the Democrat's stance on abortion.
The Rev. Jay Scott Newman said Thursday church law doesn't allow him to refuse parishioners the sacrament at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville.
But he said his congregants shouldn't take Communion until they do penance for supporting "the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate or to run for president." Newman's decision was first reported by The Greenville News.
The decision is not sitting well with Steve Krueger the national director of Catholic Democrats. He said Newman is "off-base" and acting beyond the authority of a parish priest.
Fr. Newman's message is being heard far beyond his parish.
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
9 November 2008
Dear Friends in Christ,
We the People have spoken, and the 44th President of the United States will be Barack Hussein Obama. This election ends a political process that started two years ago and which has revealed deep and bitter divisions within the United States and also within the Catholic Church in the United States. This division is sometimes called a “Culture War,” by which is meant a heated clash between two radically different and incompatible conceptions of how we should order our common life together, the public life that constitutes civil society. And the chief battleground in this culture war for the past 30 years has been abortion, which one side regards as a murderous abomination that cries out to Heaven for vengeance and the other side regards as a fundamental human right that must be protected in laws enforced by the authority of the state. Between these two visions of the use of lethal violence against the unborn there can be no negotiation or conciliation, and now our nation has chosen for its chief executive the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate or to run for president. We must also take note of the fact that this election was effectively decided by the votes of self-described (but not practicing) Catholics, the majority of whom cast their ballots for President-elect Obama.
In response to this, I am obliged by my duty as your shepherd to make two observations:
1. Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exits constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil, and those Catholics who do so place themselves outside of the full communion of Christ’s Church and under the judgment of divine law. Persons in this condition should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation.
2. Barack Obama, although we must always and everywhere disagree with him over abortion, has been duly elected the next President of the United States, and after he takes the Oath of Office next January 20th, he will hold legitimate authority in this nation. For this reason, we are obliged by Scriptural precept to pray for him and to cooperate with him whenever conscience does not bind us otherwise. Let us hope and pray that the responsibilities of the presidency and the grace of God will awaken in the conscience of this extraordinarily gifted man an awareness that the unholy slaughter of children in this nation is the greatest threat to the peace and security of the United States and constitutes a clear and present danger to the common good. In the time of President Obama’s service to our country, let us pray for him in the words of a prayer found in the Roman Missal:
God our Father, all earthly powers must serve you. Help our President-elect, Barack Obama, to fulfill his responsibilities worthily and well. By honoring and striving to please you at all times, may he secure peace and freedom for the people entrusted to him. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
Amen.
Father Newman
Nothing this political ever appears in our bulletin. Absolutely never.
My priest never uttered the names of Barack Obama or John McCain during the course of the entire campaign, not once.
We certainly were not told we needed to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation if we voted for Barack Obama, in effect, that voters for Obama had committed a sin.
During the Prayer of the Faithful, there may be a petition for world leaders and elected officials, something extremely vague, but nothing like this.
There is no question that my parish priest believes in the sanctity of life, and our parish supports anti-abortion causes and promotes a Culture of Life.
I voted for John McCain in part because of his pro-life positions. I experienced no conflict between my faith and my choice for president on the abortion issue. But by voting for McCain, I did vote for a candidate who is in favor of the death penalty. That was a problem for me, but no candidate is perfect. You have to decide and I did.
I know I would be uncomfortable if confronted with Fr. Newman's approach.
I wonder if he has told his parishioners who voted for pro-abortion candidates in the past that they should not receive Holy Communion. Is this something new for him?
Fr. Newman was ordained in 1993. Did he tell his parishioners who voted for Bill Clinton they needed to repent?
Granted, Bill Clinton was not as extreme when it comes to abortion as Obama is, but Clinton was not anti-abortion by any means.
Fr. Newman seems to be more interested in using his position of authority to preach anti-Obama politics rather than preaching about promoting a Culture of Life and protecting the weakest among us -- the sick, the disabled, and the unborn.
Still, it's not as if he's being completely unreasonable. I'm just not used to priests telling parishioners that they're in "material cooperation with intrinsic evil" when they vote for a pro-abortion candidate.
To his credit, Fr. Newman did acknowledge Obama's gifts and talents. He did call on his parishioners to pray for Obama.
And he didn't scream God damn America.
________________
Learn about Fr. Jay Scott Newman on his personal website.
"The Life of a Parish Priest"
"Random Thoughts"
"Catholics in the Bible Belt"
17 comments:
As a parishioner of St. Mary's in Greenville, I want to make a few points clear, things you would not be aware of:
Father Newman's letter did not appear until AFTER the elections. Until that point, politics were NEVER mentioned at St. Mary's. No names, no attempts to "sway" people's votes.
Father Newman wants his parishioners to use their minds and knowledge of their faith and true morals to come to these understandings themselves. If one is truly proclaiming themselves to be a PRACTICING Catholic, the choice is clear.
You're correct, no candidate is perfect, but the Church is firm on its views on abortion at ANY level, and to vote for a man who supports the practice, allowing it to become legalized, possibly becoming a procedure covered under taxpayers money in medical insurance, to vote for him would be personally supporting abortion. You would possibly be paying for women to have this procedure done. You're now personally involved.
"An uninformed vote is and irresposible vote." (Father Jay Scott Newman)
That's a wonderful line because it's so true. Americans are so quick to DEFEND their so called "right" that they've stopped researching, learning, remembering their own personal values, faith, morals.
Learn all your facts before making a claim. It's easy to voice an opinion, but don't state "facts" until you know they are so.
Did I say that Fr. Newman tried to sway people's votes or mentioned politics prior to the election?
Did I say that Fr. Newman campaigned for a candidate by name during Mass or via letters in the bulletin?
Of course not.
Why? Because I don't know that to be the case.
I don't understand why you're charging me with stating "facts" about Fr. Newman that I haven't.
Clearly, my post is an opinion about this issue. I state my reaction.
I don't claim to know things I don't. I'm not making assumptions, or passing off opinion as fact. All I know is what I've read and heard about Fr. Newman.
I ask questions about him. I'm not making stuff up.
I approach this issue by giving my personal experience at my parish.
Note that I do not suggest Fr. Newman is being unreasonable.
Here's a fact: I have never encountered a priest who said people who voted for a pro-abortion candidate shouldn't receive the Eucharist until they repent for their sin.
For better or worse, that's been my experience.
Thanks for sharing these facts:
Father Newman's letter did not appear until AFTER the elections. Until that point, politics were NEVER mentioned at St. Mary's. No names, no attempts to "sway" people's votes.
I should add that I think many priests have failed the faith community by not speaking out clearly enough on the sanctity of all life and condemning the Culture of Death.
Freedom Eden,
You need to differentiate the Catholic Church's position on Abortion and the Death Penalty. One is intrinsically evil and always wrong. The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes it clear.
Capital Punishment
2266 The State's effort to contain the spread of behaviors injurious to human rights and the fundamental rules of civil coexistence corresponds to the requirement of watching over the common good. Legitimate public authority has the right and duty to inflict penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime. The primary scope of the penalty is to redress the disorder caused by the offense. When his punishment is voluntarily accepted by the offender, it takes on the value of expiation. Moreover, punishment, in addition to preserving public order and the safety of persons, has a medicinal scope: as far as possible it should contribute to the correction of the offender.[67]
2267 The traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude, presupposing full ascertainment of the identity and responsibility of the offender, recourse to the death penalty, when this is the only practicable way to defend the lives of human beings effectively against the aggressor.
"If, instead, bloodless means are sufficient to defend against the aggressor and to protect the safety of persons, public authority should limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.
"Today, in fact, given the means at the State's disposal to effectively repress crime by rendering inoffensive the one who has committed it, without depriving him definitively of the possibility of redeeming himself, cases of absolute necessity for suppression of the offender 'today ... are very rare, if not practically non-existent.' [68]
kenfollis@juno.com
Thanks for noting that.
I should clarify: I did not mean to suggest that the slaughter of the innocent unborn is morally equivalent to the state's punishment of criminals.
As a PRACTICING Catholic who has never met Fr. Newman, I am very disappointed in the letter he wrote. The letter is clearly not a representation on the Catholic faith and what we stand for. Voting for a Pro-Choice candidate is no different than voting for a candidate with supports the death penalty. The overall message of Catholism is to protect ALL life. Perhaps Father Newman should write another letter preventing all people who voted from taking communion since both candidates support the taking of a life in one way or another. Jesus also taught us to forgive and I do forgive Fr. Newman for remarks and its effects on so many of us. I just hope someone reminds him that he should consider going to confession before taking his next communion.
dsk79
Oh that the Church had more priest like Father Newman! Lead on Father, lead on!! Our country would not be going down the tubes like it is if more priests would take a stand and be a man of God. The letter Father wrote was to HIS parishioners. It is like reading someone else's mail. Shame on any Christian (Catholic and Protestant) that would support abortion! That position is clearly outlined in the Catechism and the Bible. You can justify voting for Obama all you want, but his main promise was to sign the Freedom of Choice Act. The FOCA is murder – pure and simple. If one would feel uncomfortable with Father’s approach, one should examine their innermost thoughts. If one is going to be Catholic, then one should abide with the teachings of the Church. The Church does not need lukewarm Catholics.
I am very disappointed that the catholic church sll has bigots as priests. A beautful religion being put to shame by some of its so called priests.
If priests are holier than thou what does this bigot of a priest say to many young bastardised by his colleagues. Does it not mean that the church also was a haven for the DEVIL and should we put Father Newman in the same category of being messenger of the Devil.
Freedom Eden, I appreciated your thoughtful post, especially in light of your own position. Note that Fr. Newman's letter has been repudiated by the church as not adequately reflecting Catholic teaching. Story at Catholic News Service: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0805820.htm
My name is Marcelo Favarão, and I am writing from Brazil. I have to say that I totally agree with the priest. He is not denying the communion, he is just saying that those who vote for a pro-abortion candidate, may commit a sin if they have the body of Christ. But the media, to sell more, says all over the world, " a catholic priest denied... oh!!! they are so old fashion""". Well, if to kill babys is modern, I rather be in the stone age.
The church defended the life since the begining, and how can they change now, just to collect more people to their churches??
Imagine, if in a sunday service, the priest says: " my sons and daughters, remember what I said about Satan ??? And about Judas??? and About Poncio Pilatos ??? Those were lies, they are our friends now, they are really good people... "
Quality is better then quantity for us, catholics. Let the protestants have the pro-abortion with them. Anyway, we will know who was right very , very soon.
Valli,
Fr. Newman a "bigot"?
You're going to have to point out the proof for that outrageous claim.
>>You need to differentiate the >>Catholic Church's position on >>Abortion and the Death Penalty. ?>>One is intrinsically evil and >>always wrong. The Catechism of >>the Catholic Church makes it >>clear.
Hence the reason so many people have abandoned the Catholic Church - it's twisted sense of morality.
Thou shalt not Kill is the message - I don't recall any conditions on the stone !!!
I couldnt agree more with Susan in SC. The catholic church does not need lukewarm catholics. So take a moment and re-read the ten commandments. Thou shalt not kill. The death penalty is murder "my friends" so to all those who agree with Rev. Newman, why do we give a free pass to those who voted for a pro death penalty candidate?
dsk79
con·grat·u·lat·ed, con·grat·u·lat·ing, con·grat·u·lates
To express joy or acknowledgment, as for the achievement or good fortune of (another).
The Fox News story implies that the Pope supported Obama by congratulating him. This is basically an acknowledgment of his achievement of the Presidency.
Father Newman is merely stating what the Catholic Churches teaching is on voting for abortion supporting candidates when an option for a pro-life candidate is available. This should not be a surprise to Catholics. He is also showing love by warning Catholics who voted for Obama that they participated in supporting someone who champions abortion rights which lead to the deaths of millions of people. If Catholics know that the Church teaches this is complicity in abortion murder, then they indeed are in danger morally. His job is to convey the teachings of the Church, if Catholics don't like that then they should consider whether they want to be Catholics.
I am converting from Protestantism because of the mushy mush thinking expressed in the Baptist pastor's comments. Of course, no one supports abortion, however supporting legislation which allows people to kill their children is just plain evil. What is wrong with the Baptists if they don't see this. That is the real scandal in this story.
Also what is wrong with priests telling people that some candidates support evil things. That is their job. Charitable benefits from the government be damned. Quid est imperatori cum eccleisia "What does the emperor have to do with the Church!"
I admire your intellectual honesty and insight. People can cite Catechism and church law all they like, but Jesus did not take such a legal approach. Rather than give us a rulebook to give us the kind of certainty Fr. Newman's letter professed, Jesus asked us to look at our own faults and not judge others. I can only hear Jesus saying, "feed my sheep." There's no asterisk saying "unless you voted for Obama."
The priest is right, he has an obligation to warn the congregation of the DIVINE consequences of voting the way they did, or their blood will be on HIS hands! ALL actions will be judged. He's doing his job, and he gets flamed for it by the world, the flesh and the devil! Typical of what happens when one stands for the Truth!
When the Books of Life are opened, that Obama vote will be right at the top for GOD to judge. If all Christians eat and the drink the Body of Christ while in a state of unconfessed sin (in this case, voting in favor to continue the murder of millions), that IS a straight way to Hellfire. They will see on Judgment Day, all the babies who were killed. Better the congregation hear this now and repent of it, or suffer eternal consequences, but unfortunately they are so hardened in their sins that they flame the priest for telling them the Truth. It doesn't fit in with the moral relativism view that the Devil has used to deceive even the elect. No wonder Jesus said the faith of many would grow cold, and lukewarm believers will be spit out of His mouth! More priests need to have this kind of courage.
The priest did the right thing, even though it wasn't the popular thing or what some Catholics want to hear. Repent now while you have the chance. Any one of us could die today. Did you know the Devil is a master deceiver and gets you to rationalize sin in your mind? Did YOU vote to continue his Evildoings? Are YOU right with God?
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12
Matt Perez, there is a rulebook. It's called the Bible, the Word of God.
Jesus did not ask the woman caught in adultery to look at her faults--he clearly told her to "go and sin no more." (John 8:11) That means STOP sleeping around. The Bible is silent on whether she did or not, but that forgiveness was CONDITIONAL. He commanded her to change her ways.
If she continued in adultery, she would eventually be judged for it. He also sternly warned another man He healed to stop sinning, "lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5:14). Jesus knew that man was thinking to himself that he could continue as he was doing without consequence. Basically, Jesus told him he was not off the hook, that he was accountable.
The grace of God is not a license to continue to sin, and He will be the one to judge us all in the final count. This mild admonition by Father Newman will be as nothing compared to that!
The Devil has twisted the words of the Lord to enable people to rationalize sin, thinking God is so loving and good, that He would never send THEM to Hell for it. That's not what the Bible says--"cowardly, unfaithful, and detestable people, murderers, sexual sinners, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselves in the fiery lake of burning sulfur." (Revelation 21:8).
Father Newman knows that anyone who votes for abortion will be judged by God as a murderer. The Bible has zero tolerance for sin, but people seem to forget that, and brave priests like Father Newman who warn them of the consequences are called bigots for it. Bringing sin and condemnation upon one's head is a personal choice, and not a good one either. What a world we live in, one that doesn't recognize sinful behavior for what it is. The Devil has clouded many minds.
Abortion will incur God's wrath and send many to Hell. If we sow death as a nation, we will reap it. (Galatians 6:7)
Not to cast stones, but there is lots of sin to go around, and priests are not exempt from it.
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