Patrick Kennedy, Abortion, and the Catholic Church
Patrick Kennedy, the son of the late Senator Teddy Kennedy, is now in a public spat with Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin, who instructed Patrick Kennedy not to receive communion and ordered priests in the diocese of Providence, Rhode Island to deny Kennedy the holy rite.
The teachings of the Catholic Church on the subject of abortion are very clear; abortion is the murder of an unborn human being and is not to be countenanced by believing Catholics. Patrick Kennedy, along with other Kennedy family politicians, including the late Teddy Kennedy, has voted pro choice and has actively pressed for the right of a woman to have an abortion.
Most Catholic politicians who are pro choice maintain that while they are "privately" opposed to abortion, in accordance to the teachings of their church, they do not choose to impose that view on others, thus explaining their pro choice political stance. That was the line taken by Senator John Kerry when he ran for President in 2004, when the subject of abortion was raised.
The controversy has become heated because of discussions of whether or not abortions should be funded by the federal government under health care reform legislation. The assertive stance of Bishop Thomas Tobin can elicit one of two reactions.
The first would be what business is it of the Catholic Church to use the bludgeon of denial of a holy sacrament to affect a politician's approach to a public policy matter, even one touching a central teaching of that church?
The second would be, simply, their church, their rules. If Patrick Kennedy doesn't like it, one might say, he can become an Episcopalian.
The spat with Bishop Thom Tobin places Patrick Kennedy in an awkward position. If Patrick Kennedy maintains the status quo, staying pro choice, staying a Catholic, but not taking communion, he will have chosen to deny himself one of the central sacraments of a Roman Catholic. Depending on how strong his actual faith is, that choice could prove to be debilitating.
On the other hand, if Patrick Kennedy chooses to submit to the teachings of the Catholic Church and revise his stance on abortion, he will anger his liberal base and will be seen as a weak willed servant of Rome, with the Church dictating his political beliefs.
Finally, if Patrick Kennedy leaves the Catholic Church he sails into uncharted and dangerous waters. The Kennedy family has been identified with the Catholic Church since before John F. Kennedy was elected President. Not only will believing Catholics view him as an apostate, but Patrick Kennedy will lose the identification with the Catholic Church that has served the Kennedys so well.
What is a Congressman, both liberal and Catholic, to do?
Source: Kennedy: I'm Banned From Communion, Ray Henry, AP, November 22nd, 2009
Published by Mark Whittington
Mark R. Whittington is a writer residing in Houston, Texas. He is the author of The Last Moonwalker, Children of Apollo, Dark Sanction, and Nocturne. He has written numerous articles, some for the Washington... View profile
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19 Comments
Post a CommentGood for the church and bishop! This man is seen as a leader and if he belongs to the church he needs abide by the church teachings. If he doesn't want to be part of the church he can leave.
Stop killing little babies. Just check the internet unborn children. These pro choice arguments make no sense. Abortion is destroying women and our country. The trouble humans sometimes is we think we're so smart we're dangerous. Your leading the lemmings off a cliff.
Here's the problem, do they refuse sacriment to the drug dealers, drug abusers, domestic abusers, and mobsters that may be sitting in the pews? This clearly has nothing to do with religion - it's a move by the Catholic Church to make their congregations with voting power to vote the way they want. It's disgusting.
My, my Bruce, such big words! I suspect that you may even know what some of them mean. The previous comment is right on; this discussion is about abortion not why you don't believe in God. Naturally, by not believing in God you would not care about the unborn child. In your eyes it's just a mass of tissue and of no value. The truth always hurts and causes the type of response you have given. Your diatribe does nothing but expose the the anger and bitterness within you. But, this is the logical result of a life lived without a true, moral compass. As I stated before, abortion kills a life. That's a truth any "sane" person would accept. One more question: why dodge the title of atheist? Your comments peg you with this discription perfectly.
Bruce your argument is based on a premise that all sane people would recognize that the essence of humanity is self-awareness. This is fallacious argumentation because it is begging the question or circular reasoning.
You are also making a generalization that all sane people make that recognation based on the fact that you make that recongition (assuming that you first think that you are sane and making the generalization from your stance).
Your argument would have better if you had defined terms, especially humanity so that a logical discussion could be had on whether abortion could be considered murder or a right a mother should have.
How many catholics who are "pro-death penalty" have been denied communion?
OK, there is an unannounced character limit to comments. Cheezy, but I continue...
benefits from lack of) a religious perspective. Indeed, the god you onvoke presents as an egomaniacal mass murdering sociopath. Billions drowned, millions plagued, how many first-born slaughtered, how may miscarriages induced, how many stillbotn? Your god seems to like to take it out on children. And the rules on selling your children into slavery are fairly revealing.
So just freaking shut up on equating your silly invisible man in the sky, who hates foreskins and shellfish, with morality. Religious whacks are demonstrably, universally: perverted, immoral, hypocritical, twisted specimens of damaged humanity. I would submit that I, as a sane person, live a far more 'moral' life than you. And I don't need to fear some eternal punishment as inducement.
Note: I am not an athiest, a term I am sure is about to be flung. What do you call someone who does not believe in the tooth fairy? The easter
'VISITOR': No, I would not have everyone renounce their religious convictions. Only sane people. But they've done that already... not necessarily in public.
A sane person would recognize that the essence of humanity is self-awareness. A zygot is not self-aware. A person in a persistent vegetative state is not self-aware. A beating heart is not evidence of humanity, only indicia of a nominally functioning life support system. The corporate catholic has glommed onto defending the rights of a clump of replicating DNA as an income stream. This particular church would have in the past put to death scientists for even suggesting that DNA existed. But now there's 'money in them thar cells'...
This issue has nothing at all to do with morality. Morality is a set of social rules ingrained in our DNA (again with the DNA) as a survival tool. Most primates, indeed numerous other mammals, share this same set of social rules. One does not require (and I would suggest benefits from lack of) a r
If the Catholic church is involved with politics, their income should be taxed.
Is anyone a "real" Catholic anymore? The tenets of the church make it practically impossible to function in the real world. That said, I do believe abortion is a sin and that the Church is correct. It is tough to be a true Catholic...who can forego BC and raise 11 kids these days?