Via Washington Times – Archbishop Burke: No Communion for Sebelius in D.C.

Last week, yours truly predicted the debate on pro-choice Catholic politicians receiving Communion is going to heat up big time if Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius gets nominated as Obama’s new HHS secretary. That is, it’s one thing if the governor’s own archbishop, Joseph Naumann, has told her not to partake within the borders of the Kansas archdiocese. But what happens when she comes here?

Well, I got a very unhappy e-mail from the archdiocesan spokeswoman about that column. But, folks, this issue is not going away. I just saw a column written by Archbishop Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura the Vatican’s highest court, posted Thursday, that states the governor should not be taking Communion anywhere in the country. His exact wording: “Whether Governor Sebelius is in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, or in any other diocese, she should not present herself for Holy Communion because, after pastoral admonition, she obstinately persists in serious sin.”

This was after Thomas McKenna, the interviewer, specifically asked him about whether she should take Communion in Washington, D.C. Burke also backs Archbishop Naumann for showing Sebelius the door, so to speak. The whole interview appears here on the Catholic Action for Faith and Family’s Web site.

OSV Daily Take: Archbishop Naumann on Sebelius’ appointment

Archbishop Chaput on Pope-Pelosi meeting from FOX News interview with Neil Cavuto.

Watch it here -  Holy Smackdown – FOXNews.com

Time magazine is asking the question.

Is it snidy to say, “I told you so?”

Well, we did.

Note to Biden Advance Team: Rethink any birthplace Sunday stopovers.

From Biden’s birthplace bishop back in 2005 according to The Times Tribune:

“I will not tolerate any politician who claims to be a faithful Catholic who is not genuinely pro-life.”

“No Catholic politician who supports the culture of death should approach Holy Communion,”

“I will be truly vigilant on this point.”

David Gibson at Beliefnet says the McCain-Chaput chat was an attempt to counter Obama in case the Democrat taps a pro-abortion Catholic running mate.

A side note: Gibson claims that Chaput called the Communion debate the “wafer wars.” I had heard that phrase from semi-comedian Jon Stewart. It was sadly re-introduced in the Washington Post’s editorial pages by a Catholic reporter no less: Joe Feuerherd, who used to write for the National Catholic Reporter, a dissident publication.

I think Gibson must have meant to write that it was Jon Stewart who coined the phrase. I just don’t see Archbishop Chaput using the phrase “wafer wars.” The use of that phrase is disrespectful to Catholics and most importantly, to Christ who died for us.

Picking a pro-abortion Catholic as a running mate like Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Obama would re-open a harsh debate among Catholics in America. Here’s a snippet from our latest release:

“The choice of a pro-abortion Catholic for vice president would deal a major blow to any efforts by the Obama campaign to reach out to Catholic voters,” said Brian Burch, President of Fidelis.  “Both the bishops and the laity continue to wrestle with the scandal of prominent Catholic politicians who support abortion, and the choice of a pro-abortion Catholic running mate would amount to scratching at a deep and festering wound in the American Catholic Church.”

Picking a pro-abortion Catholic and thus stirring this debate back up could do further damage to Obama’s already difficult outreach to Catholics.

Ramesh Ponnuru has done a good job providing criticism of Doug Kmiec’s case for Barack Obama, but today his frustration (understandably) got the best of him when he read the tagline used in Kmiec’s Chicago Tribune article. It reads:

Douglas W. Kmiec, who was denied communion by a priest for endorsing Barack Obama, is a professor of constitutional law at Pepperdine University and was an assistant U.S. attorney general during the Reagan administration.

Ramesh’s responds: “Do we have anything other than’s Kmiec’s say-so that this event ever occurred? And is Kmiec planning to put it on his business cards from now on?”

That’s an snarky and uncharitable way of asking a question that deserves to be raised. Who wrote that tagline? Did the Tribune or was it Kmiec? If Kmeic wrote the tagline or consented to having it in, is he shopping his denial of Communion to get media attention? (By the way, Deal Hudson confirmed that Kmiec was denied Communion.)

Ramesh, it should be noted, said, when the story first broke, that the priest was wrong to deny Communion to Kmiec. And I don’t think Ramesh’s frustrations should prevent a sober and thoughtful discussion about some legitimate questions: 

How should we remedy the injustice of Kmiec being denied Communion?  Is it fair to ask Kmiec why he went public with it? What is the right way to discuss the subject to the secular media? Do repeated references to the incident aid or hinder a reasoned discussion of the Communion debate?

If, for example, a priest denied me Communion because I supported pro-life Rick Santorum over pro-life Bob Casey on the theory that I was complicit in the Iraqi War, I would be very frustrated. I would take up the issue with that priest’s bishop. But I would not call up E.J. Dionne at the Washington Post or chat about it on NPR. 

Ramesh isn’t way off the mark for suggesting that Kmiec is wearing this incident like a badge of honor. Like Ramesh, when I first heard of it, I felt bad for Kmiec – that he was truly wronged. But Kmiec needs to realize that his decision to continually bring it up is raising serious questions about his motives.

Tom Grenchik, head of the pro-life office for the US Bishops, applauded the gentle approach that Archbishop Naumann of Kansas City took in confronting pro-abortion Catholic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Grenchik said that in dealing with Gov. Sebelius’ ”30-year history of public advocacy for legalized abortion,” Archbishop Naumann finally realized that he had to go public and request that Gov. Sebelius simply not present herself for Communion until she sought to repair the public scandal of supporting abortion.

Said Grenchik: “When a prominent Catholic leader in public life advocates for the legal sanctioning of the killing of unborn children and then approaches the Eucharistic table, it sends a false and scandalous message to other Catholics: ‘I am a good Catholic and I support legalized abortion. You can be a good Catholic and support legalized abortion too.’”

Bravo to Archbishop Naumann and to the USCCB pro-life office for highlighting the importance and challenges of this difficult pastoral situation. (The full article is not yet online, but would be found here.)

Because he represents historic change, some political pundits suggest that Barack Obama will feel compelled to pick what Jonah Goldberg calls a Boring White Guy to balance the ticket. If Obama picked a woman or a Hispanic, it might be seen as a diversity ticket, two “firsts.” Obama would naturally prefer people think that he won the nomination because he was the best candidate, and not for any other reason.

Not that E.J. Dionne is thinking along those lines. But he’s suggested a whopper of a Boring White Guy. Joe Biden. Catch the wave of enthusiasm.

Dionne likes Biden because he’s going on offense on foreign policy and wouldn’t let McCain own the issue. He’s also good with blue collar voters and he’s Catholic, segments Obama needs to win.

But the John Kerry Communion debate would likely still be a public issue with a pro-abortion Catholic like Joe Biden on the ticket. Kathleen Sibelius is considered a likely pick, but she, too, is a pro-abortion Catholic. She’s been called out by her bishop.

What about Biden’s bishop? Well, he issued a statement in 2004, which read in part: “Our Catholic institutions will not honor Catholic politicians who take pro-abortion legislative positions or invite them to speak at our functions or schools. While they are to be treated civilly, respectfully and with gospel charity, they should never be put forward as a model of a Catholic in public life.”

We’ll have to see what happens, should Biden’s name rise to the top of the short list.

After his May 9 decision asking Catholic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to denounce abortion or voluntarily not receive Holy Communion, there’s been a firestorm in Kansas. The Archbishop has fielded a bunch of questions about his decision. You really need to read the whole Q&A. Here’s a great excerpt:

Q. Are not the actions of the church requesting Catholic politicians who support legalized abortion not to receive Communion really an attack on Democrats?

A. No. Cardinal Edward Egan of New York has made a similar request of former Republican presidential candidate and former mayor Rudy Giuliani. I encourage Catholics who are Democrats to remain Democrats, but to change the extremist position of the party on abortion. If the majority of Catholic Democrats objected to the platform of the party supporting legalized abortion, it would change tomorrow. In the end, to create an enduring public policy that will protect the right to life of innocent unborn children, we need to build a consensus that includes both Democrats and Republicans.

It’s really not a partisan issue. It’s about opposing the killing of babies. And the Catholic Church has a right to establish rules for its membership. Just as the Teamsters can demand that its members not cross the picket line, the Catholic Church can demand that its members not support baby killing.

Archbishop Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas wrote in his column yesterday that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is not to receive Communion until she repudiates her support for the “moral evil” of abortion.

“The spiritually lethal message, communicated by our governor, as well as many other high-profile Catholics in public life, has been in effect: ‘The church’s teaching on abortion is optional!’” the Archbishop wrote.

For more, read the Kansas City Star story and read the Archbishop’s column.