No communion for Obama supporters

[epchick]

Originally Posted by LightBulb

I suppose it's not dictating, but it could be considered coercion (threat of mortal sin/damnation could be very persuasive) if it weren't post hoc. Did they say this before the election or just after?

I don't see how it could be coersion. The election is over, it's not like his parishioners can go back and change their vote.

[LightBulb]

Originally Posted by epchick

I don't see how it could be coersion. The election is over, it's not like his parishioners can go back and change their vote.

That's why I asked if it happened before the election as well. If it did, I can see how it could be coercion. If not, I agree that it is irrelevant because people can't vote anymore.

[SWTXBelle]

Here's what I don't get - if you disagree with a fundamental tenet of your church (in this case, abortion and communion in the Roman Catholic church) why wouldn't you find a church with whom you were in more accord?

[ree-Xi]

Slightly off tangent observation....

Ever notice that those people who are the most for or against a particular party/candidate/elected official, usually base their arguments on one of two things - abortion and gun control.

I am talking about the everyday person who doesn't have much more to say in a discussion about politics...it's usually one of these two highly emotionally charged issues that makes the decision for them.

People are nutty.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by joliebelle

A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."

How very pastoral of him.

Also, I don't understand people that insist that being pro-choice = pro-abortion.

I vote pro-choice but I've never voted "for" abortion. I've only ever voted for the option for women to decide if they wanted to have a medically safe abortion or not. I've said before that I'd personally die myself before I had an abortion.

[SWTXBelle]

[quote=preciousjeni


I vote pro-choice but I've [I]never[/I] voted "for" abortion. I've only ever voted for the option for women to decide if they wanted to have a medically safe abortion or not. I've said before that I'd personally die myself before I had an abortion.[/quote

So you vote PRO legalized abortion, not ANTI legalized abortion. When you vote, it is understood you are voting on a policy, and not making a personal decision.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I vote pro-choice but I've never voted "for" abortion. I've only ever voted for the option for women to decide if they wanted to have a medically safe abortion or not. I've said before that I'd personally die myself before I had an abortion.[/quote

So you vote PRO legalized abortion, not ANTI legalized abortion. When you vote, it is understood you are voting on a policy, and not making a personal decision.

Like I said, I vote for the OPTION to have a SAFER medical procedure. If the church wants to put a spin on that, they gotta do what they gotta do.

[Scandia]

This is infuriating me as much as Obama wanting required service for young people.

I may not support Obama's views on this issue or on many others. But voting for Obama (or for anyone) is not a reason to forbid communion. Who knows if the voters did not even consider abortion due to its not being a high priority issue for them as individuals? Who knows if Obama's pros outweighed the cons for them- ok, so I am having a hard time visualizing this given the fact that McCain would be optimal for me, but still.

It's not like the voters automatically engaged in the behavior that the church disapproves of.

And I am the kind of person who thinks everyone should be welcome to receive communion because everyone is welcomed by the Higher Power. That it should be up to you and your conscience- between you and the Supreme Being. That no third party should tell you what to do.

I do not like being told what to do or what to think.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by Scandia

This is infuriating me as much as Obama wanting required service for young people.

I may not support Obama's views on this issue or on many others. But voting for Obama (or for anyone) is not a reason to forbid communion. Who knows if the voters did not even consider abortion due to its not being a high priority issue for them as individuals? Who knows if Obama's pros outweighed the cons for them- ok, so I am having a hard time visualizing this given the fact that McCain would be optimal for me, but still.

It's not like the voters automatically engaged in the behavior that the church disapproves of.

And I am the kind of person who thinks everyone should be welcome to receive communion because everyone is welcomed by the Higher Power. That it should be up to you and your conscience- between you and the Supreme Being. That no third party should tell you what to do.

I do not like being told what to do or what to think.

Catholics view communion very differently from other Christian denominations. In other denominations, the bread and wine/grape juice are symbolic. But Catholics are supposed to consider them actual body and blood...that Christ "became" the bread and wine. Therefore they do not take their communion lightly. Even though I am presbyterian, I still do not think people should take communion if they do not accept what it stands for.

[SWTXBelle]

I think that a theological point could be made that it might depend on WHY you voted for the candidate you did - what are the candidates' postions on capital punishment, for example - but ultimately, it is a case of a Roman Catholic bishop warning Roman Catholic members of a possible consequence of voting for Obama. I don't agree with it, but I'm not a Roman Catholic. It doesn't affect anyone BUT Roman Catholics, and since being a Roman Catholic is a voluntary choice, I don't think that it is worth non-Roman Catholics getting upset about. However, if Roman Catholics think he has overstepped his bounds, I think that is something they should take up with higher-ups.

[agzg]

My pastor when I was going through confirmation made me sit down and have a serious discussion about pre-marital sex, and how it was wrong. Including asking me if I ever thought of having sex.

I looked him dead in the eye and said "seeing as we don't have confession, I don't see how it's any of your business."

Then I promptly told my parents that I thought it was particularly creepy that my pastor felt the need to sit down with me (a 14 year old girl that was more interested in school than boys) and tell me something I ALREADY KNEW.

That guy was such a creeper.

About the topic at hand, the only thing I've ever heard my church as a whole putting forward to the congregation to consider is that homosexuals are, indeed, actual people, and should therefore be treated as such. And that it was mean spirited and sinful to treat them any differently than we would any straight person. Whether that applies to marriage, not sure.

[agzg]

How does the Catholic Church feel about reduction if one is having multiples (for instance, if you're pregnant with sextuplets and can only feasibly carry a couple of the babies).

Although it's really rare for a woman to be pregnant with that kind of multiples without modern medicine making it so - does the Catholic Church have a stance against fertility treatments?

[SWTXBelle]

Selective reduction is a no.
I'm pretty sure fertility treatments are, too.
RCs, correct me if I'm wrong.

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Selective reduction is a no.
I'm pretty sure fertility treatments are, too.
RCs, correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes. This can play out sort of fun when somebody gets IVF or whatever and gets knocked up with a large amount of multiples.

[agzg]

Here's another question (since obviously I'm not up on Roman Catholic policy):

What if the choice is the baby or the mother (in a situation where you're already in childbirth)?

Is the father going to H-E-double hockey sticks if he chooses the mother? Or is that just a situation where the choice is so difficult anyway that it's a non-issue?