No communion for Obama supporters

[DolphinChicaDDD]

Originally Posted by AGDee

If it helps any, John Kerry was told he could not take communion in the RCC during the last Presidential election for the same reasons. This isn't shocking stuff to RCCs and Obama isn't singled out with this.

I can kind of understand that. Kerry had a stance. Because he is a public person, and running for president, his views were known. Those views were in direct opposition to the RCC's stance, so he was denied communion.

In the case of denying communion to a parishioner because he voted for someone, I see that as an issue. Perhaps the parishioner placed his vote based solely on economic policy and environmental issues and let's say he sided with Obama. The parishioner may be against birth control, abortion, etc etc etc but didn't consider those issues when voting, and he sided with Obama for whatever reason. But the simple fact that he voted for one candidate makes him ineligible for communion? Seems silly to me.

Nevermind the fact that I'm sure all of McCain's stances don't match up with the RCC's ideas; the death penalty comes to mind. So did this priest want people to vote for no one since there is not going to be a candidate who agrees 100% with church teachings?

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by DolphinChicaDDD

I can kind of understand that. Kerry had a stance. Because he is a public person, and running for president, his views were known. Those views were in direct opposition to the RCC's stance, so he was denied communion.

In the case of denying communion to a parishioner because he voted for someone, I see that as an issue. Perhaps the parishioner placed his vote based solely on economic policy and environmental issues and let's say he sided with Obama. The parishioner may be against birth control, abortion, etc etc etc but didn't consider those issues when voting, and he sided with Obama for whatever reason. But the simple fact that he voted for one candidate makes him ineligible for communion? Seems silly to me.

Nevermind the fact that I'm sure all of McCain's stances don't match up with the RCC's ideas; the death penalty comes to mind. So did this priest want people to vote for no one since there is not going to be a candidate who agrees 100% with church teachings?

The Church holds that the issue of life is to be held in higher regard than economic issues, so that would be the justification if the parishioner voted on economy (or something like that) rather than life. The Church hasn't ever swayed in that.

You are right that McCain didn't match up 100%. I don't know that any candidate ever has. That's why the Church pushes the development of a "Catholic conscience" and "Catholic identity." So far there has always been one candidate who is clearly more in line with Catholic teachings than another. And, like I said before, the Catholic Church is opposed to liberal application of the death penalty, but it is not an absolute like abortion. (That's a pretty complicated issue, and I wouldn't say that the Church is ok with the death penalty, just that it does recognize occasional justification for it. It does not recognize any justification for abortion.)