Friday, January 25, 2019

Hey, Cuomo: You're No Catholic, Get Lost!

Urging the Church to deny communion to Andrew Cuomo or even excommunicate him, Msgr. Charles Pope presents a very convincing argument in the National Catholic Register.
Here's an excerpt:
Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of Albany questioned if supporting and signing this law could impact Cuomo’s standing in the Catholic Church and ability to receive Communion.
“This legislation threatens to rupture the communion between the Catholic faith and those who support the RHA even while professing to follow the Church, something that troubles me greatly as a pastor,” he said.
Again, with respect for the bishop of Albany and all the bishops of New York, questioning if the signing of this horrendous bill will “impact Cuomo’s standing” in the Church is not enough. He, and any other bishops of New York whose jurisdiction is involved, must make a decision, and soon.
All canonical penalties that can apply should be applied here. Omitting such penalties, as has been done in the past, and staying in “dialogue” with such politicians has been of no avail.
It must be made clear to all that no Catholic can support such legislation. But the governor and others have done even more: They have called for celebrations and hope that other states will follow the “bright light” of their example.
This cannot be allowed to stand without canonical penalties.
I am not a canon lawyer, but the truth is clear that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is not in communion with the Catholic Church. At this point, canonical penalties forbidding him to receive Holy Communion — or even, if possible, issuing a formal excommunication — are simply affirming what is already true and what he himself has done.
To fail to issue all possible canonical penalties at this point would, to my mind, show the Church to be irrelevant and a laughingstock.

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