Diocese bars area Right to Life group from churches

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Diocese bars area Right to Life group from churches

**NEWPORT, Ky. - **A northern Kentucky Catholic diocese has barred an anti-abortion group from its churches and forbidden its priests from handing out the literature from the organization.
Bishop Roger Foys of the Diocese of Covington, Ky., issued a note to priests last week saying priests should have “no involvement” with Northern Kentucky Right to Life and to remove all of the group’s materials from diocese facilities and churches.
“There are many good people involved in NKRTL who are being misled,” Foys wrote, without giving specifics. “We cannot give any semblance that the Diocese approves of the tactics of some of the leadership of NKRTL.”
The move has angered and confused the leadership of Northern Kentucky Right to Life. Fred Summe, a Newport attorney who is the group’s vice president, said Foys has not spoken to the group about what tactics the church finds objectionable nor about how he feels people are being misled.
“If we’re doing something wrong, why doesn’t he approach us,” Summe said. “That’s just Christian charity.”

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This is just plain obscene.
I pray that God will intervene and remove the “good” Bishop
from the Catholic Church.
 
As usual, sounds like we do not have the whole story.
 
since we don’t have the story, we do not know what this groups tactics are, we do not know if they represent Church teaching properly, and we don’t know if their activities on Church grounds might damage the Church’s tax exempt status, we have no grounds on which to comment.
 
Note
In 1990, then-Bishop William A. Hughes created the diocesan “Pro-Life Commission,” which is still in existence, and issued a statement saying Northern Kentucky Right to Life isn’t sponsored by the diocese and “…does not speak for the Catholic Church.” Foys’ note to the priests used similar language and noted “confusion” about the relationship between the two.
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Sounds like a case of NIH [Not Invented Here]
 
Now, according to the article, the group “endorses” candidates. Allowing the group to meet on church property would seem to suggest that the church endorses the candidates as well. This is entirely my own speculation, however.
 
rpp said:
Here is another link to the sotry from a different news souce. Seems the comments above about “not invented here” many not be far off the mark.

news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061020/NEWS02/610200366/-1/all
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(from the above article:)

“Northern Kentucky Right to Life is led by Robert C. Cetrulo, a passionate and often strident activist. The Right to Life organization regularly distributes political information about candidates and castigates those who do not toe the anti-abortion line to its satisfaction.”

This is entirely the case. I have seen this first hand.

They are well meaning, but smack of “holier than the church”.
 
And for the record, Bishop Foys is QUITE an improvement over the previous bishop. Please refrain from postulating about things you have no real knowledge about.
 
Siena said:
(from the above article:)

“Northern Kentucky Right to Life is led by Robert C. Cetrulo, a passionate and often strident activist. The Right to Life organization regularly distributes political information about candidates and castigates those who do not toe the anti-abortion line to its satisfaction.”

This is entirely the case. I have seen this first hand.

They are well meaning, but smack of “holier than the church”.
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Having read the above article I can hardly see how we good Catholics should be influenced by the Media as to Pro Life organizations. In fact based upon what they fault the group with tells me that they are a good group as they RIGHTLY criticize Pro-Abortion politicians speaking Catholic schools.
 
childofmary1143 said:
Having read the above article I can hardly see how we good Catholics should be influenced by the Media as to Pro Life organizations. In fact based upon what they fault the group with tells me that they are a good group as they RIGHTLY criticize Pro-Abortion politicians speaking Catholic schools.
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That is probably the reason they were barred from handing out info on church property. The church can discuss issues but the discussion of individual candidates could jeapordize their tax exempt status. Considering the way the laws are interpreted and enforced in the US, that can be expected any time a pro-life group starts naming names.
 
Siena said:
And for the record, Bishop Foys is QUITE an improvement over the previous bishop. Please refrain from postulating about things you have no real knowledge about.
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Fair enough. I should have been more circumspect. You are also correct about the Church not endorsing candidates. However, public catigation of politicians who claim to be Catholic yet behave in, well, a non-Catholic manner, is something that must be done from time to time. Recently the Bishop of Kansas City, Kansas (not Missouri) publiclly criticzed the Kansas govenor, who claims to be Catholic, for her support of abortion.
 
puzzleannie said:
since we don’t have the story, we do not know what this groups tactics are, we do not know if they represent Church teaching properly, and we don’t know if their activities on Church grounds might damage the Church’s tax exempt status, we have no grounds on which to comment.
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Hello puzzleannie,

If the Church has to start paying taxes to be pro-life, do you think that the Church should, instead, choose to pay taxes?
 
Steven_Merten said:
Hello puzzleannie,

If the Church has to start paying taxes to be pro-life, do you think that the Church should, instead, choose to pay taxes?
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The Church does not have to start paying taxes to be pro-life but it would have to start paying taxes if it starts to endorse individual candidates.

I think the Bishop acted correctly.
 
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