I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. There’s the possibility that Bishop Hubbard discussed the issue with Gov. Cuomo and he agreed not to receive communion. Its quite possible that there is no need for refusal because after talking with Bishop Hubbard Gov. Cuomo either isn’t going to Mass or isn’t attempting to receive communion.
Yet Sebelius’s was hardly news. Not to mention these things tend to be private, even when it comes to politicians.
Well, that’s good to hear, but I still think if a politician is public about his unCatholic stances then it should also be public that they be refused communion. Otherwise, as the case here, the public doesn’t know and thinks that these politicians ARE receiving communion. It’s a private matter for pirvate individuals…not so much for very public individuals. I believe this is what Cardinal Burke expressed recently.
While I understand what you’re saying, I think you also need to realize that the view your expressing is most likely in the minority. Most Catholics, in my experience/encounters, do not want to see/hear public tiffs over communion. In fact whoever raises the issue publicly first tends to get the wrath of the Catholic population. Here in New England there have been a few incidents. In the ones where the bishop went public, sympathy swung to the politician and the bishop was perceived as a sacramental bully. In the ones where the politician complained about what the bishop said to him/her privately, sympathy swung to the bishop and the politician was perceived as a whiner.
Well, in a Church that is anti-abortion but gives a funeral Mass to a woman who dies while having an abortion, I guess there is really no reason to enforce any other rules.
I’m not sure what you mean by “enforce any other rules.” All that was being discussed was whether or not the matter should be made public or kept private. There’s no rule that says if a politician is asked to refrain from receiving communion and he obeys that it needs to be made public.
The Church is attempting to apply the teachings of Jesus that you are referring to, I fail to see how She can be faulted for that…
That is true. While politicians who quietly refrain are usually not made public, those that do receive and hold pro-choice positions are troublesome.
Someone who procures an abortion incurs latae sententiae excommunication. Public prayers are not allowed for that person at death, are they? Neither is ecclesiastical burial. That’s my point. It’s confusing when seemingly cut and dried areas of canon law are not applied in a manner that people looking in can understand. You might say that we don’t need to understand, but it all adds to the problem when people don’t believe/do as the Church teaches and the Church herself doesn’t seem to do what she teaches.
Since when does public opinion (Catholic or otherwise) matter when defending the Catholic Faith?
And don’t forget the Funeral Mass for Ted Kennedy.
Yes, but latae sententiae excommunication is also not cut and dry. There are numerous sets of circumstances (canon 1323) that might cause the penalty not to have taken place, not to mention the local ordinary has the authority to remit canonical penalties (canon 1355 & 1356).
It was you who brought up what the public thinks/knows:
I merely pointed out that most Catholics seem to think the matter is between the politician and the bishop. They’re more focused on their own spritual lives than those of politicans.
I think that’s a whole lot of judging of individuals you know nothing about…
You’re free to hold that opinion but others are also free to be of the opinion that those things should remain private between the bishop and the politician. Both are legitimate opinions.
Sen. Kennedy never had a penalty of excommunication…
I used the word “perhaps” and “maybe”, so no I wasn’t judging. You on the other hand are judging me.
But he was a pro-choice politician for many years.
Ah, nice twisting of my meaning. The Catholic Church is to teach the Catholic Faith to all people. If people think that a Catholic politiican is continuing to receive communion, the Church is not teaching the Catholic Faith to all people. That is very different than the Church caring whether the public doesn’t like its teaching of the Catholic Faith.
Yes, but whether that is grounds for denying someone a Catholic funeral is up to the local ordinary.
As I said, from my experience, that’s a minority opinion amongst Catholics. Most Catholics, in my experiene, don’t care to hear about whether a politician is or isn’t receiving communion. They tend to see whoever is the one who makes it public as grandstanding and symapthize with the other party.
That may be, but again it sends the wrong message. Maybe Ted Kennedy should have been excommunicated a long time ago.
And round and round we go. Doesn’t matter what they think. Maybe the politician shouldn’t be grandstanding his non-Catholic political views.
We’ll have to agree to disagree on that.