I am so proud of my Pastor please read and comment on the linked article

[roymckenzie]

I am so proud of my Pastor. modbee.com/local/story/515762.html and I pray for my Bishop.

 

[Jacob21]

Blaire said Catholics who carefully weighed many issues and settled on a candidate, such as Obama, who was supportive of abortion rights, were not in need of confession. He said confession would be necessary “only if someone voted for a pro-abortion or pro-choice candidate – if that’s the reason you voted for them.”

I agree with your Bishop. I’m horrified that this is creating such division. It’s the reasons you vote for someone, not just the act that would require you to confess. Please think about this, and God Bless you this Joyous and Holy Advent Season.
Jacob

 

[Galnextdoor]

I am so proud of my Pastor. modbee.com/local/story/515762.html and I pray for my Bishop.

You are truly blessed to have such a resolute priest in your parish.
Although that particular bishop did not back his priest, their are many JPII bishops who would have. Archbishop Chaput said that the promise of a better economy was not a good enough reason to vote pro-abortion. John McCain was promising a better economy as well.

 

[Scoobyshme]

Jacob,

 Jesus never sugar-coated His message and said that there would be divisions, etc.  The Pharisees hated Him.  The Pope has told all Catholics to tell the truth, because when we do, grace accompanies that truth!  A pastor's responsibilty is to his parishioner's souls.  If this priest stepped on some toes, then those toes were where they shouldn't be and needed to be moved!  Pride goes before a fall.  The parishioner who left did so through pride, not humility.

 We need more priests and bishops who are capable and willing to share Jesus' truths without fear of "upsetting" anyone.  Jesus did it all the time, and we should be as much like Him as we can!

God bless this priest!

 

[fix]

I agree with your Bishop. I’m horrified that this is creating such division. It’s the reasons you vote for someone, not just the act that would require you to confess. Please think about this, and God Bless you this Joyous and Holy Advent Season.
Jacob

The division exists because right and wrong exist.

 

[TMC]

The Most Rev. Stephen Blaire, bishop of the Stockton Diocese, disagrees with Illo. He said Catholics should not feel compelled to disclose how they voted to their priest.

Blaire said Catholics who carefully weighed many issues and settled on a candidate, such as Obama, who was supportive of abortion rights, were not in need of confession. He said confession would be necessary “only if someone voted for a pro-abortion or pro-choice candidate – if that’s the reason you voted for them.”

Bishop Blaire is correct. With emails and calls running 12 to 1 in favor of the priest’s comments, it took courage for his bishop to step up and issue a correction. I’m glad he did.

 

[elts1956]

Bishop Blaire is correct. With emails and calls running 12 to 1 in favor of the priest’s comments, it took courage for his bishop to step up and issue a correction. I’m glad he did.

Uh huh, like Blaire is afraid of us poor laity folk.

Those who think the Bishop is correct, need to re-read what said Bishop agreed to be written in the USCCB Voting Guide:

A Well-Formed Conscience
17. The Church equips its members to address political and social questions byhelping them to develop a well-formed conscience. Catholics have a serious andlifelong obligation to form their consciences in accord with human reason and
the teaching of the Church. Conscience is not something that allows us to justifydoing whatever we want, nor is it a mere “feeling” about what we should or should not do. Rather, conscience is the voice of God resounding in the human heart,
revealing the truth to us and calling us to do what is good while shunning what is evil. Conscience always requires serious attempts to make sound moral judgments based on the truths of our faith. As stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church,“Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the
moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right” (no. 1778).

1. The formation of conscience includes several elements. First, there is a desireto embrace goodness and truth. For Catholics this begins with a willingness andopenness to seek the truth and what is right by studying Sacred Scripture and the teaching of the Church as contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It isalso important to examine the facts and background information about various
   choices. Finally, prayerful reflection is essential to discern the will of God. Catholics must also understand that if they fail to form their consciences they can make erroneous judgments.2
2. The Church’s teaching is clear that a good end does not justify an immoral means. As we all seek to advance the common good—by defending the inviolable sanctity of human life from the moment of conception until natural death, by defending marriage, by feeding the hungry and housing the homeless, by welcoming
   the immigrant and protecting the environment—it is important to recognize that not all possible courses of action are morally acceptable. We have a responsibility to discern carefully which public policies are morally sound. Catholics may choose
   different ways to respond to compelling social problems, but we cannot differ on our moral obligation to help build a more just and peaceful world through morally acceptable means, so that the weak and vulnerable are protected and human rights and dignity are defended.
3. There are some things we must never do, as individuals or as a society, because they are always incompatible with love of God and neighbor. Such actions are sodeeply flawed that they are always opposed to the authentic good of persons. These are called intrinsically evil actions. They must always be rejected and opposed and must never be SUPPORTED OR CONDONED. A prime example is the intentional taking of innocent human life, as in abortion and euthanasia. In our nation,“abortion and euthanasia have become preeminent threats to human dignity because they directly attack life itself, the most FUNDAMENTALl human good and the CONDITION FOR ALL OTHERS” (Living the Gospel of Life, no. 5). It is a mistake with grave moral consequences to treat the destruction of innocent human life merely as a matter of individual choice. A legal system that violates the basic right to life on the grounds of choice is fundamentally flawed.
4. Two temptations in public life can distort the Church’s defense of human life and dignity:
5. The first is a MORAL EQUIVALENCE that makes no ethical distinctions between different kinds of issues involving human life and dignity. The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not just one issue among many. It must always be opposed.3

The bishop is misleading one to believe that Moral Equivalence can be used in judging an Intrinsic Evil when compared to those in which Prudential Judgement can be used. The priest is correct.

 

[roymckenzie]

I thought it would be helpful to actually see what Father said in his letter.
Father Joseph Illo:

                                                    November 21, 2008
                                                    Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Dear Parishioners of St. Joseph’s,
Recently I said at Mass: “If you voted for a pro-abortion candidate on November 4, and you new what you were doing, you need to go to confession before receiving communion.” Have I spoken out of turn? I will answer that question, as best as I can, at the end of this letter.
All Catholics have the grave obligation to defend every innocent human life, but in particular the poorest and neediest. Jesus said: “What you did to the least of my brothers and sisters, you
did to me.” There are many kinds of poor in Stanislaus County. The homeless, the incarcerated, the elderly poor, the infirm and those in nursing homes all need our special love. I am privileged
to pastor a parish that lovingly serves all of these types of needy people. But there is an entire class of Americans who are targeted for focused attack, a people with no rights, whose very lives are at the whim of judges and politicians. I of course speak about Americans before they are born. The abortion industry, and our legal system, refuses to recognize the humanity of the human fetus. But if a human fetus is not human, what is it?
We Catholics, and all people of good will and sound reason, must defend the lives of these poorest of the poor. Protecting unborn people from abortion is the defining issue of our time, as
constantly clarified by our Church: “Among all the crimes which can be committed against life, procured abortion has characteristics making it particularly serious and deplorable,” wrote John
Paul II in the Gospel of Life (1995). “Given such a grave situation, we need now more than ever to have the courage to look the truth in the eye and to call things by their proper name.” Many Catholics voted for candidates on November 4 who stated clearly that they would promote abortion. President-elect Obama, for example, promised Planned Parenthood that the first thing he would do upon taking office is to sign the so-called “Freedom of Choice Act,”
which would grant unlimited access to abortion in all 50 states up until the moment of live birth. Many Catholics voted for such pro-abortion candidates thinking that their good positions on
other issues, such as the war or health care, outweighed their deplorable stand on abortion. Many discount “one-issue voting,” but if the issue is grave enough, no one would object to “one-issue voting.” For example, if the issue were legalizing slavery, no one would hesitate to vote against a candidate on this one issue. In fact, this election was a largely one-issue vote anyway, and that issue was the economy. What we Catholics, and all people of sound reason, must understand, is
that a refusal to protect all human life is a deal-breaker. Abortion is a much graver issue than
slavery.
My dear brothers and sisters, I know many were confused about the issues. It is a difficult time for us all, and we are facing new social and cultural issues. Neither have your pastors and bishops spoken clearly and with one voice on these issues. But one thing is clear and certain: we can never vote for a candidate who promises to promote abortion. No one who promotes the killing of unborn people can be entrusted with the public good. “The greatest destroyer of peace in the world today,” wrote Mother Teresa, “is abortion.” It is not the economy, war, health care, poverty, or terrorism. It is abortion. “Human life,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, “must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception…the inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of civil
society and its legislation.” In other words, this is a civil rights issue, We have to speak for those who have no voice. We must demand honesty from our public officials, who are clearly
dishonest when they pretend that the human fetus is not human.
If you are one of the 54% of Catholics who voted for a pro-abortion candidate, you were clear on his position, and you knew the gravity of the question, I urge you to go to confession before receiving communion. Don’t risk losing your state of grace by receiving sacrilegiously. I appeal to your conscience, grounded in Church teaching. To some degree we all have the blood of these children on our hands. I myself have confessed sacramentally, and I confess to you now, that I have not done enough to defend these children. Their blood is on my hands too. We will see them in the next life, and they will ask us why we let them die. Pope Benedict wrote in 2004 (as Cardinal Ratzinger) that Catholic public officials who “consistently campaign and vote for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws” are guilty of grave evil. If they have been warned to abstain from Holy Communion and persist in promoting abortion, he wrote, “the minister of holy Communion must refuse to distribute it” to them. In 2002 he had written that “a well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for apolitical program … that contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals.”
If you voted for a pro-abortion candidate, I cannot say for certain if you should refrain from Holy Communion. I don’t know what you were thinking. But voting for a candidate who promises “abortion rights,” even if he promises every other good thing, is voting for abortion. It is a grave mistake, and probably a grave sin. No issue can compare with the legalized destruction
of a mother’s child. I am writing to you because I love you and I care about your relationship with God. I am also writing because God requires this of me as a Catholic priest…
.

 

[roymckenzie]

continued Father Joseph Illo:

We do not have to settle for “pro-abortion” candidates. We can and must demand that our public officials protect the inalienable right of all Americans to live and flourish. If every Catholic in his district told Congressman Dennis Cardoza, for example, that we support him and most of his policies, but that we will not vote for him unless he defends all human life, he would change his position. All of us Catholics, all people of sound reason and good will, can and must simply require our public officials to act reasonably and responsibly in respect to human life.
If you need to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, our priests hear confessions on Fridays from 6:30-7:30pm, and Saturdays from 8:30-9:30am and 4-5pm. May God bless you, our families, our parish, and our nation.

                                    Yours sincerely in Christ,
                                    Fr. Joseph Illo
                                    Pastor

The origional letter can also be seen stjmod.com/abortionletter.pdf

 

[Apologist78]

I am so proud of my Pastor. modbee.com/local/story/515762.html and I pray for my Bishop.

It is very nice to see a priest stand up for the truth. It is about darn time too! While I am not certain if it were me I would have gone this far- for a number of reasons-- but not one of them becasue I don’t agree with him. I support him. Priests are supposed to preach the Word of God, not push the people’s agenda. That indeed is a tall order.

In any case it would seem the priests in both cases are just trying to get their people to understand the gravity of the situation. Pro-choice candidates are not acceptable choices. He is not saying they ARE in Mortal Sin, I don’t even hear him saying “It was a sin to vote for Obama.” (ast least based on his interview) All I hear him really doing is asking his people to reflect on the gravity of the situation, and whether or not the need Confession. There is nothing wrong with that. That is exactely what priests SHOULD be doing. They would be doing their people a GRAVE disservice if they did NOT get their people to think about this.

It would be nice if the bishop backed his priest. With what the bishop said, the priest’s letter will be undermined, I think. The same thing as I have heard happened in South Carolina.

 

[Mark77]

God Bless Fr Illo!

The Bishop is just another of the many gutless leaders we have who are directly responsible for the demise of the Church in modern society.

Do you really think Jesus would have backed Pontius Pilate if he promised “tax breaks, environmental cleanups and Roman peace efforts”, while advocating the murder of innocent children for the sake of “choice”?

Wrong is wrong, no matter how beautifully it is packaged by the lawyers who profit from these brutal killings of the most innocent among us.

No other cause is as important as the basic right to life. NONE. A murdered baby cannot have peace, save the environment or live at all.

Once we allow the “culture of killing” to flourish, all other evils are even easier to sell as good, tolerant and open minded.

Perhaps these “tolerant” Bishops might have saved us all a great deal of pain if they had dealt with the small number of priests who betrayed their vows in an honest, loving, forgiving and direct manner.

Will we never learn?

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora Pro Nobis Peccatoribus.

Mark

 

[Teelynn]

God Bless Fr Illo!

The Bishop is just another of the many gutless leaders we have who are directly responsible for the demise of the Church in modern society.

Do you really think Jesus would have backed Pontius Pilate if he promised “tax breaks, environmental cleanups and Roman peace efforts”, while advocating the murder of innocent children for the sake of “choice”?

Wrong is wrong, no matter how beautifully it is packaged by the lawyers who profit from these brutal killings of the most innocent among us.

No other cause is as important as the basic right to life. NONE. A murdered baby cannot have peace, save the environment or live at all.

Once we allow the “culture of killing” to flourish, all other evils are even easier to sell as good, tolerant and open minded.

Perhaps these “tolerant” Bishops might have saved us all a great deal of pain if they had dealt with the small number of priests who betrayed their vows in an honest, loving, forgiving and direct manner.

Will we never learn?

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora Pro Nobis Peccatoribus.

Mark

I love your analogy. Ditto with regards to Blessings for this Priest for truth. The only logical explaination that I can allow myself to believe about the laity and the clergy who voted for a pro abortion candidate is that they bought in to the “poverty breeds abortion” theory. Reduce the poverty level and you will start to eliminate abortions. The reason, I believe, that Obama states that he is “pro life” on his web site. The attitude that other issues are more important than abortion, is not a winable argument, either. The multiple issue argument loses as well. In fact all other reasonings for voting for a radical pro abortion candidate will never hold water. I don’t think the stats hold up to the poverty theory either.

 

[roymckenzie]

Please pray that Father Illo will continue to have the strength to withstand the barrage of efforts to get him to retract the truth.

 

[elts1956]

It is very nice to see a priest stand up for the truth. It is about darn time too! While I am not certain if it were me I would have gone this far- for a number of reasons-- but not one of them becasue I don’t agree with him. I support him. Priests are supposed to preach the Word of God, not push the people’s agenda. That indeed is a tall order.

In any case it would seem the priests in both cases are just trying to get their people to understand the gravity of the situation. Pro-choice candidates are not acceptable choices. He is not saying they ARE in Mortal Sin, I don’t even hear him saying “It was a sin to vote for Obama.” (ast least based on his interview) All I hear him really doing is asking his people to reflect on the gravity of the situation, and whether or not the need Confession. There is nothing wrong with that. That is exactely what priests SHOULD be doing. They would be doing their people a GRAVE disservice if they did NOT get their people to think about this.

It would be nice if the bishop backed his priest. With what the bishop said, the priest’s letter will be undermined, I think. The same thing as I have heard happened in South Carolina.

If Father Ilo’s statements and letter to his parishioners is undermined as happened in S.C. it will prove, to me, anyway there is a serious crisis expanding among the Bishops here in the U.S. We need to give those Bishops who stand strong in the truths of the Church our full moral support through letters thanking them for their stand and letters to the diocesan newspapers of those gutless Bishops who for some insane reason are weakening the authority of the Church through their refusal to be strong in the beliefs in the faithful members of the Church.

 

[shepherdpal]

I am proud of him too. He is taking care of the souls entrusted to him in his parish by telling them the truth as any good father does, despite the personal suffering it may cause.