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T h e A p o l o g i s t ’ s E y e
Who’s Going to Be Left in Church? Faithful Catholics, That's Who
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This Rock
Volume 14, Number 3
 March 2003 
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Finally, a U.S. bishop teaching the mind of the Church regarding pro-abortion politicians has named one by name. Preaching at a morning Mass on the thirtieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Sacramento Bishop William K. Weigand told the congregation at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament that California governor Gray Davis, a self-professed Catholic, should refrain from taking Communion while he continues to support abortion rights.
"As your bishop, I have to say clearly that anyone, politician or otherwise, who thinks it is acceptable for a Catholic to be pro-abortion is in very great error, puts his or her soul at risk, and is not in good standing with the church," Weigand said. "Such a person should have the integrity to acknowledge this and choose of his own volition to abstain from receiving holy Communion until he has a change of heart."
In his homily, Bishop Weigand praised Msgr. Edward Kavanagh, who last month told Davis’ staff that the governor was not welcome to deliver gifts to St. Patrick’s Orphanage in Sacramento. Msgr. Kavanagh asked Davis to renounce his abortion-rights views before visiting. The governor’s response to Msgr. Kavanagh: "I’m unapologetically pro-choice, and I’m not changing my position." (The children received their gifts from Davis at the Capitol.)
Bishop Weigand said that the confrontation forced him to confront Davis. "Ever since the little incident last month, people have been asking questions. They ask, ‘How can a Catholic be in good standing and still hold that point of view?’ I’m saying you can’t be a Catholic in good standing and hold that point of view.
"He [Davis] goes to church, and he says his prayers, and that’s good," said the bishop. "But he’s been aggressive on this issue, even boastful. I’m just trying to clarify that he is not in line with the Catholic Church on an issue that the Pope has said is the most important issue of our day."
That same day, the Davis administration claimed credit in a press release for California being "the most pro-choice state in America." The governor attended a Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles to mark the Roe v. Wade anniversary. "During my entire career in public service, I’ve supported a woman’s reproductive freedom," he said. "When it comes to a woman’s right to choose, as long as I’m governor, California will not concede one inch."
Back in Sacramento, Davis spokesman Russ Lopez criticized Bishop Weigand for "telling the faithful how to practice their faith. There are a lot of Catholics who are pro-choice. Does the bishop want all Catholics to stop receiving holy Communion? Who’s going to be left in church?"
To Guide the Consciences of the Faithful
In late January the Vatican confirmed the excommunication of a group of women who participated in a mock priestly ordination. Argentine Romulo Antonio Braschi, a schismatic bishop and founder of a schismatic community, conducted the mock ordination last June.
The document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced that the Holy See had rejected the appeal made by the women to the decree of excommunication published by the CDF last August 5.
Moreover, the Holy See considers that the "refusal to comply with the penal precept established by the Church" is "further aggravated by the fact that some of the above-mentioned women have been gathering around them members of the faithful, in open and divisive disobedience to the Roman Pontiff and diocesan bishops."
It adds, "In view of the gravity of this contumacy (cf. can. 1347 CIC), the penalty imposed is not only just, but also necessary, in order to protect true doctrine, to safeguard the communion and unity of the Church, and to guide the consciences of the faithful."
John Paul II approved the decree expressly and requested its publication.
In his 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, John Paul II said, "The Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women."
Faithful Catholics, while praying for the women involved, should applaud the excommunications. But it does make one wonder how the consciences of the faithful are guided by Church officials allowing pro-abortion politicians, who are also "in open and divisive disobedience to the Roman Pontiff and diocesan bishops," to go blithely on their way.
Tiny Anglican Step toward Annulment?
Divorced people wishing to remarry in the Anglican Church will be expected to fill in application forms and answer intimate questions about previous relationships and their plans for the future, under new guidelines published in February.
The advice, issued by the House of Bishops, warns couples that they must be prepared to speak "frankly" about their past and whether their current relationship caused the breakdown of their first marriages. The advice follows the General Synod’s final approval in November of the remarriage of divorcees and, although not binding under Anglican Church law, will standardize practice throughout Britain.
The application form states, "If your parish priest is willing to discuss the possibility of taking your marriage, he/she will want to talk frankly about the past, your hopes for the future, and your understanding of marriage. You are advised to reflect beforehand on the issues they raise—and should be prepared to answer them honestly."
Those who admit to more than one divorce in the past are likely to have their chances of a church wedding seriously diminished, as the bishops say that "the Church should not find itself becoming a party to ‘serial monogamy.’"
Pope: Recognize Europe’s Christian Roots
Vatican diplomats, and Pope John Paul II himself, in meetings with European officials have lobbied for a strong reference to Christianity to be included in the preamble to the European Union’s Constitution. The document is being drafted by the Convention on the Future of Europe chaired by former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing
The Vatican argument is that Christianity’s fundamental role in shaping European culture should be acknowledged in what is destined to become the EU’s key document. Diplomatic sources say that secular opposition is likely to block the Pope’s efforts.
Few of the 15 EU member states or the new members scheduled to join in the next two years include a reference to religion in their respective constitutions. Even predominantly Catholic Italy and Spain are not officially described as Catholic countries. The Italians removed the religious designation from their post-war constitution in 1945. France’s tradition of secularism goes back to the French Revolution.
Putting an emphasis on Christian values would be difficult for European member states in another respect: It could alienate the large immigrant populations of Muslims that now reside in virtually every member country.
The convention expects to complete its work on determining the shape of the EU by the autumn, after which its proposals will be sent to member governments for approval and finally adopted at a special conference in 2004.
"If anything, the statement the Vatican wants should more correctly refer to the Judeo-Christian culture, but that would really set the cat among the Islamic pigeons," one European official told Zenit news agency.
Pope John Paul has often expressed concern at the decline of religion in Europe. "The Vatican must now look on Europe as missionary territory," another official said. "They need to conquer lost ground."
Good News for Tree Huggers and Enya Fans
Are favorite activities among New Agers such as listening to relaxing music and protecting the environment compatible with the Christian faith? Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, gave a qualified answer to that question as a Vatican document on New Age was presented to the press in February. He pointed to a key criterion: "discernment."
"There can be positive New Age practices, so long as they do not cast doubt on Catholic doctrine," the archbishop said. He acknowledged that "there is nothing wrong in listening to relaxing music, for example—unless it is a substitute for prayer." And "to be concerned about ecology is positive," but one must not fall into the divinization of the earth, as do many New Agers (worship of the earth as Gaia, a goddess, is common).
Reporters asked about the enneagram, a New Age method of analyzing personality in nine types that is popular in some Catholic circles. Father Peter Fleetwood of the Secretariat of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE), writer of the document Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian Reflection on the "New Age,"; answered that the enneagram is not to be condemned but must be explicit about whether it allows for a God who transcends reality.
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