Diocese Repudiates SC Priest Who Said Catholic Obama Supporters Need Penance Before Communion

It would be a real travesty of justice if the IRS does not revoke the tax-free status of this church of Newman! It has been clearly demonstrated that he has been using the pulpit for political stance. Does he not understand the laws, or is he just dissing those who are good catholics but are not in total agreement with al of the church’s teachings because they do not consider families and the lives of everyday people? Do priests have any inkling of how ordinary people live? We do not live the lives of pampered priests who are adequately compensated and NEVER have to worry where their next meal is coming from, nor whether they will have a roof over their head?? Who are they to preach to us especially within our own bodies and within our own bedrooms. Newman ought to be sanctioned and churches must be made to pay taxes for all their interference in the politics of today.

The Neo-Conservative candidate had views that directly contradict Jesus on:
-the war
-torture
-the death penalty
-a whole host of economics that empower the empowered and disempower the disempowered
-health care
-poverty
-discrimination
-etc, etc
But because the Liberal candidate contradicts the Catholic reading of the Bible on one issue- ONE- that one thing overrides the laundry list of issues where Neo-Conservatives views are radically opposed to the teachings of Christ?
That is pure insanity. Neo-Conservatism is the most anti-Christian popular political ideology in American history.

The priest in question has a serious problem, as noted by the other posters, and I hope he will apologize himself for saying something like he did. He does not own the communion, as his arrogance seems to suggest. While Obama supports abortion, McCain is no saint either and his views also contradict those of the Catholic Church (especially on war and the other issues noted below by another poster). Moreover, McCain had no problem and openly invited support from evangelical preachers who have said (and preached) abhorent things about Catholics.
Holding the country, or a community of believers, hostage to one issue is wrong. Thank goodness for the common sense and honesty of the Monsignor to take the Church out of the political arena.

Karen – you’re comments are absurd. Grow up and read some books for crying out loud. You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.
Kelly – abortion is a sin. The article (correctly) mentions that direct participation in an abortion earns the penalty of automatic excommunication.
ElodieStClair – you may be right about “neo-conservatives,” or you might be off base. It makes little difference though… we are talking about abortion here – which is a crime against humanity on a scale you fail to comprehend (as your ideaological ancestors failed to comprehend similar crimes against humanity… that I am sure YOU would now consider horrible without question.) Once you DO understand the seriousness of this issue, that list of other very important issues will look differently to you. All you have to do is engage your brain for a little while… and start asking questions the abortion industry doesn’t want you to ask.
Dogma – interesting point. Believing in Catholicism should be a minimum requirement for calling oneself a “Catholic.” Apparently words have less value and meaning than any time in history! I was born and raised here in the US – what’s to stop me from calling myself a citizen of Zaire? ;)

Curiously, even after repudiating the priest’s statement, the Monsignor did not alter the Church’s position:
“This past week, the Catholic Church’s clear, moral teaching on the evil of abortion has been pulled into the partisan political arena,” wrote Msgr. Laughlin. “The recent comments of Father Jay Scott Newman, pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Greenville, S.C., have diverted the focus from the Church’s clear position against abortion…”
“…All Catholics must be aware of and follow the teachings of the Church. We should all come together to support the President-elect and all elected officials with a view to influencing policy in favor of the protection of the unborn child.”
Quite frankly, I don’t care what anyone does with their own body. It’s not MY concern (nor should it be), as long as YOU don’t violate MY rights as an American!

Kelly,
I do not hold any position of authority in any church, but I wanted to weigh in on your concern.
The BEST answer, I feel, is written is in the story Christ told about the adulterous woman. “He who is without sin, cast the first stone”. John 8:7
That concept (principle) seems to be a part of what the Monsignor is eluding to.
We as humans, (even the clergy), cannot fully speak for God. We can only pray to know what is the right thing is to do.
All the great theologians and most of the faith community believe that abortion is sin, yet, there are innumerable sins that we do not try to legislate. Trying to legislate morality is complex at best, and hypocritical at its worst.
I respect the Catholic church, because they are pro-life in all regards, including the death penalty and war. The protestant churches, in general, have not been so consistent.
There is one thing I can say for sure, judgement and condemnation are sins too.
And yes, I do believe we must, reflect on all things, before during and after communion.
Another thing I respect about the Catholic church, they have reflected on their corporate sins, and have tried to correct them. (Anti Semitism, slave-trade, legalism, and most recently covering up pedophilia).
Which continues to beg the question, who among us is without sin?

The rest of the World do not consider America a good Christain nation thus am surprised to see so much hypocrisy when it comes to Christainity. In America, Christainity has been reduced to support or non-support for abortion. It is really pathetic. If they are really serious, sex should be banned till you get married. What happened to the Ten commandments? I have never seen or known a Pro-abortionist. People abort for different reasons. Leave their judgement to God and stop mixing it with Politics. Am a Catholic, but am really disappointed. They should just spell it out, Obama is black, I dont support him. Everyone will understand but instead of spelling it out, they use different words to coin race. Marxist, Socialist, Arab, moslem, etc

“…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…”
Our Founding Fathers placed Life at the head of this list for reason. Without Life, there ARE no other rights!

I think that there needs to be a very clear, accurate, unambiguous, and loud statement made by the USCCB on this matter of conscience and voting for a pro-abortion candidate. I think that we are flirting with Relativism here which I believe the Pope has warned us about. Sadly, it seems to me that this whole thing is playing right into the hands of the media.

70% of blacks in California were so conservative that they voted for Prop8.
Yet they had no problem voting for Obama
with his radical abortion views.
I just don’t get it.

The plain truth here it that all of this is between the person and God. If you believe in God, then you also believe that we’re ALL going to be judged by Him in the end. So act accordingly!
In the words of Jiminy Cricket: Let your conscience be your guide…

As a Catholic, anyone who supports a candidate who supports abortion, especially the radical policies of Obama’s, is going against their religion.
Obama isn’t just a supporter of abortion, but has gone so far as to support abortion at any stage in pregnancy and pushed for young teenage girls to go across county lines to have abortions without their parents consent or knowledge.
This should not only be condemned by Catholics but all parents as well.

You wanted me to vote for Mac- well let me tell your- he wants USA to continue the war for the next 100 years. This is killing the young, the women all soliders. I am so glad He is not my priest and not in my parish.
+++++++++++++++++++++
This was proven to be false, McCain never said that the war should continue for 100 years. This was a lie the democrats put out there and the dems believed it.

Fr Newman did not say he would REFUSE Holy Communion to Obama voters. He said Obama voters should understand that he will support abortion at all stages. He has already promised to sign the FOCA when it comes to his desk. The only way to prevent that now is to keep it from passing both houses of Congress. I don’t think even Obama is arrogant enough to pass this by executive order.

What did the church do on Iraq war which has claimed innocent lives. Why did the church keep quiet and watch people
die one after the other. Were these lives not valuable at all????? Hypocrisy!!!
Posted by: FM | Nov 15, 2008 3:49:27 PM
——————————-
The Catholic Church did. I guess you skipped mass that Sunday huh?

The church should lose its tax exepmt status, but dredging this one up must have taken some work. How big is the Dioscese? As I recall, SC is about 2% Catholic.

The Catholic Church is one of the world’s largest sexist institutions. It is populated by men who will never know what it means to raise a child, keep a family together, pay a mortgage, worry about health care, find day care, pay tuition, or be concerned about a woman’s health or ability to raise a child.
American Catholics voted for Obama by 10%. Hopefully, this is an indication that they’re beginning to tell the Catholic Church to stay out of American politics.

Since large numbers of catholics voted for Obama, it is clear that the catholic church is loosing moral ground and needs to reform and go with the flow rather than be out of touch and leave the religion and state separate.

bishop martino of the scranton diocese had the pastor of every church in the entire diocese (this is a hundred or so churches) read a letter he wrote trying to guilt people into voting for the pro-life candidate… this was a literal endorsement of mccain… people here are livid… this bishop also is closing churches left and right and closed a number of catholic schools… to say he is unpopular is an understatement… but his worst crime has been his refusal to allow the teachers of the catholic churches her to form a union… one of the worst bishops we’ve ever had… but he is supported by the heirarchy of the catholic church… no wonder religion is floundering

Jake, could please report to us where is Obama’s change in action? Could you keep reminding him the promises he made to us?
His choice of Rahm Emanuel is not a change , specially when I saw this report:
How Rahm Emanuel Earned $16 Million
Barack Obama’s new chief of staff spent two years working as an investment banker in Chicago. Wassterstein Perella paid Rahm Emanuel $16.2 million and made him a managing director, despite the fact that Emanuel had never held a job outside of politics before. So what did he do to earn that kind of pay day?

Another big news story of year concerned the ecumenical council in Rome, known as Vatican II. Among the things they did in an attempt to make the church more “commercial” was to introduce the vernacular into portions of the mass, to replace Latin, and to widen somewhat the range of music permissible in the liturgy, but I feel that if they really want to sell the product, in this secular age, what they ought to do is to redo some of the liturgical music in popular song forms.

Simply why I, and millions of other Catholics, no longer are ‘practicing’ but rather are ‘recovering’

The priest is correct and the monsignor is a coward. The church was not instituted by Christ to make life easier on earth or conform to “the lives of everyday people.” In fact, Christ specifically says to pick up your cross and follow Him. It’s hard to live the life of a Christian. It’s hard to love people you want to hate, and it’s hard to speak up when you are ridiculed and told to be silent. But, we will not be silenced, and we will continue to vote our consciences.

These Right wing religious zealots make me sick.
This their holier than thou judgement of other people’s spiritual thinking is scary.
How different is Fr. Newman from Mullah Omar?
Boy, thank God for America.
If the Republican party allows these zealots to take over, the party is finished.

Nola,
It’s interesting that your “conscience” condones illegal war, torture of human beings, the death penalty, economics that favor the empowered and disfavor the disempowered, discrimination, and the ravaging of God’s environment. Are you 100% sure that Jesus would support this laundry list of Neo-Conservative views?
Are you sure?
It is inarguable that liberal views are far more aligned with the views of Christ than are conservative views.

To sisterdearest09 / Nov 15, 2008 1:18:24 PM
Is that how you justify your actions? I bet you were against and hated Gov. Sarah Palin because of her strong moral and religious convictions, and her decision not to abort her down syndrome son Trig. Gov. Palin being a walking pro-life example reminded all pro-choice women of their abortions. That’s why they were so against her.

None of this really matters. Once Barack Hussein Obama consolidates His power, we’ll all be forced to worship Him!

Jesus also said to ‘give to caesar what is caesar’s and give to God what is God’s’. Yes, literally, He was referring to taxation but He was also giving a lesson (in my humble opinion) on separating Church and State. If one believes that life begins at conception then one must conclude that abortion is an abomination and I can accept using this as the most guiding issue when selecting a candidate. However, there is nowhere in the Bible where this is stated and the concept is infered as an extension to the sacredness of life and the commandment to not kill. Also, if one accepts that life begins at conception then one must also accept that 50% of all natural conceptions miscarry naturally. Does God truly intend for this to occur? If you smoke or drink alcholol during your pregnancy is your soul then morally culpable for a birth defect in your child? Such that you shouldn’t take communion?
On the other hand, my assumption is that Jesus cares as much for the born as the unborn. A candidate who is a threat to the born is also unacceptable. So, in the end, neither Obama nor McCain are murderers but their actions (by commission or omission) will unfortunately lead to deaths. To say that one is better in the eyes of Jesus or the Catholic Church is out-of-bounds for the Priest in question in regards to denying Communion, Church teaching notwithstanding. Now if the Pope were to say it, as a matter of faith invoking infallibility, then it becomes more of an interesting discussion. But, my guess is he will leave to God what is God’s and we will all pray for a day when abortion does not exist.

As a cradle Catholic I fault the USCCB for not clearly and loudly speaking out exactly what the Church’s teaching is anent abortion. And urging their priests to do so early and frequenly throughout the election process. There was no need to cite candidate’s names, merely to ask Catholics to study what each one has said, and how they have acted on this issue. It’s both interesting and curious how many extraneous issues have been raised by commenters on this story. They seem to forget the essential fact: abortion of innocent human beings is murder. It’s a plain fact hidden from view given that more occur daily than lost their lives on 9/11. Now that the most pro-abortion candidate ever to run for the country’s top office has won, it’ll be infinitely harder not to have this evil become even more prevalent. And his effect on The SCOTUS will be even more disastrous for this issue.

For those people who say that the Catholic Church is irrelevent and losing believers, don’t you remember that in April of this year Pope Benedict came to the U.S. and the way he was received by President Bush, people of all walks of life, faiths, ethnic groups, rich and poor, powerful politicians?
Remember how the entire world mourned when Pope John Paul II died, how the Catholic Church led us during those grieving days, and how news of a new Pope was received. No other religious, royalty, or political leader in this earthly world is loved or brings the excitement like the Holy Pope! To us practicing Catholics, the Holy Pope is the most important leader in the world!

Pro-life? If Reverend Newman is really “pro-life,” where’s his outrage over John McCain’s killing of women and children in his many bombing runs over Vietnam? Did Jesus say it’s okay because they’re brown? If the state tells you to kill, is that Christian? Are the lives of the already-born any less sacred? What slimy hypocrisy, Reverend Newman. You should ask your parishoners’ forgiveness!

DONNA H
THAT IS ONE I DONT WANT TO GET STARTED ON—-HOW ONE LIFE IS SUPPOSIDLY WORTH MORE THAN ANOTHER.
SOCIETY SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE SICK AT TIMES.

I agree that there are other issues important to Catholics besides abortion.

more guilt from the catholic church…

like i sain it is those who think they are qualified to judge others—-freaking hypocrites

for those who say they are proud of what the father said…
maybe you can pay his salary or the taxes they will have to pay…
since we are finally stepping over the line and you don’t get to have tax free status AND threaten people with damnation for voting one way…
in this nation anyway.

dont condem the churches as we need them desperately—it is the people that think they own you that you have to be concerned with..the church needs to spread the word —but the decisions are our own…most women who have abortions do suffer afterwards with mental issues—-we all have some understanding of right and wrong.

Actually the Church is very clear about abortion. It weighs abortion above all other killing including war and the death penalty

Absolutely!

The right for a woman to choose is a freedom that was fought for. and what if abortion is over turned, Do you think that’s going to stop abortion I think not. Backroom and Backalley abortion will reemerge and the heath risk to females will increase . Women will travel to Canda or Mexico to get one. So this whole idea of overturning it is pointless weather you agree or disagree.Women will always get Abortion.

As a Catholic I would never personally condone an abortion, and would never even think twice about having one. However, I also believe that one of the strengths of America is the freedom of belief and speech. There are others in this country whose belief does allow abortion no matter what I think. I would do my best to convince them otherwise but in the end it is their decision if they think that life does not begin at conception. And I think that people should keep in mind that Obama and many Democrats are not pro-Abortion, rather they are just pro-choice in letting citizens make up their own mind…instead of having the Government dictate actions.

People will answer for their actions.

We finally got a Catholic Priest willing to stand up to politicians with the message of life and Christ and the Catholic Church beats him down.
Good for Him! God Bless Him.

Good for this priest sticking up for innocent helpless babies. The safest place in the world,for a baby, should be it’s mother’s womb. We NEED to stop these killings!!!!

First of all, the notion that “life begins at conception” is a misconception…! Life is a continuum, having begun about 3-billion years ago. Each one of us is a branch on the tree of life that has been progressing and evolving uninterrupted since it first began. Life is a process, and conception is merely a point in that process. To terminate a pregnancy in the early stages is morally equivalent to stepping on a snail. Secondly, a woman’s body (and all that is part of it) is her domain, and hers alone. Forcing a woman to carry a fetus to term against her will is as immoral as forcing her to have an abortion. A woman’s reproductive rights are more sacred than the contrived “rights” of any blob of protoplasm growing within her! As a man, I would be outraged if the government told me I had to father a child against my will. Forcing unwanted births on a woman (and on society) is the height of totalitarianism and immorality. On questions of morality, the Cahtolic Church has no credibilty, as they fostered the butchery of millions of people for centuries…!

Father Jay Scott Newman cannot make church law. He does not rule any Catholics, and would never be my priest.

I guess there are a lot of sinners then.

I commend Father Jay Scott Newman.
Standing up for Truth is what he has done. I agree if you voted for Obama as a Catholic I think you have made a grave decision to do so …IF you knew his ProChoice stance. It is the defining issue ..it was clear cut.
Jesus said we would be persecuted as he if we did not live by the world….more
so now than ever…..its evil to look good and good to look evil…thru the worlds eyes.
God Bless you Father!

Ya, Obama is terrible on abortion, especially considering his practical endorsement of Partial Birth Abortions. That procedure is pretty much evil the way I see it. Of course McCain wanted to bomb Persians. Let the culture of death continue!!!

This is very dangerous territory when churches brainwash their followers to vote for a political candidate based on a single issue. I guess it’s OK to have a murderer for a president as long as they have an non-prochoice view. Also, doesn’t this affect the 501c3 status of this church – when will they be closed down for breaking the law?

newman should be defrocked and tossed out of the clergy. if a person believes and has faith in god, what the person does, or does not do, good or evil, is between the person and their god. would think that only a person’s god can judge them when it comes to their god’s laws and no one else, not the pope, not newman as far as catholics are concerned. tired of these catholic clergy nut jobs, tired of catholics in general. they defend pro-life but are silent on same sex marrige, on their clergy’s pedophiles, sex offenders, criminals. bogus, are catholics.

if obama brainwashed american into voting for him.
what did bush do?
lulled the whole nation to sleep under the mantra of
“you are unpatriotic if you say i should not invade iraq”
bush has ruined this country and guess what, there are so many people brainwashed by the rep. mess,
they wanted to give them another four years.
now that is a good job of brainwashing right there.
bush brainwashed the american people
in everything, until we are waking up with no roof over our heads, no money in the bank, and no jobs.
now bush is the real brainwasher.

and until the catholic church, cleans up that mess they have going on undercover, with the priest and the little boys,
the catholic church needs to be quiet.
all i ever what them to volunteer to step forward to make comment on about anything, is come out once per month, and count down the pedifiles they are expelling from the church, and pressing charges against them,
The day the catholic church is no longer covering up for dirty priest, or paying off ruined life boys.
is the day i might start to respect them again.
they need to do a clean sweep of their priest. pedi. and racist.
some of their priest have things ALL mixed up.

The Bishop in this case directly contravened Christ’s commands and the priest correctly followed Him: ‘He who condones the wicked, he who condemns the just are both an abomination to the Lord…and as far as the Obama voters are concerned, they have supported all four of the sins that Holy Scriptures tells us cry to heaven for vengeance: Abortion (murder, Sodomy, Oppression of the poor especially that of widows and orphans and defrauding workers of their wages…also known as the great satanic sins…you simply can’t get more ‘evil’ than that…and the Bishop’s utterly ridiculous idea that we need to all ‘come together’ at this point is also contravened by Sacred Scripture: ‘What fellowship does light have with darkness?’. Apparently plenty according to the Bishop. God, himself, however forbids this speaking thus to satan: (Genesis 3:15): ‘I will put emnities (hatreds) between you and the woman, between her seed and your seed’. So…come together? Wrong..pray for them…and for our country…and for this seriously in error Bishop…

I guess this comes down to the definition of “murder”. The bible does not specifically denounce abortion, but murder and the church has chosen to include abortion in that. And yet God himself never spoke against the killing during war by soldiers it ,in my view, is justified killing. Therefore, when others choose to interpret abortion in cases of incest or rape as Obama does as justifiable and hence acceptable, isin’t it just the same as the church has done in their interpretation.
Furthermore, John Mccain cheated on his first wife. just out of curiosity, what is the church’s position on divorce? It seems to me father Newman is saying one sin is greater than the other, which is not what the bible says at all. He is saying Obama’s ‘sins’ are worse than Mccain’s such that those whovoted for him need forgiveness which they would not have needed had Mccain been elected, right!!!
Plus, if you want to argue the merits then that is one thing. Just do not misrepresent Obama’s views on partial birth abortion to try and demonise the man. I believe lying is a sin too.

Diana in California -
Palin’s gender and reproductive decisions have nothing to do with my view of her. She’s an ill-informed, deceitful, hate-mongering demagogue.

as for a priest telling people how to vote based on his views—-i think he is way out of line—he may express his views concerning himself—but others have to make their own decision —-WITHOUT SOME KIND OF GUILT ATTACHED.AND IF HE HIMSELF THINKS HE IS WITHOUT SIN,HE IS NOTHING MORE THAN A HYPOCRITE.

I REMEMBER THE CHURCH BEING AGAINST BIRTH CONTROLL—-WONDER WHAT THIS GUYS STANCE IS ON THAT ISSUE.—ABSTANANCE WE ALL KNOW HOW THAT WORKS—NOT

brez,
i pray what you have commented will happen SOON!

Being against birth-conrol and abortion have always been the doctrine of the Catholic Church, if you don’t accept them, no one is forcing you to go to church there. No matter how others want to change those policies, it’s never, ever going to happen.

The church again has shown how 2 faced it is. On one side of its mouth it talks about how bad abortion is and secondly, disproves somebody who teaches that. No wonder people quit going to Catholic churches.

What kind of double speak is the Monsignor putting out in this statement? I have never heard such a confusing statement on the subject. Again, it is an instance of political correctness run amouk. Have the Obamanites gotten to the Monsignor? I seriously wonder if the Pope supports the Monsignor on such a wishywashy, say nothing position on this important topic.

The Catholic Church has been infected by liberalism which a top psychiatrist has reported was a bonafide mental disorder. Why would somebody give up their personal responsibility to a governing body to tell you what to do?
I hope the Catholic Church dies soon or has a revival and denounces liberalism. I say fire most of the bishops first. They should send up a signal flare.

Funny, Seems the Catholic Church had no problem when a New Orleans Bishop excommunicted at least 2 individuals in the early 60′s for opposing integration.
Kill babies in the womb, and well the positon of many bishops is to discuss it. When will the bishops become men of action.

Fr. Scott Newman, like other old Southern Segregationists and heirs to that legacy are just trying to throw sand in our eyes. Otherwise, they’d wouldn’t give communion to people who vote for politicians who support the Death Penalty.
He and his conservative Catholic Bishop supporters apparently think abortion is more sexy than the death penalty. After all they know a lot about sex – especially involving priests and young boys, and then covering up the crimes.
They’re just trying to deflect attention away from their own sins and win back Catholics who defected to evangelical sects.
Recall that Jesus asked God the Father to forgive his persecutors, “for they know not what they do.” Newman and certain conservative Catholic bishops, however, know exactly what they do.
Now is time for their public penance.

“They can’t put that toothpaste back in the tube.”
Yes, but it looks like Msgr. Laughlin can clean up some of the sticky mess.

Correction: I meant: NO, he can’t. . .

another perspective….
“From a contemporary standpoint, some of the punishments and laws described in the Bible are viewed as being morally questionable, or even abhorrent. Some typical points of criticism of the Bible’s legal code include:
The Bible tacitly endorses certain forms of slavery; it records many laws and procedures dealing with slaves.
The Bible’s strictures on homosexual sex are seen as outmoded by some groups. As well, the Bible’s endorsement of capital punishment and its restriction on adultery are often viewed in a similar light.
On the other hand, more conservative critics are more critical of the Bible’s tacit approval toward polygamy.
Even among proponents of capital punishment, many of the crimes which the Bible records as punishable by death are not currently regarded as deserving of this penalty. Examples include idol worship, as well as the crimes of striking or cursing one’s parents.
Additionally, many of the military punishments recorded in the Bible would today be considered to be war crimes, or, at the very least, unwarranted and excessive.
These events are sometimes labeled “atrocities” by critics of Christianity (fundamentalist Christianity in particular), and presented as examples of ridiculousness, inconsistency and hypocrisy in those who subscribe to a literal interpretation of the Bible. One website summarizes the argument:
“Myth: The Bible is morally pure and free from atrocity. Fact: The Bible is filled with countless acts of barbarism and tyranny.”
The argument dates back at least as far as 1795, voiced by Thomas Paine in The Age Of Reason.”

There will always be abortion whether it’s legal or not. So it’s best to keep it legal.

Father Newman has the great faith of the Apostle Paul.
He has pointed out the great sin of abortion in our midst, and the complicity and sin of those who vote for those who bring abortion to our nation. Some voters think they can claim Christianity with their mouths and side with Satan in the voting booth….
It is refreshing to hear the truth about sin from from Father Newman.
Speak the Truth like Paul!

Christians make me scared for my life. They claim to be peaceful. But are known for two thousand years to be hateful, fear mongering, blasphemous people themselves.
If you want to pray for someone. Pray for yourselves. For the hate you have been taught. To see the clarity through your own mind. Through your own heart. And not that of a person claiming to be the word of “god”.
No body is pro-abortion. They just see things more rationally than those who are pro-life. If you outlaw abortion you will have girls getting illegal, and dangerous black market abortions. Its going to happen no matter how hard you pray. And obviously your praying has not helped thusfar. I do not think anyone. No human, has the right to tell me what to do with my body. Especially the federal government! They are not god. Nor should they play god. YOU ARE NOT GOD. And no where in the bible does it mention abortion. So you have no sanding on which to judge me. Other than you wanting to play god. Which you have no right to do so. Please. Go back and read each passage concerning judgment. Maybe you will have clarity.
If the rapture does happen. I dont see many people following Jesus to the heavens. Maybe a couple of people in this world. But those who hate in the name of God will receive the same judgment as those they throw stones at. And rightfully so.

We are born with discernment to see right and wrong and act accordingly.
This is not judgement or condemnation, you see what you see and you discern whether its right or wrong and act on it for your own life.
In the end we will answer for it individually.
End of argument

How sad, that many who have commented are jumping on the anti-christian bandwagon. I am proud of Fr. Newman for firmly stating the facts. In supporting a pro-abortion candidate for public office, a christian, does, indeed sin. The diocese should be applauding Fr. Newman’s veracity and not condemn it. As well, I see those who have written calling for the church’s tax exempt status to be revoked. So be it. When we put tax relief ahead of doctrine, we are all doomed to hell. This is the most important issue for contemporary christians. Make no mistake about it. May God help us all.

Monsignor Laughlin should apologize to Father Newman as should anyone who accused him of using the pulpit to preach politics. The Catholic Church in SC is playing politics and trying to be politically correct. Everything Father Newman did was correct – the media took the story and spun it to create a lie about the words he wrote in his bulletin to his parishioners. If the diocese is too blind to see this, then the Pope needs to appoint a Bishop who sees through the false allegations.
God bless, you, Father Newman! I pray more priests will be more focused on teaching and preaching the Gospels of LIFE!
Your parish is very blest to have you as their pastor!

Typical Catholic hypocracy. As soon as a priest recognizes the absolute truth of the matter, he is rebuked by the higher ups for not being “politically correct.” I left the whorish church years ago and started studying God’s word on my own. The “Roman” Catholic church can never seem to conclude exactly WHAT is God’s word. They flip-flop on all points that are not politically to their advantage. At least the priest is looking out for the unborn and for that I commend him. Seems to me like a no brainer, that is unless you are a hypocrite.

This whole discussion seems to miss some very important points:
1. The RCC is comprised of an heirarchy of humans( who are by nature fallible) and of doctrine which is derived from traditions and judeo christian scriptures. Therefore, the acts or words of some men and women in various strata of the RCC leadership may vary. Sometimes it will be in conformity with the RCC Catechism and Doctrine and sometimes some of them won’t.
2. Church affiliations are voluntary. A person can choose to be Catholic or Baptist where one cannot choose to be caucasia or hispanic. One can choose to be a Mason or Rotary Club etc…
each has their own set of rules, teachings and traditions. If one joins the Masons but thinks it should be run like the boy scouts, one should quit the Masons and join the boy scouts instead. Don’t get vindictive and hateful at the Masons for not wanting to be boy scouts. According to a proverb spoken by a Jewish Sage: two people cannot walk down the same road together unless they be agreed upon the direction they should go. This is a great insight into Human relations.
This is true for all human relationships, Marriage, clubs, religions, governments, countries, and global institutions. So if you dont like RCC Doctrine, then dont be a Catholic. Or go start your own church like Luther did.

Bravo to SuperVoodooDaddy,
Thank you for your common sense. This has to do with exactly what you called out. Every organization has rules – or they don’t stay an organization very long.
We join organizations if we find them appealing. After we join – and the rules are changed/altered – we have a choice. We can leave OR we can stand in the gap and call out the rulebreaker and stay.
This has nothing to do with hypocrisy you bunch of morons – we are ALL hypocrites. The Catholic Church has never claimed otherwise. Anything involving humans is subject to moral failure.
This has to do with a leader not following those rules we talked about – and that leader is the Monsignor.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church – for the non-Catholics (and some Catholics)playing along and adding their two cents without referring to the Doctrine steering this issue – is clear when it comes to abortion.
For the sake of debate, put away your opinion and embrace the facts:
The Catholic Church says Zero tolerance on abortion. Read par 2270-2275.
Paragraph 2272 says, “Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense.”
Formal cooperation – to take part in, allow, endorse, etc. Does anyone need any further explanation on what the meaning is?
Guess what the Catholic Church says you’re supposed to do after committing a grave sin (offense) and before receiving Holy Communion?
That’s right.
Go to Confession aka the Sacrament of Penance.
Just like Father Newman said.
The Monsignor only offered a portion of the Catechism that basically says we’re free to do what we want to do.
We are. It’s called free will.
What the Monsignor GROSSLY NEGLECTED to mention is that if you are Catholic, you will be held accountable for acting with that same free will against your doctrine.
Not a surprise. A lot of leadership kowtows to public opinion and heavy wallets.
Father Newman was standing by the rulebook. Then the Monsignor slapped him down.
Talk about shipwrecking someone’s faith in what he was told to believe in.
I pray for scales to fall from the leader’s eyes, so that the sheep they are leading may be fed the way Christ said they should, not the way leadership wants.

“Therefore, if a person has formed his or her conscience well, he or she should not be denied Communion, nor be told to go to confession before receiving Communion.”
In other words…
Then the snake said to the woman,’No! You will not die!’ God knows in fact that the day you eat it your eyes will be open and you will be like gods, knowing good from evil’ Gen 3:4

Hey, some great comments here. There are some great Priests coming up through the ranks; men who are willing to speak the Truth and preach the Gospel and allow themselves to be put on the Cross. God willing, some of those men will become Bishops in the next 20 years.

We in the Catholic Church are called to defend the life of a child who has no voice. There is no moral equivalent to that of supporting abortion. War and the death penalty are not morally equivalent to defending the defenseless. This Msgr is playing politics. There is a fear that people will leave the Church and eventually it will loose it’s tax exempt status. I for one would love to see Pelosi and Biden leave the Church. They are giving it a bad name so are all of the other supporters who have stood before God in Communion and choose not to ask for forgiveness. They refuse to see that they are crucifying Christ over and over again. Kelly, no one is telling you what to do with your body they are just saying what the Church believes. If you don’t belong then you shouldn’t be offended. The constitution gives people the right to protest to save a child. Women think they are being persecuted but in the end it’s the child that is being persecuted by the mother. I always tell young girls, you do have a right, don’t get pregnant. Then again so many women will and they suffer terribly from the abortion afterwards. These arguments always remind me of the story of Christ in the Temple. Actually I can’t wait until his retun to hold up this Priest and so many others for being real and defending life. Their position is the last battleground in faith that Christ has asked to be defended by the faithful. When one becomes versed on the messages that St. Faustina has relayed from Christ on the subject of life then they will understand. If we would only trust God and His mercy only then will the world change to bless unborn children to celebrate the beautiful world that we have been given to live in, only then will we be truly free.

It is because of priests like this that I am taking the RCIA (conversion classes to join the Catholic Church). The Church understands how we are living in a culture of death which is turning away from the way of Jesus.
God bless your courage, Father!

Why does Rome, a foreign government get to exert control over anything in the American poltical and secular world?

Lance. I understand your position but tt is obvious that you have been called by Christ to be a memeber of the faithful. Christ is in a battle for souls and this Priest understands that. If the Church as a whole does not stand up for life who will? I hope and pray you hold on to the decision that the Holy Spirit obviously endowed you with. God Bless you and your family.

Who is this man who speaks for God? Only God can decide who sins and who does not. Men like this will pay a price in the afterlife for their sins. This is why so many people repudiate religion. He probably would have participated in the inquisition.

Someone said it best on a talk show today: why is it those who are so concerned with “natural” and “green” are so inversely open to doing unnatural things to our own bodies – for example, those who are naturalists tend to be ok with: birth control (adding chemicals in our bodies to prevent a natural act); abortion (scraping out a natural being out of our bodies); gay and lesbian relationships (natural way is a man with a woman); etc. Wouldn’t one think that those who are dyed-in-the-wool naturalist understand that the above (and others) are part of being natural as well?
On another note: The church is just like a bank. We all use banks to store money and take money out. If we don’t like a policy or procedure the bank is supporting, you can take your money elsewhere’s. Likewise, if you say you are a Catholic and want to be a practicing Catholic, you have to play by the Catholic rules or go to another church whose rules you do agree with. Why do you waste your time complaining when you can enjoy yourself somewhere else? Com’on; put your brain cells to more productive use like how do we get out of this financial crisis instead of wasting time?

What about Obama’s other political positions; is there nothing that Catholicism and Obama both support? What about McCain’s political positions- I’m sure he has some that the Catholic church would consider morally wrong.
Voting for a president involves many, many issues. I am a Catholic, I support Obama because I believe he is the lesser of two evils, and I am dead set against abortion. I refuse to believe this is a sin or that I can’t hold all these beliefs simultaneously.

I think Father Newman was correct in what he said. Abortion, or voting for someone who is so pro-abortion, is definitely a serious sin. I am not entirely sure about excommunication since I feel that almost no sin is beyond God’s mercy to forgive if one is sincerely penitent. I think he was talking about a temporary excommunication until the person confesses. However, key to this is that the person is truly sorry for the offense. The bishop, I believe, was wrong. For those who don’t like Catholic doctrine, go elsewhere. It is what it is, and you have mega choices of churches to belong to if the doctrines are too restrictive for you. As for me and my husband, we are very devout and have no trouble following the rules. In fact, being aware of sinning against God, ourselves and others, has made us much better people. As someone eloquently put it, if you don’t like the club, don’t join. If you can stick with it, the rewards are great.

I so appreciate the position of the Diocese. My conscience and my belief in what is just is between me and God. When the church gets involved in the political arena, it is a distraction. I do not think any of us could deem the Republican Party to be God’s chosen party. Neither candidate is without sin, nor are any of us.

Father Newman is correct. The bishops as a whole agree with him and I am thankful for priests like him who understand where the battle is. It begins with life!

Kathy,
What part of “thou shalt not kill” don’t you undestand? This is universal in every major religion, with the possible exception of the “religion of peace,” of course. There are circumstances which allow killing such as self defense, but this is the most innocent and defenseless of all life, and certainly that doesn’t apply to abortions. So you can certainly continue to go to mass and receive communion, but you should be aware that every basic tenet of the Catholic Church is clear that you are committing a mortal (very serious) sin if you continue to do so. Same is true if you’ve had an abortion, performed an abortion, or vote for/pass legilation legalizing abortion. The Church is quite clear on this and has, in fact, told certain “Catholic” politicians that they should not be receiving communion while holding these views and being a proponent of abortion.

JaneP, your comments are so full of bias and misinformation. You quote from some other hokum site from some commentator that references 3 codes of Canon (1329, 1397, 1364). If one is to go to the Canon itself (which is easy to do) nowhere is it found that voting for a politician is “material complicity” in abortion, it is a huge stretch to say otherwise.
Leading scholars are saying that your approach has FAILED; concentrating on outlawing abortion is still allowing babies to die, when proven methods to reduce abortions (supported by the President-elect) will save FAR MORE babies than your short sighted failed policies.
Lets save all life, especially at the very beginning of life, by supporting women, lifting folks out of poverty, and encouraging women morally and finacially to carry their babies to term.
While you dawdle trying to outlaw abortion (your precious Republicans have done WHAT to outlaw abortion?) BABIES ARE DYING. Enough said.

Father Newman is a part of what drove me from the church. By choosing only one area of human dignity as area of most concern, an area that is very ambiguous and which even the church is unable to determine, when life begins in the womb, the church misses other ares of killing innocents. Why not use the same energy to oppose wars like the one in Iraq? Whe is the venom? Does Newman give communion to US soldiers fighting that war? And better yet what about the genocide in Ruwanda? Catholic priests actually participated in killing and encouraging others to kill innocents and the pope the church now wants to glorify with sainthood did nothing about it even when asked to do so. So the church obviously really does not now nor in history has ever really cared about human life. Talk about a self serving weak dogma when serious matters are at hand. What a weak institution that fails to stand up to what it says is its ddoctrine! And it wants to glorify the man who lead this approach! Shame.