THE SILENCE OF THE SHEPHERDS. Based on Michael Chapman's Remnant Article. Many "Catholic" members of Congress are Catholic in name only. Catholics vote for them thinking they are Catholic but these Catholic politicians might as well be Jews as they oppose everything the Catholic Church teaches. They support abortion, birth control, homosexuality, embryo experimentation and oppose aid to Faith based organizations and parochial schools. As a result, these public leaders engage in objectively mortally sinful behavior which if not confessed will lead them to Hell upon their death. They also spread scandal and confusion, which hurts the faithful and the Church. And yet America's bishops largely are silent. Most do nothing as error spreads. A bishop rarely rebukes a Catholic public figure who is spreading error and poisoning young souls. Thus, it is not unfair to say that by their silence many U.S. bishops help foster scandal, false teachings and sin. The bishops, as a group, may issue a letter (usually under Vatican pressure) calling Catholic politicians to task. But such letters are rare. Many people don't read them. And prelates and priests do not read them in public or from the pulpit in church, where the faithful need to hear it. When did you hear Cardinal Bernard Law, for instance, publicly chastise Sen.. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) for his public support for abortion and contraception? Never! And Edward Cardinal Egan, when he headed the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., did he ever publicly--and firmly and clearly-- condemn the pro-abortion and anti-Catholic positions of Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.)? Never! .Does Egan, now Archbishop of New York, say anything in public about the pro-abortion and pro-homosexual actions of New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani? Never! Or has Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, publicly called on any pro-abortion Catholic member of Congress to mend his ways, go to confession, and practice the Faith, lest he risk losing his immortal soul? Never! McCarrick is silent. The unchallenged errors of pro-abortion Catholic politicians may influence clergy and laity alike. It may lead one to conclude, for example, that "if the bishop says nothing about Congressman X's pro-contraception views, then they must be all right." Or, "why should I not practice birth control? My Catholic senator supports it, and he's a good friend of my bishop. He even receives Communion from my bishop. Evil may indeed triumph when good men do nothing. It is a bishop's job and that of his priests to ensure that the Truth is taught and error condemned Critics complain that Pope Pius XII did not do enough to save the Jews during World War II. He did not speak out enough, they say. He did not publicly condemn the criminals in charge in Berlin, claim critics. Yet today, America's bishops do little--if anything--to
publicly condemn the criminals in Washington who support abortion. They stand by while Catholic politicians continue to vote for pro-abortion laws. They are silent as, the trains chug along to the abortion mills. All the while, pro-abortion Catholic abortions provide the funding and the "legal" sanction to keep the abortion trains running to Auschwitz and to keep the abortion "showers" operating. More than forty million babies killed since Roe v. Wade in 1973---an American holocaust. Do the bishops say enough? In enduring the public silence of today's Catholic shepherds, who can criticize Pope Pius XII? "American Catholics must be committed to the defense of life in all its stages and in every condition," says Pope John Paul II. "Abortion and euthanasia are thus crimes which no human law can claim to legitimize. There is no obligation in conscience to obey such laws; instead there is a grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection...."We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29)... In case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is never licit to obey it, or to take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law or vote for it." 2271 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states "..Abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes. Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life." Those who assist in the procurement of an abortion, financially or morally, and even those who only "believe" that abortion is licit are as objectively guilty as the person who has the abortion. As a result, they also are automatically excommunicated--in the objective order. Thus, it is fair to say that every pro-abortion Catholic in Congress is objectively guilty of a "moral evil" and has objectively been excommunicated. In a rare moment of clarity, the U.S. bishops said in a 1998 letter: "Catholic public officials who disregard Church teaching on the inviolability of the human person indirectly collude in the taking of innocent life.... We urge those Catholic officials who choose to depart from Church teaching on the inviolability of human life in their public life to consider the consequences for their own spiritual well-being, as well as the scandal they risk by leading others into serious sin. We call on them to reflect on the grave contradiction of assuming public roles and presenting themselves as credible Catholics when their actions on fundamental issues of human life are not in agreement with Church teaching. No public official, especially one claiming to be a faithful and serious Catholic, can responsibly advocate for or actively support direct attacks on innocent life." (Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics). Thirty U.S. bishops voted against the document and three abstained. Three opponents of the document were Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany, N.Y., Rembert Weakland, Archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Thomas Gumbleton, Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit. The document did not name any pro-abortion Catholic politicians. The laity were not told the names of the politicians directly responsible for the state-sanctioned killing of children. Nor was one pro-abortion Catholic public leader chastised by name in the letter or told that he was de facto excommunicated.
EXCOMMUNICATED CATHOLIC MEMBERS OF THE U.S. CONGRESS-2000 A.D. These congressmen from 1995 to 1999 voted in favor of various pro-abortion and proabortifacient birth-control laws as well as related laws concerning the funding of research for abortifacients birth-control programs abroad. Many of these congressmen also have defended abortion publicly over the years. Sources: National Right to Life Committee (NRLC Congressional Scorecard), January 2000).. Rep. John Baldacci (D-Maine). Rep. Thomas Barrett (D-Wis.) Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del) Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) Rep. David Bonior (D-Mich) Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA) Rep. Tom Campbell (R-CA) Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) Rep. William Clay (D-MO) Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) Rep. William Coyne (D-PA) Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY) Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) Rep. William Delahunt (D-Mass) Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn) Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich) Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn) Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif) Rep. Lane Evans (D-Illinois) Rep. Mark Foley (R-Florida) Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas) Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois) Sen Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) Reuben Hinojosa (D-TX) Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D-Mass) Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-Rhode Island) Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) Sen John Kerry (D-Mass) Rep. Jerry Kleczka (D-Wis) Rep. Nicholas Lampson (D-Texas) Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La) Rep. John Larson (D-Conn)
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) Rep. Bill Luther (D-Minnesota) Rep. James Maloney (D-Conn) Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass) Rep. Matthew Martinez (D-Calif) Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass) Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia) Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) Rep. Karen McCarthy (D-Mo) Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md) Rep. Tom Miller (D-Calif) Sen. Carol Mosely-Braun (D-Illinois) Rep. James Moran (D-Virginia) Rep. Connie Morella (R-Md) Sen. Daniel Moynihan (D-NY) Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass) Rep. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) Rep. George Miller (D-Calif) Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash) Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif) Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass) Rep. David Obey (D-Wisconsin) Rep. Ed Pastor (D-Ariz) Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Rep. William Pascrell (D-NJ) Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) Rep. Ed Pastor (D-Arizona) Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif) Rep Pat Schroeder (D-Colorado) Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY) Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif) Rep. Bruce Vento (D-Minnesota) Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-Indiana) A few on this list are no longer in Congress but are still excommunicated unless they take steps to have the excommunication lifted. Only a bishop can lift the excommunication.