Bishop's Stand on Lawmakers Prompts Reaction

[Theophylact]

This story from the Wisconsin State Journal raises some familiar questions about Church-State relations. Let me say I think that

(1) given the Bishop's pastoral role and the Catholic Church's doctrine, he has not only the right but probably the duty as well to deny the sacraments to pro-abortion legislators; and that

(2) given the Catholic legislators' oaths of office, they must either ignore such pressure or resign their seats.

Nobody ever said this was easy. But that's why separation of Church and State is important.

[wallie_x]

I find the argument against the bishop weak. You cannot say "I am a Catholic Christian' yet support something the church teaches as diametrically evil. The church views abortion as murder, which is at direct opposition to Jesus’ command to "Love one another'. If you support ideas that are blasphemous, which abortion is to a real follower of Jesus, then you are not really a Catholic and should be denied the sacraments.

To say "I must represent to values of my constituency" is a total cop out. I see it as equivalent to, "I was just following orders" as an excuse to justify ones behavior during a war.

When a person is elected they must use moral judgment to legislate as laws are based on an ethos of morality, but the problem is with our more pluralistic society what or whose morality do we uphold?
I say the morality of the majority.