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

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!

As a protestant father of eight I was leading my family into full communion into the Catholic Church with the guidance of Father Newman. He is a very caring individual who has the safety and concern for his flock at the top of his priorities. This politically correct action of the Diocese of South Carolina has disgusted me to the point to turn my back and leave this once believed fairy tale called the Catholic Church. Look now for the faithful believers who respect life to re-think this political makeup of the Church, another Schism on the horizon??

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.

We grew up very poor. My mother who would not use birth control, because it was against the catholic religion, kept getting pregnant. She used to put cardboard in her shoes because she couldn't afford a new pair. She worked 3 jobs to make sure we were all fed. Our priest, knowing the circumstancs of our family, finally told her to take birth control. Was he wrong in doing this. No, I think he probably saved our lives. Should my mother not receive communion because of this. Again, no. The church are all men and have no idea about women's issues.

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.

What the monsignor failed to explain was that Catholics are to exercise their 'free will choices' based on a FORMED conscience. That formation comes to us through the teaching's of The Holy Roman Catholic Church. Unfortunately, most Bishops and many of their Priests do not believe this anymore. So, when a Priest displays the courage (that they lack) to speak out in defense of Catholic teaching, we hear condemnations from the 'lame and lavender' who fill our chancery's.

"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

I think St. John Chrysostom had it right when he said "the road to hell is paved with the skulls of bishops."

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.

There is another aspect of this debate that is amiss: that is that of rights.

Most people are not aware what a Right or Rights is/are and where /how they are from. How many people have sat and thought about this? What makes a right a right. Why do rights exist? What is the nature of a right or rights? Are rights inclusive or exclusive. Do rights have boundaries? Why or Why not? If so, what are those boundaries?
What is the difference between rights and privilages.

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.

"The kind of person who contributes money to deny their fellow citizens their civil rights are not someday magically going to be part of the solution: they're the problem. These are not people to be reasoned with; they're ignorant, they're haters and they're bigots and the only thing people like that understand is power.

So when they stick their noses in other people's affairs, they forfeit the right to be considered just another "ordinary person". They're involved and they would be foolish to expect that those other people in whose private affairs they have meddled wouldn't return the favor. As they say: you pays your money and you takes your chances.

You don't get to heaven above by trampling someone else's heaven on earth."

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.

As I read the comments I am taken by the number of folks who bash the church. I dont get it. No one has to be a Catholic. I dont see Catholics bashing the Methodists or Lutherans. Nobody is twisting anyone's arm here. To those who want to leave the church or have left it - ok, so goodbye. I hope you find what you want somewhere else.

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!

I don't remember the Catholic Church telling their parishioners that voting for Bush in 2004 would be evil as he had invaded a country unnecessarily which resulted in tens of thousands of innocent civilians dying and many permanently maimed. Why do the living children and adults here not seem to matter as much as the unborn?
The subject of abortions should be addressed in regards to our efforts to lessen the numbers of them. Not by making abortions illegal but by making the circumstances that encourage that decision less frequent.
Deal with poverty and the number of abortions will go down.
Offer free sterilizations to those who already have the amount of children they have enough money, time, patience and energy for.It takes an enormous amount of all three to raise a child until they are 18, something those who want to ban abortions forget. It isn't about just caring for a cute little baby but about entering an 18+ year marathon. No one should presume to tell anyone they have to have a child. It should be a decision based on love and a realistic assessment of the ability to do the job of raising a child well.

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.

Superheater, not a mindless chant just a fact. Your argument is moot because it's already legal.

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

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

There will always be murder, assault, larceny, burglary, robbery, child abuse, arson, drunk driving, conspiracy, and tax evasion.

Another one of those mindless chants that can't survive the slightest second thought. Lets legalize everything and move on.