Public Officials Under God

Public Officials Under God

I always appreciate the writing of E.J. Dionne. Of all political commentators that I am aware, his political philosophy seems closest to mine. It is nice to see him be able to so clearly articulate what I try to say, but often can't find the right combination of words.

I was deeply troubled during the 2004 presidential campaign when Catholic bishops publicly endorsed the idea of denying Communion to John Kerry. It seemed to me to be un-Christ-like behavior, and it forced me to (once again) visit my reasons for remaining with the Catholic Church.

I'm glad to see some of our political leaders come out with a statement addressing this complicated issue.

Comments

Sean Meade said…
this issue does need to be addressed.

still, i want to 'take issue' with your issue ;-)

i voted for Kerry.

at the same time, i support the bishops' right to do what they did. the church has a position on abortion that they consider to be essential. the Catholic church is not a democracy. (tangent: great quote by Jeremy Irons in The Mission about the monks being not in a democracy, but an 'order'. on the other hand, the church was dead wrong there, so don't use that in my argument ;-)

Jesus was very exclusionary about Himself. 'he who has the Son, has life. he who does not have the Son, does not have life.' i do not believe that it is inherently un-Christ-like to deny someone communion on good, theological grounds. while i would not do it based on a nuanced abortion position, i can understand why the Catholic Church does.

as the column says, this issue needs to be debated, especially within Catholicism.
10:39 AM
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