15 Catholic Senators Join the Catholic Hall of Shame by Voting to Fund Abortion
'Senate vote to table the Nelson - Hatch - Casey amendment is a grave mistake'.
The Catholic Senators who voted to fund abortion with tax dollars under the claim of 'health care':Patrick Leahy (D-VT), John Kerry (D-MA), Paul Kirk (D-MA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Christopher Dodd (D-CT.), Claire McCaskill (D-MO.), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Mark Begich (D-AK), and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
Print“…Over the past month there has been a great deal of discussion about the Stupak-Ellsworth-Pitts amendment in the House health care reform bill. Unfortunately, much of this discussion has been driven by misinformation about what our amendment does and does not do. I would like to set the record straight: Our amendment maintains current law, which says that there should be no federal financing for abortion.
Under our amendment, women who receive federal subsidies will be prohibited from using them to pay for insurance policies that cover abortion. The amendment does not prevent private plans from offering abortion services and it does not prohibit women from purchasing abortion coverage with their own money. The amendment specifically states that even those who receive federal subsidies can purchase a supplemental policy with private money to cover abortions.
Some opponents of the amendment have tried to argue that it would effectively end health insurance coverage of abortion in both the private and public sectors. This argument is nothing more than a scare tactic. The language in our amendment is completely consistent with the Hyde Amendment, which in the 33 years since its passage has done nothing to inhibit private health insurers from offering abortion coverage.”
The Senate version of the Reform Bill had the same fatal flaw. That is until Senator Ben Nelson stepped up to protect those whom Mother Teresa called the “poorest of the poor”, preborn children, from being killed with federal funds under the claim of providing “health care”. Sadly, the Nelson- Hatch – Casey Amendment was “tabled” - which means it was killed.
The President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Francis George, responded to this procedural maneuver with these words “The Senate vote to table the Nelson-Hatch-Casey amendment is a grave mistake and a serious blow to genuine health care reform…The Senate is ignoring the promise made by President Obama and the will of the American people in failing to incorporate longstanding prohibitions on federal funding for abortion and plans that include abortion.”
No one can claim to care about the poor and support procured abortion as a “choice” which should be funded with federal dollars extracted from the public for “health care”. As our Bishops have pointed out “killing is not health care”. This is particularly egregious when the claim is made by Catholics in public office. They know the truth.
Neither should any faithful Catholic ever defend the unconstitutional action of a Supreme Court which ruled that intentionally killing our first neighbors was a “constitutional right” and a “choice”. Some choices, like killing our neighbor, are always wrong. The US Supreme Court was wrong, Roe and Doe must go!
We need to be honest as a Nation. We all know the truth now. We operate on these children in the womb and place them back in their first home until they join us upon delivery. We prosecute people who in the commission of another crime kill them.
Our medical science has confirmed what our conscience and the Natural Law written on every human heart long ago revealed, these are our neighbors. It is always wrong to kill our innocent neighbors. Now, under the cloak of providing “health care” to also use federal tax dollars to fund this killing is reprehensibly evil.
Unfortunately, among the 54 Senators who did just that by voting to table this life saving amendment, 15 of them are professing Catholics. These unfaithful Catholics need to be added to what I recently called the “Catholic Hall of Shame”. Here they are:
Patrick Leahy (D-VT), John Kerry (D-MA), Paul Kirk (D-MA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Christopher Dodd (D-CT.), Claire McCaskill (D-MO.), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Mark Begich (D-AK), and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
Once again, some of my readers will find the action of listing these Catholic politicians and calling them “unfaithful” to be “harsh” or even “uncharitable”. However, I list them to invite our readers to specifically pray for their conversion, their return to the truth. I also list them in order to empower those in their Districts to use their vote and influence to defend the fundamental right to life from conception to natural death effectively.
If these faithful Catholic constituents cannot help these unfaithful Catholic Senators to return to the truth, they need to vote them out of office. Then they need to replace them with others who will defend the Right to life; even if that means running for the Senate themselves. This fundamental human right to life is not conferred by a civil government and it cannot be abrogated by a civil government. Killing is not health care, period.
- - -
Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
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Deacon Fournier, you are all charity calling for prayers for the "shamed" senators. I'll take you seriously when you start condemning the two diabolical wars and the 88 senators who passed the $636 billion military spending bill to keep them going. This has been going on for 7 years, where's the outrage, do American Catholics not care about this? Are they not pro live for everyone. Did not the church condemn the attack on Iraq? Why is Catholic Online silent on this matter?
With regard to the Catholic "Hall of Shame". Those elected leaders knew going in that their voting decisions would reach back home and beyond. Now is the time for prayer by pro-life Christians in order that the Senators might understand that they voted the wrong way. To those that know them and are pro-life, it's time talk to them one on one.
The Congressman and Senators who are Catholic and who support this health-care bill should be notified, by mail, that support of abortion will cause them to be ex-communicated.
The votes of Senators are a matter of public record so this site is not revealing anything that is not public. And, yes, I believe their Bishops should help them. All of the clery are doing their best;unfortunately their flock live in a highly permissive society more dedicated to doing what is politically correct, than what is morally correct.
Sins can and must be named and your articles do that very well. I don't think we should name sinners. I know I wouldn't want my sins to be made public. And, your article reflects the cart pulling the horse. The problems in the Church within the US did not start with the laity. They started with the USCCB and, to a large extent, still reside there. In fact, it is the Clergy that should be put on your wall of shame. They failed to teach and uphold the faith, committed great sins of scandal, and now are playing politics as opposed to governing the Church to ensure that only one authenic voice is heard by the faithful in faith and moral issues. When and how often have they condemmed the contraceptive mentality which directly led to abortion? Why are millions of lay catholics being trained and retrained on how to handle children when the Bishops and Priests were the culprits? The clergy still don't take the ownership they should regarding those sins. We need and yearn for consistent and strong leadership but its not here yet but there are signs that it just might be on the horizen. There should be millions of catholics in Washington for the pro life rally this January. We'll see.
Peace be with you,
Bob
We know how God will vote.
But how will we, who profess to be Catholics and profess to believe in our fath, vote at the ballot box?
I certainly hope the bishops of these Senator's diocese will indeed be Shepards of the Flock and make every effort to return these wayward sheep to the straight path. These folks need to be told publicly that they are doing wrong and endangering their eternal salvation. It is basic teaching of the church that one should not receive the body and blood of our saviour while not in the state of grace. Deliberate voting for abortion is a conscious action resulting in an intentional breaking of favor with God and therefore such persons should refrain from blasphemouis reception of the body and blood of Christ our Saviour. Further, Bioshops who do not vigoursly inform such public figures of their actions and influence on other Catholics are remiss in their duties as Shepards if God's flock.
Wow...are all of you free of sin? Is there anyone tracking all of your decisions in life and threatening to excommunicate you? As a Catholic I am saddened by all the judging I read on this website. I think it's great that we encourage our senators to vote for the amendment, but to feel the need to pass judgment on these individuals is wrong.
Our senators/congressmen are supposed to represent and vote according to the will of the people in their district, not their personal beliefs. How would all of you feel if your senator were muslim and decided to promote their personal muslim beliefs in the senate rather than the will of the people? Separation of church and state is a good thing and right now I am concerned about the involvement of the Catholic Church in the government...may not be Catholics next time.
Shame on all of you. How do you
think God will vote.
Canon 1398 provides that, "a person who procures a successful abortion incurs an automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication." This means that at the very moment that the abortion is successfully accomplished, the woman and all formal conspirators are excommunicated. It would seem to me that whether directly or indirectly, these senators are helping women commit one of the most heinous sins in the eyes of God and have therefore, excommunicated themselves. To prevent further scandal among the faithful, and to send a strong statement about the immorality of these acts, I believe it is time for our bishops to make it formal. Excommunications can be lifted once the offender has made a good confession; perhaps it is time to take a hard public stand while working behind the scenes to help these senators live their baptismal promises as children of God.