O'Lielly and Father Murphy discuss the Pope and American Catholics

[Democrat 4 Ever]

Newshounds is a great site with a lot of information. They have included an interview that O'Lielly did with a Father Murphy about the new Pope involvement in our last election, how there is a need to rein in American Catholics and where this is all heading. The interview is quite interesting.

On Wednesday (4/20/05), host Bill O'Reilly and Father Gerald Murray, canon law expert and pastor of St. Vincent's Church in NYC, discussed the new Pope's attitudes toward liberal Catholic politicians like John Kerry and Mario Cuomo. It would seem, if Pope Benedict XVI had his 'druthers, the Catholic Church will be exerting pressure on Roman Catholic legislators, possibly forcing them to choose between their religion and the best interests of their constituency. Additionally, according to a report discovered by News Hound reader Dee Pb.D., it seems that the tentacles of the Bush family reach to the highest echelons of the Catholic Church.

O'Reilly began the segment by reading a portion of a letter then-Cardinal Ratzinger sent to the American bishops last summer: "Regarding the grave sins of abortion or euthanasia, when a person's formal cooperation becomes manifest, case of a Catholic politician consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws, his pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church's teaching, informing him he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings an end to the objective situation of sin and warning him he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist."



Father Murray approved of the content of this letter stating that "abortion is always gravely evil and those that vote to legalize it or to pay for it are doing something gravely wrong." O'Reilly seemed genuinely surprised that it was Cardinal Ratzinger - now Pope Benedict XVI - who authored the letter, which FOX News and the right wing media machine gleefully used to corral American Catholic voters into the GOP camp prior to the last election.

O'REILLY: ... And then Ratzinger said he didn't want people to be excommunicated - politicians to be excommunicated ... The American bishops, a lot of them, said "Phooey! We're not gonna do that!" And they did give John Kerry communion.

MURRAY: Well, that's something I'm not too happy about. I think Cardinal Ratzinger was right. Those in Congress who vote to keep abortion legal or to pay for it are doing something gravely unjust.

O'Reilly asked about the politicians who say "I'm personally against it, but I can't impose my religious belief on other Americans and Roe v Wade is the law of the land."

MURRAY: If - I say they're wrong because slaveholders said "I'm personally against slavery, but since it's legal, I want to keep my slave property," I'd say you're a fraud. You're telling something that's not true. If you're really against something, you fight against it. And the "personally opposed" thing is always used by politicians when it's about about abortion. But if it's about capital punishment, it's the other way around - "My religious faith inspires me to fight what I consider to be unjust."

O'REILLY: Do you think that the new Pope is going to excommunicate all Catholic politicians who support abortion rights in this country?

MURRAY: The issue is not excommunication, really. Really, the issue is to get them to change their minds.

O'REILLY: Well, is he gonna threaten them? 'Cause that'll cause really big problems. Church and State problems. Image problems for the Pope. You know, that would be a disaster.

MURRAY: I don't think it's a disaster when we restate Catholic teaching and then ask Catholics to follow it. I think in fact that inspires the faithful and, remember, the eternal salvation of Catholic politicians is in play here. You oppose God's law, you're putting your soul at risk.

Read the rest of the interview here -

http://www.newshounds.us/2005/04/22/unholy_trinity_president_pope_and_prodigal_brother.php#more

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