It
is about time that a US bishop spoke
out this clearly and forcefully. Now
let us see if the Catholic bishops in
the USA actually follow through. "Purge
the evil person from your midst."
(1 Cor 5:13b).
US
Bishop on unrepentant pro-abort pols:
Treat them as a tax collector or Gentile.
Expel him.
Christine
Dhanagom Thu Aug 11 15:15
EST Abortion
FARGO,
North Dakota, August 11, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com)
- The Church should seek the conversion
of pro-abortion politicians, but if
they remain obstinate they should be
expelled from the Church, says Bishop
Samuel Aquila of Fargo.
The
Bishop proposed in an interview
with Catholic World Report this week
that Bishops should take their cue from
the Gospel of Matthew in handling pro-abortion
politicians.
"Our
Lord tells us to speak to the person,
and then take two or three others with
us if he does not change,‰ he
said. „If he still does not change,
the Church can speak to him, which is
done through the bishop. [The bishop]
exercises the authority of Christ. Christ
then says that if that person is still
obstinate and will not change, treat
them as a tax collector or Gentile.
Expel him."
The
Bishop continued: "Catholics are
called to defend human life, particularly
that of the unborn. The Church‚s
teaching is clear. If we don't challenge
public officials who reject this teaching,
we leave them in their sins and confuse
the faithful."
Aquila,
who has been the spiritual head of the
diocese of Fargo in North Dakota for
ten years, is well known for his support
for the pro-life cause.
His
active support for the 40 Days for Life
campaign in Fargo included sending a
letter to the priests of the diocese
asking them to sign up for an hour of
prayer outside an abortion clinic. He
has also personally led prayer vigils
outside Fargo‚s only abortuary.
The
Bishop told Catholic World Report that
his commitment to pro-life advocacy
began in the 1970s, when he got a glimpse
of the devastating aftermath of an abortion
as an orderly in an emergency room in
Colorado.
"A
woman who had had an incomplete abortion
was brought in. Those of us working
in the emergency room were pro-life
and had had nothing to do with the abortion,
but were trying to help the woman afterward,"
he said.
"It
was there I first saw the remains of
an unborn child, about three and a half
months along. It really impacted me.
It was impressed in my mind and my heart
and that this was a human life. It had
now been forever destroyed. Ever since
then I've been outspoken on human-life
issues, and tried to help people to
understand the dignity of human life."
Aquila
also told the news service that clergy
should be outspoken in defending the
Church's teaching in other areas, as
well, particularly regarding the sanctity
of marriage.
"The
Church has been clear that marriage
can only be between a man and a woman,
and we need to continue to speak clearly
to society on the truth, dignity, and
meaning of marriage," he said.
"For
to me to live is Christ, and to die is
gain." (Phil 1:21)