For an 'Obamacon,' Communion Denied
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008; A15
Word spread like wildfire in Catholic circles: Douglas Kmiec, a staunch Republican, firm foe of abortion and veteran of the Reagan Justice Department, had been denied Communion.
His sin? Kmiec, a Catholic who can cite papal pronouncements with the facility of a theological scholar, shocked old friends and adversaries alike earlier this year by endorsing Barack Obama for president. For at least one priest, Kmiec's support for a pro-choice politician made him a willing participant in a grave moral evil.
Kmiec was denied Communion in April at a Mass for a group of Catholic business people he later addressed at dinner. The episode has not received wide attention outside the Catholic world, but it is the opening shot in an argument that could have a large impact on this year's presidential campaign: Is it legitimate for bishops and priests to deny Communion to those supporting candidates who favor abortion rights?
A version of this argument roiled the 2004 campaign when some, though not most, Catholic bishops suggested that John Kerry and other pro-choice Catholic politicians should be denied Communion because of their views on abortion.
The Kmiec incident poses the question in an extreme form: He is not a public official but a voter expressing a preference. Moreover, Kmiec -- a law professor at Pepperdine University and once dean of Catholic University's law school -- is a long-standing critic of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision.
Kmiec, who was head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in the late 1980s, is supporting Obama despite the candidate's position on abortion, not because of it, partly in the hope that Obama's emphasis on personal responsibility in sexual matters might change the nature of the nation's argument on life issues.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Newsvine
Furl
Google
Yahoo
Why him of all people?
If they meant to make an object lesson, then why pick this Republican? Are they trying to say "Even him, yes even him"?
If they deny communion to those who support abortion rights, then they should also deny it to those who support the death penalty.
He's actually a prominent
He's actually a prominent enough dude that his opposition to Roe v Wade is noted. I think they're classifying his as a traitor. Meanwhile, he says he supports Obama in spite of his abortion views.
You're right about the capital punishment thing.
Cardinal Ratzinger fought like hell to get GWB...
Cardinal Ratzinger fought like hell to get GWB re-elected in 2004. Usually Roman Catholics are overwhelmingly Democratic. Here's a detailed breakdown from the authoritative La Republica (in English).
“Just as in American political parlance we speak of ‘red states’ and ‘blue states,’ meaning states that tend to vote Republican or Democrat, one can tongue-in-cheek say that the Vatican has ‘red dicasteries’ and ‘blue dicasteries,’ meaning offices that tend to be more sympathetic to Bush or to Kerry.”
The 'red' dicasteries, those more inclined to support Bush, would be the following:
Note that these were the actual focal points of power (the Pontifical Academy for Life has nothing to say about executions, not even a feeble pretense at even-handedness). Nothing about warfare either.
Here's a Salon article on the actual outcome.
The Vatican is in some respects like a hyperconservative UN, only with no voting. It is obsessed with its image, and tries to disassociate itself with actual policies and events that are unpopular, while endorsing the actions and attitudes that led up to them.
So the message is, "Yes,
So the message is, "Yes, even him."