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Burke issues notification on abortion, euthanasia

By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
Bishop Raymond Burke of the Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse has issued a notification to Catholic legislators in the diocese, informing them that if they continue to support abortion or euthanasia they may not present themselves to receive Holy Communion.

The notification, dated Nov. 23, 2003, was released to the public in the Jan. 8, 2004, edition of The Catholic Times, the newspaper of the La Crosse Diocese.

Burke, who will become the archbishop of the St. Louis Diocese on Jan. 26, signed a pastoral letter and the notification to legislators on Nov. 23, before the official announcement of his appointment to St. Louis on Dec. 2. The notification and pastoral letter is available on the diocese's Web site, www.dioceseoflacrosse.com.

The notification and letter have triggered a great deal of discussion and arguing, especially about the issue of separation of church and state.

In his notification, Bishop Burke wrote that it is his duty as a church leader "to explain, persuade, correct and admonish those in leadership positions who contradict the Gospel of life through their action and policies."

The bishop said Pope John Paul II has frequently reminded that "those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that attacks human life. For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them."

A Catholic legislator "who supports abortion or euthanasia, after knowing the teaching of the Church, commits a manifestly grave sin which is a cause of most serious scandal to others," the bishop wrote, adding that such persons, according to the Code of Canon Law, the law of the church, "are not to be admitted to Holy Communion."

He called upon Catholic legislators in the diocese to "uphold the natural and divine law regarding the inviolable dignity of all human life. To fail to do so is a grave public sin and gives scandal to all the faithful."

In accord with Canon Law, the bishop wrote, "Catholic legislators who are members of the faithful of the Diocese of La Crosse and who continue to support procured abortion or euthanasia may not present themselves to receive Holy Communion. They are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, should they present themselves, until such time as they publicly renounce their support of these most unjust practices."

The pastoral letter is entitled "On the Dignity of Human Life and Civic Responsibility" and Bishop Burke writes that many Catholics misunderstand the meaning of "separation of Church and state," believing "that the Word of God, handed on to us in the church, has no application to political life."

"As Catholics, we face a special and critical challenge when the moral law demands something different from what society sanctions," he wrote. "In such a situation, many around us, and especially the communications media, will urge us to conform to societal standards, to 'follow the crowd.'"

Catholic teaching holds Catholics to defend human life from conception to natural death, he wrote, while some people will oppose capital punishment but support procured abortion and euthanasia. "We must work to point out the contradiction of protecting some human lives and not others, and work to protect all human life," he wrote.

"The responsibility to defend human life in all its stages falls upon all Catholic citizens," Bishop Burke wrote. "It falls, with particular weight, upon Catholic politicians."

"Jim Crow" laws that discriminate against African Americans are not considered "just" because the majority of the population supported them," he wrote, so Catholic politicians cannot defend their voting record on the ground that they are following their constituency or the will of the "majority."

"Catholic politicians have the responsibility to work against an unjust law, even when a majority of the electorate supports it," he wrote. "When Catholic politicians cannot immediately overturn an unjust law, they must never cease toward that end. At the very least, they must limit, as much as possible, the evil caused by the unjust law."

In conclusion, he wrote, "Our faith and our political judgments cannot be separate compartments of our lives; they must relate to each other in a life which is lived with integrity. This is especially true with respect to safeguarding the right to life, the foundation of all other rights."

Bishop Burke did not identify which legislators he wrote the notifications to, but some media outlets indicated that they included U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wausau, and state Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point.

State. Rep. Louis J. Molepske Jr., D-Stevens Point, issued a statement about the letter.

"Like most other legislators who are practicing Catholics within the La Crosse Diocese, I am currently reviewing the Bishop's statement on the church's position regarding pregnancy issues," Molepske wrote. "I intend to carefully consider his statement along with all other information when bills relating to pregnancy issues are considered in the legislature.

"The Supreme Court of the United States has determined that the law of the land allows a woman the right to terminate a pregnancy. Due to that ruling, no state legislature has the authority to substantially modify the right to an abortion as outlined by our Supreme Court. Therefore, the ultimate issue of whether a woman may obtain an abortion, as outlined by the Supreme Court, will never come before the Wisconsin legislature without a reversal by the Supreme Court or a constitutional amendment.

"My Catholic background is important in my decision making as your legislator. But it is one factor among many that influences my vote on individual bills. Issues in the Legislature generally are not black and white and in many cases require the legislator to adopt the greater good.

"In a perfect world absolutes prevail; however, in our imperfect world and our state legislature, I do not have that option."



	Burke issues notification on abortion, euthanasia By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette Bishop Raymond Burke of the Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse has issued a notification to Catholic legislators in the diocese, informing them that if they continue to support abortion or euthanasia they may not present themselves to receive Holy Communion. The notification, dated Nov. 23, 2003, was released to the public in the Jan. 8, 2004, edition of The Catholic Times, the newspaper of the La Crosse Diocese. Burke, who will become the archbishop of the St. Louis Diocese on Jan. 26, signed a pastoral letter and the notification to legislators on Nov. 23, before the official announcement of his appointment to St. Louis on Dec. 2. The notification and pastoral letter is available on the diocese's Web site, www.dioceseoflacrosse.com. The notification and letter have triggered a great deal of discussion and arguing, especially about the issue of separation of church and state. In his notification, Bishop Burke wrote that it is his duty as a church leader "to explain, persuade, correct and admonish those in leadership positions who contradict the Gospel of life through their action and policies." The bishop said Pope John Paul II has frequently reminded that "those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that attacks human life. For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them." A Catholic legislator "who supports abortion or euthanasia, after knowing the teaching of the Church, commits a manifestly grave sin which is a cause of most serious scandal to others," the bishop wrote, adding that such persons, according to the Code of Canon Law, the law of the church, "are not to be admitted to Holy Communion." He called upon Catholic legislators in the diocese to "uphold the natural and divine law regarding the inviolable dignity of all human life. To fail to do so is a grave public sin and gives scandal to all the faithful." In accord with Canon Law, the bishop wrote, "Catholic legislators who are members of the faithful of the Diocese of La Crosse and who continue to support procured abortion or euthanasia may not present themselves to receive Holy Communion. They are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, should they present themselves, until such time as they publicly renounce their support of these most unjust practices." The pastoral letter is entitled "On the Dignity of Human Life and Civic Responsibility" and Bishop Burke writes that many Catholics misunderstand the meaning of "separation of Church and state," believing "that the Word of God, handed on to us in the church, has no application to political life." "As Catholics, we face a special and critical challenge when the moral law demands something different from what society sanctions," he wrote. "In such a situation, many around us, and especially the communications media, will urge us to conform to societal standards, to 'follow the crowd.'" Catholic teaching holds Catholics to defend human life from conception to natural death, he wrote, while some people will oppose capital punishment but support procured abortion and euthanasia. "We must work to point out the contradiction of protecting some human lives and not others, and work to protect all human life," he wrote. "The responsibility to defend human life in all its stages falls upon all Catholic citizens," Bishop Burke wrote. "It falls, with particular weight, upon Catholic politicians." "Jim Crow" laws that discriminate against African Americans are not considered "just" because the majority of the population supported them," he wrote, so Catholic politicians cannot defend their voting record on the ground that they are following their constituency or the will of the "majority." "Catholic politicians have the responsibility to work against an unjust law, even when a majority of the electorate supports it," he wrote. "When Catholic politicians cannot immediately overturn an unjust law, they must never cease toward that end. At the very least, they must limit, as much as possible, the evil caused by the unjust law." In conclusion, he wrote, "Our faith and our political judgments cannot be separate compartments of our lives; they must relate to each other in a life which is lived with integrity. This is especially true with respect to safeguarding the right to life, the foundation of all other rights." Bishop Burke did not identify which legislators he wrote the notifications to, but some media outlets indicated that they included U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wausau, and state Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point. State. Rep. Louis J. Molepske Jr., D-Stevens Point, issued a statement about the letter. "Like most other legislators who are practicing Catholics within the La Crosse Diocese, I am currently reviewing the Bishop's statement on the church's position regarding pregnancy issues," Molepske wrote. "I intend to carefully consider his statement along with all other information when bills relating to pregnancy issues are considered in the legislature. "The Supreme Court of the United States has determined that the law of the land allows a woman the right to terminate a pregnancy. Due to that ruling, no state legislature has the authority to substantially modify the right to an abortion as outlined by our Supreme Court. Therefore, the ultimate issue of whether a woman may obtain an abortion, as outlined by the Supreme Court, will never come before the Wisconsin legislature without a reversal by the Supreme Court or a constitutional amendment. "My Catholic background is important in my decision making as your legislator. But it is one factor among many that influences my vote on individual bills. Issues in the Legislature generally are not black and white and in many cases require the legislator to adopt the greater good. "In a perfect world absolutes prevail; however, in our imperfect world and our state legislature, I do not have that option."