{"id":204175,"date":"2019-06-11T05:48:15","date_gmt":"2019-06-11T10:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=204175"},"modified":"2019-06-10T12:55:24","modified_gmt":"2019-06-10T17:55:24","slug":"illinois-bishop-bans-pro-abortion-communion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/illinois-bishop-bans-pro-abortion-communion\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois Bishop bans pro-abortion lawmakers from Holy Communion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In a June 6 press release, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois stated that Catholic politicians who voted in favor<\/a> of the extreme abortion legislation<\/a> in the state last week should not present themselves for Holy Communion at Mass at any church in the diocese. The decree mentioned House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton by name, due to their role in directly facilitating the bill, but also applies to any Catholic politician who voted for the most recent bill\u00a0or<\/em> House Bill 40 in 2017. HB 40 allowed Medicaid-funded abortions<\/a> in the state and has led to a significant increase<\/a> in out-of-state women coming to Illinois to receive abortions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bishop Paprocki called the politicians’ actions “gravely immoral,” stating that they have “acted in a seriously sinful manner unfaithful to the 2,000-year-old Christian teaching against abortion,” meaning they are “outside of the full communion of the Catholic Church.” Paprock added, “Such persons are not to receive Holy Communion until they have celebrated the sacrament of reconciliation and displayed a public conversion of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paprocki anticipated some backlash, given the Catholic church’s own “failings with regard to the abuse of children,” but says that this “same justifiable anger… should prompt an outcry of resistance against legalizing the murder of innocent children. The failings of the Church do not change the objective reality that the murder of a defenseless baby is an utterly evil act.”<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0\u2018Dark day\u2019: Illinois lawmakers pass abortion bill far worse than New York\u2019s<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

He also noted the need for society to support and help pregnant mothers in need. “… [M]any unplanned pregnancies come with fear and difficulty. It is our obligation, as a society, to be there for these pregnant mothers, help them in any way possible, and empower them to make life affirming decisions. This also includes continued support for the mother and her child after birth. We must acknowledge a child in the womb is not a problem. He or she is a gift from God.”<\/p>\n

As Bishop Paprocki stated in a minute-long video<\/a> to the Catholic faithful of his diocese, this directive is meant to be pastoral, not punitive.<\/p>\n