Catholic Church: WE’RE NOT WRONG SO SHUT UP! Kennedy barred from communion by bishop

Almost 80% of Filipinos are Roman Catholic. That includes myself. Along with many people who hold progressive views and fight for social justice. It is a contradiction that many of us must confront on a daily basis.

With that said, the Catholic Church has been wrong on many, MANY issues. It’s no surprise people leave the church and there’s currently a shortage of men entering the priesthood. Despite the fact the hierarchy has proven to makes big mistakes, they still act like they’re infallible.

If bishops are prepared to bar communion to people who disagree with the Vatican, will they do the same to people who support capital punishment or those who voted for the Iraq War? I doubt it. This contradiction, along with a little something called history, convinces me that the Church isn’t an institution that can be counted on to always be right. They’re human beings who run a church. Humans can be wrong and make mistakes. It’s pretty simple.

An important quote from Kennedy: “The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy of the church on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic. I embrace my faith which acknowledges the existence of an imperfect humanity.”

The Church can’t bar me from having a relationship with my faith. No matter how hard they may try.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091122/ap_on_re_us/us_ri_bishop_kennedy

Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I. speaks during a health care news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, in this Sept. 22, 2009 file photo. Kennedy says Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has barred him from receiving communion because of his support of abortion rights. The Providence Journal reported on its Web site Sunday Nov. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg, File)

By RAY HENRY, Associated Press Writer Ray Henry, Associated Press Writer – 3 mins ago

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has banned Rep. Patrick Kennedy from receiving Communion, the central sacrament of the church, in Rhode Island because of the congressman’s support for abortion rights, Kennedy said in a newspaper interview published Sunday.

The decision by the outspoken prelate, reported on The Providence Journal’s Web site, significantly escalates a bitter dispute between Tobin, an ultra orthodox bishop, and Kennedy, a son of the nation’s most famous Roman Catholic family.

“The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion,” Kennedy told the paper in an interview conducted Friday.

Kennedy said the bishop had explained the penalty by telling him “that I am not a good practicing Catholic because of the positions that I’ve taken as a public official,” particularly on abortion.

He declined to say when or how Tobin told him not to take the sacrament. And he declined to say whether he has obeyed the bishop’s injunction.

The paper said the bishop’s spokesman declined to address the question of whether he had told Kennedy not to receive Communion. But the bishop’s office cast doubt on Kennedy’s related assertion about instructions to state priests.

“Bishop Tobin has never addressed matters relative to public officials receiving Holy Communion with pastors of the diocese,” spokesman Michael K. Guilfoyle told the paper in an e-mailed statement.