Cardinal slams AB 374 -- and Nunez
The Los Angeles Times today says (click on this post's title) that at noon Mass today, Cardinal Roger Mahony blasted AB 374, the patient-death-by-doctor "assisted suicide" bill pending in the Assembly, as "an assault on life," "a danger" and an element of "the culture of death."
The Cardinal also ripped Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez by name for backing the bill, saying, "We should be troubled at his support. Somehow, he has not understood the Culture of Life."
As we know, Nunez said in February that he was "ready to buck my Church" over this bill.
Cardinal Mahony cited Pope John Paul II's encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) . Sections 57, 66 and 72 of that document condemn suicide and assisted suicide.
In Section 90 of that encyclical, Pope John Paul II says politicians ("civil leaders") may never abdicate their responsibility to defend "the lives of all."
"Civil leaders" includes you, Nunez!
By the way, as we recall, today is the second anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death.
The question remains, why would Nunez feel emboldened to "buck my Church?" The answer is that he anticipates no penalty from Cardinal Mahony or any of the U.S. bishops.
That is the sad reality.
Time for the U.S. bishops to back up their words with actions. Not that I expect that to happen.
The Cardinal also ripped Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez by name for backing the bill, saying, "We should be troubled at his support. Somehow, he has not understood the Culture of Life."
As we know, Nunez said in February that he was "ready to buck my Church" over this bill.
Cardinal Mahony cited Pope John Paul II's encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) . Sections 57, 66 and 72 of that document condemn suicide and assisted suicide.
In Section 90 of that encyclical, Pope John Paul II says politicians ("civil leaders") may never abdicate their responsibility to defend "the lives of all."
"Civil leaders" includes you, Nunez!
By the way, as we recall, today is the second anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death.
The question remains, why would Nunez feel emboldened to "buck my Church?" The answer is that he anticipates no penalty from Cardinal Mahony or any of the U.S. bishops.
That is the sad reality.
Time for the U.S. bishops to back up their words with actions. Not that I expect that to happen.
posted by Quintero at 5:58 PM
3 Comments:
The Long Beach Pres-Telegram put the story on the front page this morning:
http://tinyurl.com/2kbh5t
Here are 2 quotes from Catholic that show the extent of ignorance in the archdiocese:
[i]Long Beach resident Vincent Nelson is Catholic and said he disagreed with Mahony and the church. "I think if a person wants to die, he wants to die," Nelson said. "If they have no hope, they have a choice. Why take up their time?" Long Beach resident Kristen Davis also said that she supports the bill. "We supposedly live in a free country," she said.[/i]
[i]Mike Indovina, a Catholic Long Beach resident, agreed with Mahony and said he does not support the bill at all. "I don't have an educated reason why, but I just don't think it should be legal," Indovina said, adding that he felt that it was simply morally wrong.[/i}
Two comments:
(1) the Cardinal has almost zero moral authority due to his handling of the sex abuse case
(2) The comments of the lay people, both for and against the bill, reflect the awful level of catechesis in the archdiocese. That is a reflection on the Cardinal and his team. They have decided to soft-pedal the Faith and, through events like REC, even undermine it.
All of that being said, I do congratulate the Cardinal on going public with his opposition. I didn't think that he would.
Paul in Long Beach
Dear Paul,
Thank you for the excerpts from the news story.
Yes, the level of catechesis has been abysmal. And what does that say about the usefulness of the Religious Education Congress!
Give credit where credit is due. HizEminence did the right thing. I'm especially proud of him because he pointed out Nuñez by name.
Now if only he would be just as vigilant on other social ills that the Culture of Death has wrought upon us., i.e. pornography, the sexualization of children, moral relativism . . . . . . .
Post a Comment
<< Home