Senator Durbin Can't Have It Both Ways; He's Either A Catholic Or An Abortion Supporter...Not Both

Politicizing the pulpit has been going on for a very long time, but the Left has been ascendent for the last generation. So it is heartening to see some push-back.

Springfield Bishop Paprocki repeats: Senator Durbin is not to be admitted to Holy Communion

In an unusual move, a bishop — Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois —has posted this public statement on the diocesan website:

I agree completely with His Eminence, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, who called the U.S. Senate’s failure to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act “appalling.”

Fourteen Catholic senators voted against the bill that would have prohibited abortions starting at 20 weeks after fertilization, including Sen. Richard Durbin, whose residence is in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. In April 2004, Sen. Durbin’s pastor, then Msgr. Kevin Vann (now Bishop Kevin Vann of Orange, CA), said that he would be reticent to give Sen. Durbin Holy Communion because his pro-abortion position put him outside of communion or unity with the Church’s teachings on life. My predecessor, now Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, said that he would support that decision. I have continued that position.

&topic=world_news"> posted by CBD at 12:00 PM

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