Congressman Attacking The Church

[ironmonk]

[b]Clay plans to meet with archbishop on communion issue[/b]
LIBBY QUAID
Associated Press


WASHINGTON - A Missouri congressman thinks St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke "has gone too far" by saying that Roman Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should not receive Communion and that voters who support them should go to confession before receiving the sacrament.

Rep. William Lacy Clay, a St. Louis Democrat who favors abortion rights, plans to meet Monday with the archbishop.

"I think Archbishop Burke has gone too far; he is now delving into politics," Clay said in an interview on Friday. "Perhaps the Catholic Church should surrender their 501-C status."

Burke caused debate when he said in January he would deny Communion to Democratic presidential contender John Kerry, a Catholic who supports abortion rights. Shortly before leaving his former diocese in Wisconsin, Burke admonished Catholic politicians not to receive the sacrament.

Then last month, Burke said Catholic voters who back abortion rights should go to confession before taking the sacrament. Other bishops have expressed similar views.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted a statement last month warning lawmakers at odds with church teaching that they were "cooperating in evil." However, the statement left it up to each bishop to decide whether to deny Communion.

Clay, who attends St. Nicholas Catholic Church, said that if a priest refused him communion, "I would stand there."

"That's such a personal thing, between my God and me," he said. "I think it's an intrusion into uncharted waters that the church has never been in. They don't have the luxury of driving people away from the church right now. It's difficult for them to find priests and nuns, and if they continue on this track, they're going to drive people away from the church."

Like other lawmakers, Clay has surveyed his voting record to see how often he supports the Catholic church's position, which he said he has done 71 percent of the time.

Clay said, "I don't represent just Catholics; I represent a very diverse district filled with all types of religious denominations, so I cannot function in an official capacity just as a Catholic politician."

He remembered that he and his two sisters were asked to leave their Catholic school because the priest disliked their father's involvement in the civil rights movement. Clay's father, former Rep. William L. Clay, held the same seat in Congress for more than three decades.

"That's an indication the Catholic church has not always been in step with the rest of society in the United States," Clay said.

House votes prevented the two from meeting when Burke was visiting Washington recently, so their meeting was rescheduled. Burke could not be reached for comment Friday.

Besides Clay, other Catholic politicians in Missouri's delegation include Kansas City Democratic Rep. Karen McCarthy, who favors abortion rights, and northeast Missouri Republican Rep. Kenny Hulshof, who opposes abortion rights.

Clay and McCarthy were among 48 Catholic members of Congress who signed a letter in May warning that the church risks bringing "great harm" on itself if bishops decide to deny Communion to legislators who support abortion rights or take other public positions that are at odds with church doctrine.

Lawmakers said denying the sacrament to legislators based on their voting records "would be counter-productive and would bring great harm to the Church."

Earlier this year, Democratic State Auditor Claire McCaskill expressed disappointment at some Catholic leaders' decisions to shun abortion-rights politicians. She attends St. Gerard Majella parish, which is also in the St. Louis archdiocese.

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St. Louis Archdiocese: [url="http://www.archstl.org/"]http://www.archstl.org/[/url]

Rep. William Lacy Clay: [url="http://www.house.gov/clay/"]http://www.house.gov/clay/[/url]


[url="http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/politics/9120128.htm?1c"]http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/.../9120128.htm?1c[/url]
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Everyone please help me educate Clay!

We must make a difference... If you have family in St. Louis... please inform them, get them to spread the word... Vote Clay out.


I say to Senator Clay -

"God will provide for His Church. If you don't have reverence for the flesh of our Lord, then we do not want you. We do not want your blood money. We do not want you using our Church to get votes. We do want you if you truly care about your soul, and if you did, you would listen to the Church of God. "

God Bless!
ironmonk

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

[quote]"That's such a personal thing, between my God and me," he said. "I think it's an intrusion into uncharted waters that the church has never been in. They don't have the luxury of driving people away from the church right now. It's difficult for them to find priests and nuns, and if they continue on this track, they're going to drive people away from the church."[/quote]
When did the Church become a people-pleasing institution?

[ironmonk]

I just sent him an email.
You can send one to from: [url="http://www.house.gov/writerep/"]http://www.house.gov/writerep/[/url]

To get to him, use the zip code 63108. In address I put "Catholic".


Here is the email:

To The Honorable Wm. Lacy Clay ( this is an auto salutation, hence my first comment)

[quote]Honorable? There is no honor in a man that attacks the Church of God.

I just read this:
[url="http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/politics/9120128.htm?1c"]http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/.../9120128.htm?1c[/url]

How can you call yourself Catholic and make the statements that you did?
How can you call yourself Catholic and be for abortion?
You have an obligation to know the faith Congressman. If you cannot keep yourself in order with what you claim to believe, how can you be a competent congressman?

As for your statements:

God will provide for His Church.
If you don't have reverence for the flesh of our Lord, then we do not want you.
We do not want your blood money.
We do not want you using our Church to get votes.

We DO want you if you truly care about your soul, and if you did, you would listen to the Church of God.

If you are truly unaware of the faith, please come to one of the following websites and learn it. For the sake of your soul sir. For the Love of Christ.

[url="http://www.Catholic.com"]http://www.Catholic.com[/url]
[url="http://www.MoralTruth.com"]http://www.MoralTruth.com[/url]
[url="http://www.Phatmass.com"]http://www.Phatmass.com[/url]  - has a good message board with many knowledgeable Catholics... please use it, no one will know who you are.
[url="http://www.USCCB.org"]http://www.USCCB.org[/url]
[url="http://www.ScriptureCatholic.com"]http://www.ScriptureCatholic.com[/url]


God Bless, Love in Christ,
Max Brackett
iron_monk@hotmail.com[/quote]



God Bless!
ironmonk

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

Hoepfully he reads those e-mails... I wouldn't be suprised if we're sending text to a virtual trash can. It's worth the shot.

[ironmonk]

[quote name='thedude' date='Jul 11 2004, 12:34 AM'] Hoepfully he reads those e-mails... I wouldn't be suprised if we're sending text to a virtual trash can. It's worth the shot. [/quote]
I know bro... but if enough people write him, he'll hear about it.


God Bless,
ironmonk

[cmotherofpirl]

"I think Archbishop Burke has gone too far; he is now delving into politics," Clay said in an interview on Friday. "Perhaps the Catholic Church should surrender their 501-C status."


Perhaps Mr Clay should surrender his Catholic status.....

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='ironmonk' date='Jul 10 2004, 10:15 PM']Clay and McCarthy were among 48 Catholic members of Congress who signed a letter in May warning that the church risks bringing "great harm" on itself if bishops decide to deny Communion to legislators who support abortion rights or take other public positions that are at odds with church doctrine.

Lawmakers said denying the sacrament to legislators based on their voting records "would be counter-productive and would bring great harm to the Church."[/quote]
I cannot believe that anyone holding public office would openly threaten God's Holy Catholic Church. This is truly a sad day. I will pray all the more earnestly that these people experience God's grace and have a conversion of heart, and thus repent of the mortal sin of supporting abortion. I will also pray that the US Bishops have the strength to resist the threats being made against the Church by these "lawmakers," and that they stand up for the truth, and protect the blessed sacrament from profanation.

Edited July 11, 2004 by Apotheoun

[Dave]

[quote]Lawmakers said denying the sacrament to legislators based on their voting records "would be counter-productive and would bring great harm to the Church.[/quote]

Oh please, the ones who are bringing great harm to the Church are people like them who support abortion and who profane the Blessed Sacrament by receiving it sacrilegiously!

[St. Catherine]

[quote]"That's such a personal thing, between my God and me," he said. "I think it's an intrusion into uncharted waters that the church has never been in. They don't have the luxury of driving people away from the church right now. It's difficult for them to find priests and nuns, and if they continue on this track, they're going to drive people away from the church."[/quote]

The politicians have the right to mislead others in the faith apparently. They show by example that you can be personally opposed to abortion but you can support it for the rest of society. Unfortunately, I know many people like this and they continue to think that they are faithful to the teachings of the Church.

What they are doing by giving people this impression is not going help anymore people enter the religious life. If anything I think it would lead to a decrease becasue then we have more that do not fully understand their faith.

We should all pray for those that are being misleading and those that are being misled.

[Quietfire]

Ok, so I sent Sen. Clay an e-letter. I used the main body of Ironmonks letter and then added a few paragraphs of my own.

Every little bit helps right?

Peace.

[mamalove]

[quote]Earlier this year, Democratic State Auditor Claire McCaskill expressed disappointment at some Catholic leaders' decisions to shun abortion-rights politicians. She attends St. Gerard Majella parish, which is also in the St. Louis archdiocese.[/quote]

Not to get off the subject here, but does anyone else find this ironic? That she attends a parish named after St. Gerard?

[Lil Red]

i've heard that politicians would more likely respond if you send them an actual letter, not an email. emails are too likely to be deleted, and they think they are coming from an auto-response type of thing, but if you send an actual letter, it's more likely they will read it and respond.

[ironmonk]

[quote name='Lil Red' date='Jul 12 2004, 12:32 PM'] i've heard that politicians would more likely respond if you send them an actual letter, not an email. emails are too likely to be deleted, and they think they are coming from an auto-response type of thing, but if you send an actual letter, it's more likely they will read it and respond. [/quote]
A lot of them do get read... I've gotten replies from the majority of senators when I have sent them emails.

I write them often.

Sometimes it takes a few weeks, but I do get replies regarding the subject that I sent them.

Basically what happens, according to the Senators offices, is that they have people reading the emails, printing them out or putting them into a file on their data drive. Then they tally how many are for vs. againt whatever issue that the email covered.

The senators IT depts. can tell if something is autogenerated. If they all come from the same IP, then it's not as strong as coming from different IP's. (FYI for those that don't know... IP - internet position - it's like a street address but on the internet)

God Bless,
ironmonk

[Paladin D]

Sorry but I have to say it!!!

He is a [color=red][font="Impact"]MORON![/color][/font]

[Lil Red]

[quote name='ironmonk' date='Jul 12 2004, 09:39 AM'] A lot of them do get read... I've gotten replies from the majority of senators when I have sent them emails.

I write them often.

Sometimes it takes a few weeks, but I do get replies regarding the subject that I sent them.

Basically what happens, according to the Senators offices, is that they have people reading the emails, printing them out or putting them into a file on their data drive. Then they tally how many are for vs. againt whatever issue that the email covered.

The senators IT depts. can tell if something is autogenerated. If they all come from the same IP, then it's not as strong as coming from different IP's. (FYI for those that don't know... IP - internet position - it's like a street address but on the internet)

God Bless,
ironmonk [/quote]
what i stated is what i heard when watching a tv news program, they had someone come on (a political analyst or whatever) and that's what he said. but basically he said the important thing was not to send them a "form" email, to send the person a personal email was much better; but to send them a letter was the best. i like writing letters anyway.