The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 3 of 13)

On Oct. 18, Catholic World News reported news that suggests John Kerry may have self-excommunicated himself.

p>A consultant to the Vatican, Fr. Basil Cole, wrote to Los Angeles canon lawyer Marc Balestrieri, who has formally sued John Kerry in ecclesiastical court for heresy, that "if a Catholic publicly and obstinately supports the civil right to abortion, knowing that the Church teaches officially against that legislation, he or she commits that heresy envisioned by Can. 751 of the Code [of Canon Law]. Provided that the presumptions of knowledge of the law and penalty and imputability are not rebutted in the external forum, one is automatically excommunicated…" While this is an unofficial response, it seems clearly to say that any pro-abortion Catholic politician is a heretic and self-excommunicates himself or herself based because of that position. The positions of Kerry and others on abortion, homosexual unions and embryonic stem-cell research are separating faithful Catholics from secular Catholics, regardless of whether they or not they wear a clerical collar or call themselves bishops. br> -- C. Kenna Amos Jr. br> Princeton, West Virginia /p> p> MEATHEADNESS br> Re: P. David Hornik's Animal Rights: A Question of Humanity and the "Humane Society" letters in Reader Mail's Dreamland : /p> p>Bravo to P. David Hornik's compassionate stance for conservatism, humanity and animal rights ("Animals Rights: A Question of Humanity," October 19th). His essay brilliantly questions those who would undermine the ultimate goal of animal rights activists: to make people question cruelty to animals, as well as the necessity to "use" animals at all. Anyone who questions the meat and dairy industry's cruel practices should view the free online video at Meatyourmeat.com. Of course everyone should be free to live out his or her destiny as they see fit, but why should we not afford these same freedoms to animals when we all agree that animals feel pain, fear and loneliness as we do? You can only attack the messenger for so long before the message becomes painfully clear and truthful. In this case, our "modern" treatment of animals is anything but forward-thinking and compassionate.

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