Must not criticize the church?
We read:
"The leader of Roman Catholics in the northeastern state of Maine has taken the unusual step of threatening to punish an outspoken advocate for people who were sexually abused by priests, possibly by denying him communion. Paul Kendrick of Freeport has been banned from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, and warned in a letter that if he tries again to contact Portland Bishop Richard Malone he risks losing any right `to participate fully in the sacramental life of the church.'
Kendrick, a co-founder of the Maine chapter of the lay reform group Voice of the Faithful, has been a vocal critic of how church leaders have responded to abuse claims and treated victims."
Sue Bernard, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Portland, said the bishop doesn't object to criticism but that Kendrick's actions have gone far beyond that. Kendrick has protested outside churches, inundated the diocese with mail and e-mail, participated in a public confrontation with Malone and even showed up at an out-of-state meeting the bishop attended, Bernard said. She called it a campaign of harassment that ultimately could undermine Malone's ministry.
Source
This ban seems very unwise on the face of it but if the critic has been making a constant nuisance of himself it may be understandable. Other church members have a right to worship undisturbed.
6 comments:
There's a fine line between activism and harassment.
The Catholic Church sure has had their share of harassing people. Think back to the inquisition. It's payback time.
Many of these people have legitimate complaints, and in some cases, justifiable rage. But those feelings should be aimed at those who are guilty, not at the Church as a whole. Unfortunately, there are also those who see this as simply an opportunity to cash in.
When someone with power acts to protect the guilty from the just penalties of their crime or make it possible to continue committing crimes, they become accessories to the crime. It sounds like that's what this Bishop has done.
These kinds of "we will strip your salvation from you for opposing us" tactics used by the Roman Catholic Church is part of the reason why I do not consider them to be a legitimate biblical church. Doctrinal contradictions with the Bible is a bigger issue, but actions like this reflect those doctrinal problems.
Heckman,
Did you read the article?
They aren't threatening the man's salvation, they're telling him to stop harassing the Bishop, and that failure to stop the harassment is threatening his full participation in the Church.
The man has been engaging in a behavior of harassment for 5 years - and even the Civil Courts have granted the Bishop relief.
The man is a media-harlot, having to make more and more shocking and outrageous behaviors to keep the media focused on himself. When it becomes about the man, and not the message, it is time to find a new spokesman.
Stan,
According to Catholic Church doctrine, the eucharist (communion) is a requirement for salvation.
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.”
(John 6:53 NAS95S)
The RCC takes this to mean that unless you eat the communion bread and drink the communion wine, you don't have life. Thus, by threatening his ability to take communion, they threaten his eternal life.
"The Eucharist is the heart and the summit of the Church's life, for in it Christ associates his Church and all her members with this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once for all on the cross to his Father; by this sacrifice he pours out the graces of salvation on his Body which is the Church."
(Catechism, paragraph 1407)
"As sacrifice, the Eucharist is also offered in reparation fro the sins of the living and the dead and to obtain spiritual or temporal benefits from God."
(Catechism, paragraph 1414)
"Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant's union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins."
(Catechism, paragraph 1416a)
No, this isn't part of the article. You have to know about what the RCC teaches about communion to know what it means (to them) to be denied communion.
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