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Statement of the National Coalition
of American Nuns
Bishops eucharistic ban draws
ire of Catholic nuns.
May 17, 2004
The National Coalition of American Nuns is
profoundly saddened as some bishops try to
toll the death knell for conscience. Extending
a proposed ban on receiving the Eucharist to
include not only certain politicians but also
all of us who will vote for these politicians
is surely as divisive as it gets. As more bishops
join to promote this idea, perhaps they need
to be reminded that repetition does not make
something true.
Michael Sheridan, bishop of Colorado Springs,
was still a teenager when the Second Vatican
Council issued its long-awaited document on
religious liberty. Perhaps this might excuse
his unfamiliarity with the strong statements
on conscience contained therein. For example:
The human person sees and recognizes the demands
of the divine law through conscience. All are
bound to follow their conscience faithfully
in every sphere of activity...Therefore, the
individual must not be forced to act against
conscience nor be prevented from acting according
to conscience, especially in religious matters.
Sheridan informs us that those of us who differ
from him are living in deep sin and must agree
100% with every teaching of the Church in order
to consider ourselves faithful Catholics. (Has
anyone ever tried even counting the number
of such "teachings"?) We have a long
memory for some of those "teachings"
-- and their results. The Crusades come to
mind, as do the Inquisition, the burning of
heretics, human slavery, and the mortal sin
of eating meat on Fridays. This latest appalling
misrepresentation of our faith would excommunicate
nearly every thinking Catholic among the laity,
hierarchy, clergy and sisterhoods.
Bishop Sheridan and his like-minded confreres
are, in fact, exactly what they accuse us of
being: cafeteria Catholics. His choices for
burning include those who would allow abortion,
stem-cell research, euthanasia and same-sex
marriages. Missing from his outright condemnation
are those who support or condone such issues
as unjust wars, unbridled capitalism, environmental
destruction, rape, the death penalty and the
abuse of children.
We call on Catholics who are the Church to
ignore such abusive denunciations from those
who have insulated themselves from the gospel
and from life. Isn't it strange that this small
and marginalized group of men feels they can
hold for ransom all the Catholics in the world?
That they can enjoy tax-free status in this
country and still intrude into the processes
of our elections? Perhaps it is time for both
the government and individual parishioners
to consider whether this arrogant effort at
coercing consciences, any longer deserves our
financial or moral support.
Contact:
Mary Ann Cunningham SL
3126 S. Osceola St.
Denver CO 80236
303/936-5904
SMACSL1@aol.com
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