A Tennessee Catholic bishop said he would excommunicate any Catholic politician who advocated for abortion on demand as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo did last week.
Knoxville Bishop Rick Stika said Cuomo’s pro-abortion lobbying is “so hideous and vile” that excommunication is warranted, the AP reports.
Last week, the New York governor, who claims to be Catholic, signed a radical pro-abortion law to legalize the killing of unborn babies for basically any reason up to birth.
It allows unborn babies to be aborted for any reason up to 24 weeks and up to birth for “health” reasons, a broad category that includes basically anything. It redefines a “person” as “a human being who has been born and is alive,” and describes abortion as a “fundamental right.” The law also removes state protections for infants born alive in botched abortions.
In celebration, Cuomo ordered that state landmarks be lit pink to celebrate abortion on demand.
“Excommunication is to be not a punishment but to bring the person back into the Church. It’s like medicine for them,” Stika continued. “But this vote is so hideous and vile that it warrants the act.”
Someone asked me today if I would issue an excommunication of a Catholic Governor under my jurisdiction if the Governor did the same as in New York. I think I might do it for any Catholic legislator under my jurisdiction who voted for the bill as well as the Governor.
— Bishop Rick Stika (@BishopStika) January 24, 2019
Enough is enough. Excommunication is to be not a punishment but to bring the person back into the Church. It’s like medicine for them. But this vote is so hideous and vile that it warrants the act. But thankfully I am not in that positon. Very sad.
— Bishop Rick Stika (@BishopStika) January 24, 2019
Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Catholic Diocese of Tyler, Texas also condemned pro-abortion lawmakers for celebrating the pro-abortion law, calling it a “scene from Hell,” CNS News reports.
“Woe to those who ignore the sanctity of life, they reap the whirlwind of Hell,” Strickland wrote on Twitter. “Stand against this holocaust in every way you can.”
I’m with Bishop Stika. I’m not in a position to take action regarding legislation in New York but I implore bishops who are to speak out forcefully. In any sane society this is called INFANTICIDE!!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/oO6lDB2rK6
— Bishop J. Strickland (@Bishopoftyler) January 25, 2019
Bishop Robert Barron of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles also described the pro-abortion celebration scene as “the chattering of demons.”
However, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan is reluctant to act. He said he has been receiving “wheelbarrow” loads of letters every day calling for Cuomo’s excommunication. However, he argued that the action would be “counterproductive” because Cuomo would not care – the governor “brags” about his pro-abortion record.
Dolan told Fox and Friends: “We have a governor that brags about it. We have a governor that uses his dissent from Church teaching as applause lines. We have a governor that takes quotes from Pope Francis out of context to draw an artificial cleavage between the bishops in New York and the Holy Father himself. He’s not going to be moved by this. So what would be the use?”
Polls indicate the new law is radically out of touch with most Americans’ views on abortion.
New York lawmakers also are considering a bill to legalize assisted suicide this winter.
