Will We Have an Excommunicated Prime Minister?

In the past I have been an admirer of Tony Abbott, especially of his public stand in favour of genuine Catholic values. Unfortunately he has not been a successful Prime Minister, and has shown himself to be out of touch, even for his natural constituency like me.

Since becoming Prime Minister I have not heard anything about Catholic values, and I lost him early over his premature attacks on Russia following the downing of the Malaysian airline (which has still not been proved to have been shot down by the East Ukrainian separatists, let alone the Russians) and idiotic decisions like the honour for Prince Phillip (a vampire) reinforced my concerns and those of many others.

Abbott is now a dead man walking, and in the interests of a Conservative government he should have resigned to avoid a leadership dispute and all the damage that comes with this. But no: pride prevails. I don't think he will be tossed next Tuesday (he will be tossed in a second round in 4 or 5 months time) but he will be wounded, and drag down the entire government.

But what of the other leadership contenders? I don't think we will end up with another Catholic.

Julie Bishop is an Anglican, and Scott Morrison is a Pentecostalist  (former Uniting Church) with strong ties to Hill Song.

The other contender is Malcolm Turnbull, who describes himself as a convert to Catholicism.

But is Malcolm Turnbull really a Catholic?

Turnbull is in the vein of so called United States "Catholic" politicians who have sold their souls to a number of critical anti-Catholic issues to garner popularity and votes. The trouble is, that this process can take you right out of the Church.

Turnbull is a supporter of abortion, and publicly so, and as the main speaker at the recent Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) conference in Canberra he surprised his pro-life audience by stating quite clearly that he believed women had the right to end an unwanted pregnancy. Turnbull has also expressed in Parliament that he is in favour of cloning and the RU-486 abortion pill, and his pro homosexual views are well known.

Under Canon Law (Cannon 1398) a person who "procures a completed abortion" incurs a latae sententiae excommunication. The phrase "latae sententie" means a judgment which is incurred automatically "by the very commission of the offence" and does not require the future particular judgement of a case by a competent authority.

There has been much debate about whether a politician who votes in favour of abortion laws "procures a completed abortion". I think so because legislating in favour of abortion creates substantial assistance for tens of thousands of women to commit the mortal sin of abortion, and is a form of procurement. Nevertheless, there are some Catholic commentators who doubt this.

However, the issue of abortion and Canon Law does not end here. Under Cannon 1364 "an apostate from the faith, a heretic, or a schismatic incurs a latae sententie excommunication". And heresy is defined (Canon 751) as "the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt after the reception of baptism of some truth which is believed by divine and Catholic faith". The Catholic Church has always taught that abortion, like all voluntary killing of an innocent human being, is always gravely immoral.

For example, Saint John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, n. 57: “Therefore, by the authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his Successors, and in communion with the Bishops of the Catholic Church, I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral. This doctrine, based upon that unwritten law which man, in the light of reason, finds in his own heart (cf. Rom 2:14-15), is reaffirmed by Sacred Scripture, transmitted by the Tradition of the Church and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium.”

As Saint Thomas Aquinas said: "The believer accepts the whole deposit as proposed by the Church; the heretic accepts only such parts of it as commend themselves to his own approval." We now calls these heretical Catholics "cafeteria Catholics".

Sadly, Malcolm Turnbull's consistent and public position on abortion makes him a heretic, and subject to excommunication. I'm sorry to be graphic but abortion is mass production pure evil and is devouring the world. We should not forget what abortion is and we should pray for his conversion.

 

Comments

[Mwatha]

lovly

[Paul]

Apart from the fact that I am not a monarchist, I agree with Thygo's excellent comments.

Kristina Keneally is another of those disgusting cafeteria Catholics, and worse because she is often dragged out by the media as some kind of Catholic expert.

To add to the scandal, are those clerics (including Bishops) who not only remain silent, but actually administer communion to these heretics and baby killers.

[Thygocanberra]

ps
Paul opined that politics is a popularity contest.

So in a society where there are no moral norms, no virtues, only elastic and nebulous values; where God is explicitly excluded from the public square and anyone who appeals to the Divine as a reason is howled down, we can only expect to have served up mirrors of that society as its leaders.

Perhaps this is why I am philosophically a monarchist - a true christian monarch will not be beholden to the changeable whims but should be devoted to the upholding of the Gospel and to rule for the benefit of the commonweal.

Without a unifying religion a democratic society is doomed to the LCD.

[Thygocanberra]

I agree with Paul's thesis - laetae sententiae excommunication seems very plausible.
Abbott has not covered himself in orthodox glory either.
And also for Kristina Kennealy and a host of others, now on both sides.
I wonder how far this extends into currently accepted practices - contraception, IVF etc (many examples in the liberal and labor parties who have been feted by the media over their IVF sagas).

Feminism is the great unchallenged heresy of our times. The fact that the concupiscence of men means they will do anything to allow their urges to be satiated contributes to this. Feminism is unchallengable, 'right to choose'is unchallengable. Feminism has made contraception and abortion its sacraments and men have lapped it up because it has increased their ability to satiate their desires without consequences to a degree formerly unimaginable.

In an age where people want access to every aspect of their lives, and those of others (war media for instance), including medical procedures, I am amazed that the graphic reality of abortion continues to remain hidden, and for those who dare to speak of it they are worse than the worst criminals. But the devil loves the dark and people are happy to delude themselves.