First it was Father Newman in Greenville,S.C. who chastised any in his congregation on voting for Obama, and now Rev. Joseph Illo of Modesto, Ca. has done the same with his parishioners in his homily and a letter:
"If you are one of the 54 percent of Catholics who voted for a pro-abortion candidate, you were clear on his position and you knew the gravity of the question, I urge you to go to confession before receiving communion. Don't risk losing your state of grace by receiving sacrilegiously".
Obama has been clear in his stance on abortion, agreeing that it should be legal in all 50 states up to the moment of a woman giving live birth. It seems Obama's clear stance has been the factor in upsetting so many priests.
I am sure it is only a matter of days before this priest will be forced to apologize. If a priest is telling you that you need confession before receiving the sacraments, you have committed a "mortal sin" and will be staring Lucifer in the face should you die before getting to confession. At least this is what was drummed into my head over the years.
All this aside, I could give these parishioners 101 reasons why they should not have voted for Obama, but I wouldn't condem them to Hell so quickly- not yet anyway.
Just think of all the politicians we have voted for who have been guilty of breaking the Ten Commandments. If Catholics followed this line of thinking, we would never vote again. Imagine the line to Confession California would have for allowing the likes of Nancy Pelosi. It staggers the imagination. Perhaps we need one big, general absolution so we can get busy dealing with these serious issues. To threaten the souls of so many after the fact is rediculous.
TRedwine
Source: "The Baltimore Sun"
