THE VATICAN ACTS TO END THE ABORTION HERESY?

Canon lawyer Marc A. Balestrieri announces on EWTN that the Vatican has joined his heresy case against John Kerry

On October 15, 2004, Marc A. Balestrieri, the young canon lawyer who boldly denounced Senator Kerry as a heretic in an ecclesiastical proceeding, appeared on the Eternal World Television Network’s The World Over with Raymond Arroyo to announce that he had received confirmation from the Vatican that support for abortion is heresy.

On August 30, 2004, with his heresy case against Senator Kerry stalled in the Boston Archdiocese, Mr. Balestrieri made a written request to the Vatican’s Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith to confirm the principles on which his heresy case is based.

At the request of the undersecretary of the Congregation, Mr. Balestrieri received a letter dated September 11, 2004 unofficially responding to his request that he made public on October 15.

That letter concluded:

”To commit the sin of heresy, you do not have to deny solemnly defined truths of the faith only. It suffices to deny truths contrary to the manifest understanding of the Sacred Scriptures, such as denying the truth of any of the ten commandments Thomas himself occasionally calls people heretics who deny the manifest and obvious sense of biblical texts. This isn’t to say that moral teachings cannot be defined because some very few have been defined solemnly by the Church especially the Council of Trent on marriage, and against polygamy.

“So, if I obstinately deny by teaching and preaching, or doubt that abortion is not intrinsically evil, I commit the mortal sin of heresy. All things being equal, I am automatically excommunicated according to the provision of Can. 1364, § 1, provided that the presaumptions of knowledge of the law and penalty (Can 15, § 2) and imputability (Can. 1321, § 3) are not rebutted in the external forum:

With due regard for can. 194, § 1, n. 2, an apostate from the faith, a heretic or a schismatic incurs automatic excommunication….

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”It should be obvious from all that I’ve said that for anyone to maintain a right to abortion piggybacks on the heresy and becomes part of its darkness,

“Consequently, if a Catholic publicly and obstinately supports the civil right to abortion, knowing that the Church teaches officially against that legislation, he or she commits that heresy envisioned by Can. 751 of the Code. Provided that the presumptions of knowledge of the law and penalty (Can. 15, § 2) and imputability (Can. 1321, § 3) are not rebutted in the external forum, one is automatically excommunicated according to Can. 1364, § 1.”

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The Archbishop of Boston should declare without further delay that Senator Kerry is an excommunicated heretic and urge him to recant and repent.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bushops should unanimously resolve to end the public scandal of giving Holy Communion to pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians.

And the bold Mr. Balestrieri is owed a great debt of gratitude not only by Catholics but by all persons of good will who disdain manipulation, obfuscation and intimidation and want to know the truth about politicians.

At the least, Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony should rehire and promote Mr. Balestrieri.

The full article by Michael Gaynor for Catholic Citizens of Illinois is here.