May God Bless this Courageous Deacon!

BUFFALO, January 25, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Catholic deacon has been reprimanded for taking a pro-abortion Congressman to task on his voting record during a homily on “Respect Life Sunday.”

Deacon Tom McDonnell pointed out that Democrat Rep. Brian Higgins, in attendance with his family, had voted in favour of legislation allowing federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and suggested that parishioners could talk to him about his vote. The Congressman and his family walked out of the church.

And may we assume that this congressional member of the Party of Death did not commit sacrilege by receiving Holy Communion?

But there is a dark side to the story:

The pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rev. Art Smith, competed with the bishop of Buffalo, Edward U. Kmiec, in the haste and abjectness of the apologies. Fr. Smith said he felt “horrible” that Higgins, with whom he is on a first-name basis, was moved to walk out of the church with his family. He complained that he had been turned away from a reception at Higgins’ house over the incident.

The horror! What humilation this priest must have felt...Had he performed his duties as the spiritual father in trying to save the soul of this lapsed Catholic, he might have spared himself this embarrassment. But not to be outdone in bowing before an active accomplice of the culture of death:

Bishop Kmiec quickly issued a public statement saying, “The pulpit is not the appropriate place for confronting a member of the congregation. It is my belief that in situations like this, we are more effective when we have substantive, one-on-one conversations with individuals outside the context of the Mass.”

Public sins, such as voting for evil, demand public censure, at a minimum.

Kudos to the deacon - may God give us more bishops, priests and deacons who are not afraid to speak the truth, whether in season or out of season.

And kudos to LifeSiteNews for providing such reports of courage!