A Spanish bishop, Bishop Juan Antonio Martinez Camino, of Madrid, has stated that Spanish Catholic legislators who vote in favour of a current bill to liberalise abortion in Spain would automatically – by so doing – place themselves in an objective state of sin, which would mean that they could not receive Holy Communion. Further, he said, the Code of Canon Law provides for excommunication of those who actively cooperate in the practice of abortion. Not only Catholic politicians, but also all Catholics who support the legalisation of abortion incur excommunication.
On the other hand, however, Bishop Martinez Camino stressed that the Church wants to reach out to women who have had an abortion or who may be persuaded to do so. He said that the Church ‘is not merciless towards those who fall into sin’, and he encourages those women who have had an abortion to seek the Sacrament of Confession – ‘because God wants to offer them a solution and deep peace.’
It is good to see a European bishop speaking out for the Truth. Would that others might follow his example.
‘Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life’, (issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2002), makes for very interesting reading in this regard.
