Wednesday, June 19, 2013

THE POSITION OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK REGARDING GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO

“Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. 'The kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared' (Luther).”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community
Below is a copy of a letter I sent to Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York a few weeks ago regarding the position Gov Cuomo of New York has taken and continues to take on same sex marriage and abortion. The letter included various relevant articles.
Today, June 19, 2013 I received the Cardinal's response. I am quite disappointed in the response. I certainly respect his position within the Roman Catholic Church but find it very difficult to agree with his response. It would seem to me that the role of the Church should be to stand for righteousness regardless of the consequences.
Please pray for both Cardinal Dolan and Gov Cuomo that their hearts would be open to the Holy Spirit.
The Cardinal's response follows my letter.
Nuf Sed,
PBob

Rev. Robert J Paquet, PhD

PO Box 285

Callicoon Center, NY

12724

Email: bowtie1215@hvc.rr.com


His Eminence
Timothy Cardinal Dolan
Archbishop of New York

Archdiocese of New York

1011 1st Avenue

Office of the Cardinal

New York, NY 10022

 

Note: The following letter has been posted on FaceBook not to embarrass you but to encourage others to voice their thoughts. My prayer is that you would seek the Holy Spirit for TRUTH.

Your Eminence,

 

I find it very difficult to write this as I sense that you are a man of God. I am a retired Pastor and a believer in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I realize we are living in a very difficult time where many pressures are put upon us to be “tolerant” and to be “politically correct”. However, I cannot understand how the Catholic Church can continue to condone the political agenda of one of its more prominent constituents – Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

 

Have you ever thought that there are many people in this world who think that if the government approves something that somehow that makes it right? Even more horrible is the thought that just because a man is in a prominent position he is somehow exempt from the Commandments of God and the Church.

 

I respectfully request that the Catholic Church uphold its own beliefs and excommunicate Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

 

I have tried to find out if any discipline has been taken by the church and it would seem that the answer is NO!

 

Again, I want to emphasize my respect for you, your position and for the Roman Catholic Church.  However, I must, in good conscience, advise you that the decisions you  and the Catholic Church make can and will have eternal effect on individuals that look to people like yourself for guidance as they work out their Salvation with fear and trembling.

 

Please forgive my preaching but – I have a sermon called “Three Great Truths” which asks the congregation to consider the following absolutes – which is not considered politically correct today – NO ABSOLUTES….

1.      The longer we live the older we get.

2.      If we live long enough we do not get out of this alive (Rapture may be the exception)

3.      The death rate among all humans including, Pastors, Cardinals and Politicians is 100%.

WHAT IF THE BIBLE IS TRUE?

 

In The Service of Jesus Christ,

Respectfully Yours

Pastor Robert J Paquet

 

NOTE THE ARTICLES I SENT WITH MY LETTER TO CARDINAL DOLAN FOLLOW HIS RESPONSE BELOW.

 

 

 

OFFICE OF THE CARDINAL

1011 FIRST AVENUE

NEW YORK, NY 10022

 

June 14, 2013

Year of Faith

 

The Reverend RobertJ. Paquet, Ph.D.

Post Office Box 285

Callicoon Center, NY 12724

 

Dear Father Paquet:

Thank you most sincerely for your recent letter, together with enclosures. Your thoughtfulness is deeply appreciated.

 

You should know that I treasure your letter inasmuch as I am rarely

criticized for working too closely with pro-choice elected officials.

 

Permit me to suggest, Father Paquet, that there is a vast difference between working with elected officials, even those who are Catholic and take positions contrary to the Church, so that we can, hopefully, accomplish what we can for the good of the Church  and, on the other hand, supporting them. I don’t believe that any Archbishop of New York, yours truly included, has ever compromised Church teaching to be in good favor with Catholic elected officials who take positions contrary to their faith.

 

With prayerful best wishes, I am,

Fraternally in Christ,

 

Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan

Archbishop of New York

 

(Emphasis mine - PBob)

 

 

Below are excerpts from various article I found on

 the internet that are relevant to this request.

 

 

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/card.-dolan-would-not-suggest-pro-abort-gov.-cuomo-not-a-catholic-in-good-s/

Card. Dolan ‘would not suggest’ pro-abort Gov. Cuomo not a Catholic ‘in good standing’: archdiocese

BY JOHN JALSEVAC
·                                    Fri May 17, 2013 11:42 EST
·                         NEW YORK, May 16, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – After New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan appeared to suggest during a radio interview this week that he may not view pro-abortion Governor Andrew Cuomo as a Catholic “in good standing,” the archdiocese has issued a statement saying that this is not the case, and that Dolan's remark was misunderstood. 
“Cardinal Dolan would not, and did not, suggest the governor might not be a Catholic in good standing going forward,” archdiocesan spokesman Joseph Zwilling said in a statement originally sent to the New York Times, and forwarded to LifeSiteNews.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
Dolan made the remark during a discussion about Gov. Cuomo’s intention to propose a law to make abortion less regulated and more accessible. Cuomo announced the initiative during his State of the State address in January, in which he pledged to “protect a woman’s freedom of choice” by enacting a “Reproductive Health Act." 
The governor added, repeating three times, “Because it is her body, it is her choice. Because it's her body, it's her choice. Because it's her body, it's her choice.” 
During this week’s radio interview, the host of the show, Fred Dicker, asked Cardinal Dolan how Cuomo “could be a leader on an issue that the Church fundamentally feels so strongly about," namely abortion, and “still be considered a Catholic in good standing?”
“Well, I don’t mind telling you that’s one of the things the governor and I talk about,” Cardinal Dolan responded. “And look, he and I have very grave differences. And this is one of them.”

Daily News

Andrew Cuomo’s Brave New 'Roe' (30680)

New York State’s Catholic governor pushes on-demand abortion legislation that, if enforced, could put Catholic hospitals and many state-funded ministries out of business.

06.04.13 -

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Excommunicate-Governor-Andrew-Cuomo/134391726641305?sk=info

About

On the pressing need to cut off the festering sore named Andrew Cuomo from the Body of Christ, and excommunicate him from all communion with the faithful of the Catholic Church
Description
We are Catholics who are fed up with the toleration of self proclaimed "Catholic" politicians who openly and defiantly support policies inimical to the Gospel of Christ and the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. In addition to the deleterious effects of the policies they support, their continuing toleration as Catholics in good standing causes scandal among the faithful, who wonder how a public figure can brazenly support policies the Faith condemns as evil, without any effective punishment from the bishops. It is only the cowardice and corruption of the bishops that have prevented such notorious sinners from receiving the sentence they deserve. We demand courage and moral leadership from the authorities of our Church. We demand that such people be excommunicated and cast into outer darkness until such time as they see fit to repent of the evil they have embraced. 

This page is specifically devoted to agitating for the excommunication of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. In addition to being a fanatical supporter of the murder of unborn children, Cuomo is a divorced man living in sin with a concubine named Sandra Lee. A staunch ally of organized homosexuality, Cuomo was instrumental in passing the recent legalization of homosexual "marriage" in New York State. Yet the shepherds of our flock have responded to such provocation with nothing but impotent blog posts and letters to the editor. The bishops' inaction creates confusion and gives the impression to Catholics and non-Catholics alike that infanticide, divorce, fornication and sodomy are perfectly consistent with being a Catholic. We demand that this disgrace to the Church be excommunicated for the good of the Church and the benefit of his own soul.
·                                  
·                                 http://cnsnews.com/news/article/vatican-canon-law-adviser-ny-governor-andrew-cuomo-should-be-denied-communionRSS
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Vatican Canon Law Adviser: NY Governor Andrew Cuomo Should Be Denied Communion

February 21, 2011 - 12:18 PM
By Michael W. Chapman
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and partner Sandra Lee after attending Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany, NY, on Jan. 2, 2011. (AP Photo)
(CNSNews.com) – In receiving communion at a Mass offered by the Roman Catholic bishop of Albany, NY, that state’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, who supports abortion, gay marriage, and lives with his girlfriend, committed an “objectively sacrilegious” act that “produces grave scandal,” according to Dr. Edward Peters, a top expert in Catholic Church law and a consultant to the highest court at the Vatican.
Peters specifically cited Cuomo's cohabiting with Food Network hostess Sandra Lee as "publicly acting in violation of a fundamental moral expectation of the Church," and that "as long as he persists in such conduct, he should refrain from taking Holy Communion" and "if he approaches for Holy Communion, he should be denied the august sacrament in accord with Canon 915."
Canon 915, from the Church's Code of Canon Law, says that persons “who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to holy communion.”
In addition, based on the news reports of the Mass and the sermon given by Bp. Howard Hubbard, the bishop’s remarks constituted “a failure in pastoral care,” said Peters, largely for what the prelate “did not say, than for what he did say.”
“Bp. Hubbard, faced with a prominent Catholic leader of whom, it may be fairly said, there are ‘great expectations,’ did not challenge the governor to begin his reform of the state with a reform of his person,” said Peters.
CNSNews.com spoke by e-mail with Dr. Peters,  who was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI last year as a referendarius (consultant) to the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s highest administrative tribunal, itself subject only to the Pope and under the direction of Cardinal Raymond Burke, the archbishop emeritus of St. Louis, Mo.
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