Administrator of Charleston Diocese "Stepped In It"

Barbara Kralis, a prominent writer for various Christian and conservative publications has written an excellent, two-part defense of Father Jay Scott Newman who wrote the following to his congregation at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville, South Carolina:

"Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exists constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil, and those Catholics who do so place themselves outside of the full communion of Christ's Church and under the judgment of divine law. Persons in this condition should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation."

In her article entitled "Administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Charleston stepped in it...", Kralis makes clear that not only is "Fr. Newman's Catholic parish very supportive of his courageous stand," he is backed by many members of the hierarchy throughout the United States and in Rome, and his statement is solidly grounded in "natural law and the written Word of God, proclaimed by the Catholic Church through its Sacred Tradition and through its Solemn and Ordinary Magisterium."

Whatever institutional politics prompted Monsignor Martin T. Laughlin's shameful repudiation of Father Newman's pastoral guidance, it points up the urgent need for the appointment of a competent, faithful bishop in Charleston whose heart and mind are one with the Church and its founder.

Barbara Kralis' article is here:

Part One

Part Two

Diocese of Charleston: Shepherds vs. Wolves

The supporters of the culture of death and its champion, Barack Hussein Obama, have taken great delight in Monsignor Martin Laughlin’s repudiation of Father Jay Scott Newman’s statement that "voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exists constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil.”

Father Newman acted as a courageous shepherd of souls, knowing that his remarks would be misunderstood and ridiculed by many, but as an alter Christus and good shepherd he was obliged to speak out on behalf of those entrusted to his care. Father Newman has an international reputation as a scholar and homilist and his parish has a national reputation for its beautiful, reverent liturgies. Father Newman and his parish have won many converts to the faith – people who see in this courageous pastor someone whose life is totally dedicated to Jesus Christ and who is ready to “lay down his life for his friends.”

The sensus fidei of Catholics across the Internet is overwhelmingly in support of Father Newman. Faithful Catholics recognize the enormous charity inherent in Father Newman’s remarks. Here is a man willing to jeopardize his standing in the Church, his good name, and endure public ridicule for the sake of the souls entrusted to his care and their eternal salvation.

As the story below indicates, even Monsignor Laughlin and his spokesperson were supporting Father Newman just a few days ago. What happened in the interim? Could the Diocese have received a phone call from a Cardinal or an Archbishop, or perhaps many messages from the many bishops who have been too cowardly to speak clearly and forcefully on the greatest moral issue of our day? The ones who routinely make equivocal statements so as to not jeopardize what they care about most, the almighty dollar. The ones who politely applauded when, just this past year, the Holy Father exhorted:

“it falls to you (the bishops) to ensure that the moral formation provided at every level of ecclesial life reflects the authentic teaching of the Gospel of life.”

How should we weigh Monsignor Laughlin’s contradictory statements against the clear pastoral teaching of Father Newman? Like Father Newman, Monsignor Laughlin is a pastor who is the temporary administrator of the Diocese. He is the apparatchik of a diocese that has had 45 allegations of sexual abuse, paid $2,546,000 for settlements, and $646,000 for counseling and legal fees.

As Philip Lawler points out in his superb book, The Faithful Departed, 'Only a small minority of American priests — 2–3 percent, by most calculations — were ever accused of sexual abuse, whereas the vast majority of bishops were involved in the cover-up efforts.”

Monsignor Laughlin has quickly accommodated himself to a culture that puts institutional interests above the people it should serve. He talks about diverting “the focus from the Church’s clear position against abortion,” but given the delight that the pro-aborts are taking in his latest statement, what pro-abortion Catholic won’t feel justified in voting for pro-abortion candidates now that Father Newman’s clear statement has been contradicted? According to Monsignor Laughlin, lay Catholics are free to act as their individual consciences dictate, but their pastor is not.

Recent history has made painfully clear that wolves have frequently found their way to positions of authority in the Catholic Church. Fortunately, the great outpouring of support for Father Jay Scott Newman proves that most faithful Catholics know their shepherds from the wolves.