Jimmy Akin

Having successfully ticked off the Vatican, one might decide that the odds of winning one’s already-difficult case are now so reduced that the most productive thing to do is to withdraw the case and move on with life, letting others find a way to canonically nail pro-abort Catholic politicians in the future. Barring that, one might try to minimize the damage by adopting a humble, loyal-son-of-the-Church tone and making amends. A press release like this (which may be used in whole, in part, or in modified form) could be helpful. . . .

PLEASE NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS A HYPOTHETICAL PRESS RELEASE THAT HAS NOT BEEN ISSUED BY MARC BALESTRIERI. IT IS MEANT TO INDICATE THE KIND OF THINGS HE COULD SAY TO MAKE AMENDS. PLEASE DO NOT POST IT OR E-MAIL IT CLAIMING THAT IT IS AN ACTUAL PRESS RELEASE.

AN APOLOGY

I would like to apologize to all those mentioned in or affected by the press releases I issued this week. In particular, I would like to apologize to the Very Reverend Fr. Augustin DiNoia, O.P. and Fr. Basil Cole, O.P. In my eagerness to see Sen. John F. Kerry canonically prosecuted for his horrendous support of the abortion holocaust in America, I said and did things that were at times unfair to them and to others. Worse yet, I misrepresented the actions of these two great servants of the Church and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

I would like to make the following clarifications:

1. The Vatican has not said that Sen. John F. Kerry has excommunicated himself for heresy or that he is presently excommunicated.

2. The response I received from Fr. Cole was the unofficial opinion of an individual theologian on matters of principle. He did not apply and was not asked to apply these principles to Sen. Kerry.

3. It would be up to a Church tribunal to determine whether or not the sanction of excommunication applies or should be applied to Sen. Kerry.

I wish to express my profound regret for producing confusion on these points, and I apologize to all who I have harmed by leading them to think otherwise on these points.

Fr.s DiNoia and Cole were only seeking to help me by providing a personal commentary on matters of principle. I never asked them to apply these principles to the case of Sen. Kerry. I very much regret that their goodwill in this matter has been repaid with such controversy and confusion due to my actions. I specifically apologize to them for the offensive tone I have taken in some of my prior press releases.

I also hope that a way forward can still be found in the canonical action filed regarding Sen. Kerry with the Archbishop of Boston. The abortion holocaust in America has killed so many individuals, and Sen. Kerry has been so consistent in his support of this ongoing horror that I think it is imperative that the fundamental incompatibility of Sen. Kerry’s position with the Catholic faith be made clear to all. By taking the position he has, Sen. Kerry has inflicted tremendous damage on the faithful of America, and his actions have resulted in more babies being killed.

Only if the voice of Christ is clearly heard in this matter can the public be awakened to the unacceptability of the “Personally opposed but . . .” position. The abortion holocaust cannot be ended until that happens.

The following are helpful suggestions on how to tick off the Vatican. These suggestions are of a purely prudential nature and thus independent of the merits of any individual case that one might use in the course of following them.

1. Go to the Vatican.

“I went to the Vatican in search of the truth” (4; numbers in parentheses are to the numbered press releases online
here).

2. Meet with someone at one of the dicasteries.

“Lacking guidance from the Vatican, [I] sought an appointment and was received by an official of the Congregation in its halls in Rome” (2).

3. Ask him some questions.

“I went to Rome in person to submit two critical questions to the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith” (2).

4. Receive an unofficial response to your questions from an outside theologian.

“The Response was an unofficial response prepared by an eminent theologian” (3).

Now the ticking off begins.

Continue reading “How To Tick Off The Vatican”

Dr. Edward Peters has now added a Q & A section on the Balestrieri affair. He’s even taking the snarky questions (and assertions) he gets. So far the question lineup includes:

* Why do you say Fr. Cole’s letter is “private”? Cole said Balestrieri could publish it.

* Peters should not criticize Balestrieri’s case publicly.

* What has Peters done for pro-life over the last 30 years?

* It sounds like no matter what Balestrieri did in Rome, you’d have a problem with it.

* Why does the heresy case have to start from scratch?

* If you’re such an “expert” in all this, why didn’t you do it yourself?

Now that you know the questions, GET THE ANSWERS. (Scroll down)

Dr. Edward Peters has now added a Q & A section on the Balestrieri affair. He’s even taking the snarky questions (and assertions) he gets. So far the question lineup includes:

* Why do you say Fr. Cole’s letter is “private”? Cole said Balestrieri could publish it.
* Peters should not criticize Balestrieri’s case publicly.
* What has Peters done for pro-life over the last 30 years?
* It sounds like no matter what Balestrieri did in Rome, you’d have a problem with it.
* Why does the heresy case have to start from scratch?
* If you’re such an “expert” in all this, why didn’t you do it yourself?

Now that you know the questions, GET THE ANSWERS. (Scroll down)