Chris Matthews attacked Bishop Tobin a couple of days ago (video below, links at end of article). Bishop Tobin asked Patrick Kennedy years ago in a private letter not to present himself for communion until he changed his views and public statements in support of abortion. Kennedy recently revealed this, but left out the part about how long ago the request was made. Matthews disagrees with the Bishop’s action. Loudly. Watch the video and see for yourself. Matthews has the audacity to call himself a Catholic. He’s a good example of a bad example (to borrow a phrase from Wesley J. Smith). I don’t think he should call himself a Catholic at all. And he certainly shouldn’t present himself for communion at his parish. If he has one. Not until he makes a public apology for his very public attacks on the Church, Bishop Tobin and any other Bishops he has maligned, studies his catechism and shows that he actually understands Catholic Christianity and accepts the teaching authority of the Church who has every right and the duty to stand up and speak out against injustice any time anywhere. Until then he should admit publicly that he is not in communion with the Church, and stop lying to himself and to everybody else by pretending that anybody can be pro-abortion or even pro-choice and actually be a faithful practicing Catholic. A soon to be former Catholic, yes. Faithful practicing Catholic in the present tense, no.
Read my lips, Chris: You cannot be pro-abortion or pro-choice and be a faithful Catholic. You can, however, be and apparently are an unfaithful Catholic who admits that he does not accept the authority of the Church and does so publicly, having one foot out the door and the other foot in the air.
Video, Part One
Video, Part Two
Read two articles about this rabid attack.
MSNBC and Chris Matthews v. MLK and the Catholic Church
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Brow-Beats Catholic Bishop Over Abortion
Watch the video:
I tried to embed the one from MSNBC but I can’t do it with this free blog. So here it is from Americans United for Life’s YouTube channel. Part One. Part Two.
Read the “rush transcript” which “is not in its final form and may be updated later.” (Yeah, like if they get real and realize how embarrassed they should be and edit out the tirade by Matthews? Like that would happen.)
Catholic Heart and Mind 
I wish the church would take an even more hard-lined stand against abortion. I’m not criticizing Roman Catholics, rather, I think they are one of the few churches that takes it seriously.
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Howdy, JW. :)
It would be hard for the Church to be more against abortion than she is, since she is totally against it already and always has been. That there are those who don’t know this or understand it or disagree with it, is regrettable, especially when they are in public office or members of the press. But I suppose you mean that you wish the Bishops would take stronger steps to discipline the ranks. Even the priests and religious or theologians who dissent.
But that is not how it works. The Church tries and tries to make her position clear and to show why it must be so. She works with her children, hoping that they will open their eyes and hearts and see. Some of us do. A great many of us do, actually. The ones who don’t are usually very vocal about their disagreement. And it suits the media to make a fuss over those. Funny, isn’t it, how the press seems always willing to hear the dissenting voices and steers clear of the faithful ones, except to launch their attacks.
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