| Home - Latest News | Introduction | Bayside Messages | Directives from Heaven | Testimonies | Veronica Lueken | Miraculous Photos | Videos |
"Your rejection of the Church’s teaching on abortion falls into a different category – it’s a deliberate and obstinate act of the will; a conscious decision that you’ve re-affirmed on many occasions. Sorry, you can’t chalk it up to an 'imperfect humanity.' Your position is unacceptable to the Church and scandalous to many of our members." - Bishop Thomas Tobin
An Open Letter to Congressman Patrick Kennedy from Bishop Thomas Tobin
"The Eternal
Father command that you stop these murders at once! You will not destroy the
lives of the unborn. Human life is sacred in the eyes of your God. No man has
the right to destroy a life. The Father, He sends this life to you, and only He
will decide when it will return back to the Kingdom.
"Do not, My children, be deceived by the words of the evil ones about you
who cry to you of no space left for man. There is space, for My Father has a
plan for every life He sends." - Our Lady of the Roses, August 5, 1971
11/12/09
Dear Congressman Kennedy:
“The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues does not make me
any less of a Catholic.” (Congressman Patrick Kennedy)
Since our recent correspondence has been rather public, I hope you don’t mind if
I share a few reflections about your practice of the faith in this public forum.
I usually wouldn’t do that – that is speak about someone’s faith in a public
setting – but in our well-documented exchange of letters about health care and
abortion, it has emerged as an issue. I also share these words publicly with the
thought that they might be instructive to other Catholics, including those in
prominent positions of leadership.
For the moment I’d like to set aside the discussion of health care reform, as
important and relevant as it is, and focus on one statement contained in your
letter of October 29, 2009, in which you write, “The fact that I disagree with
the hierarchy on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic.” That
sentence certainly caught my attention and deserves a public response, lest it
go unchallenged and lead others to believe it’s true. And it raises an important
question: What does it mean to be a Catholic?
“The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues does not
make me any less of a Catholic.” Well, in fact, Congressman, in a way it does.
Although I wouldn’t choose those particular words, when someone rejects the
teachings of the Church, especially on a grave matter, a life-and-death issue
like abortion, it certainly does diminish their ecclesial communion, their unity
with the Church. This principle is based on the Sacred Scripture and Tradition
of the Church and is made more explicit in recent documents.
For example, the “Code of Canon Law” says, “Lay persons are bound by an
obligation and possess the right to acquire a knowledge of Christian doctrine
adapted to their capacity and condition so that they can live in accord with
that doctrine.” (Canon 229, #1)
The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” says this: “Mindful of Christ’s words to
his apostles, ‘He who hears you, hears me,’ the faithful receive with docility
the teaching and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.”
(#87)
Or consider this statement of the Church: “It would be a mistake to confuse the
proper autonomy exercised by Catholics in political life with the claim of a
principle that prescinds from the moral and social teaching of the Church.”
(Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 2002)
There’s lots of canonical and theological verbiage there, Congressman, but what
it means is that if you don’t accept the teachings of the Church your communion
with the Church is flawed, or in your own words, makes you “less of a Catholic.”
But let’s get down to a more practical question; let’s approach it this way:
What does it mean, really, to be a Catholic? After all, being a Catholic has to
mean something, right?
Well, in simple terms – and here I refer only to those more visible, structural
elements of Church membership – being a Catholic means that you’re part of a
faith community that possesses a clearly defined authority and doctrine,
obligations and expectations. It means that you believe and accept the teachings
of the Church, especially on essential matters of faith and morals; that you
belong to a local Catholic community, a parish; that you attend Mass on Sundays
and receive the sacraments regularly; that you support the Church, personally,
publicly, spiritually and financially.
Congressman, I’m not sure whether or not you fulfill the basic requirements of
being a Catholic, so let me ask: Do you accept the teachings of the Church on
essential matters of faith and morals, including our stance on abortion? Do you
belong to a local Catholic community, a parish? Do you attend Mass on Sundays
and receive the sacraments regularly? Do you support the Church, personally,
publicly, spiritually and financially?
In your letter you say that you “embrace your faith.” Terrific. But if you don’t
fulfill the basic requirements of membership, what is it exactly that makes you
a Catholic? Your baptism as an infant? Your family ties? Your cultural heritage?
Your letter also says that your faith “acknowledges the existence of an
imperfect humanity.” Absolutely true. But in confronting your rejection of the
Church’s teaching, we’re not dealing just with “an imperfect humanity” – as we
do when we wrestle with sins such as anger, pride, greed, impurity or
dishonesty. We all struggle with those things, and often fail.
Your rejection of the Church’s teaching on abortion falls into a
different category – it’s a deliberate and obstinate act of the will; a
conscious decision that you’ve re-affirmed on many occasions. Sorry, you can’t
chalk it up to an “imperfect humanity.” Your position is unacceptable to the
Church and scandalous to many of our members. It absolutely diminishes your
communion with the Church.
Congressman Kennedy, I write these words not to embarrass you or to judge the
state of your conscience or soul. That’s ultimately between you and God.
But your description of your relationship with the Church is now a matter of
public record, and it needs to be challenged. I invite you, as your
bishop and brother in Christ, to enter into a sincere process of discernment,
conversion and repentance. It’s not too late for you to repair your relationship
with the Church, redeem your public image, and emerge as an authentic “profile
in courage,” especially by defending the sanctity of human life for all people,
including unborn children. And if I can ever be of assistance as you travel the
road of faith, I would be honored and happy to do so.
Sincerely yours,
Thomas J. Tobin
Bishop of Providence
"For that one reason among many, the United States will suffer unless
there is placed into your government a group that fears the Lord if they cannot
love the Lord. They will fear Him and find measures to stop the slaughter of the
unborn." - Our Lady of the Roses, April 14, 1984
Our Lady of
the Roses Bayside messages:
These messages came from Jesus, Mary, and the saints to Veronica
Lueken at Bayside, NY, from 1968 to 1995.
THE UNITED STATES SHALL FALL
"How can a great country like the United States fall, you say, My child? You
ask Me in your heart. I read your heart. I will tell you why. Because they
have given themselves over to satan. When a country has lost its morality and
seeks the pleasures of the flesh, giving over, themselves over, to all manner of
abominations, like homosexuality, and condoning this up the highest courts of
the land, then that country shall fall." - Our Lady of the Roses, November 1,
1985
DOCTORS
"Doctors now are profaning their profession, those who have given themselves
over to destroying human life in abortions." -
Jesus,
June 6, 1987
FOULEST OF DEEDS
"Our hearts are torn because of the wanton murder of the young by evil man.
Abortion, My children, is murder, the most foulest of deeds, that is punishable
by death! And what is worse than death of the soul?
"I say unto you, as your Mother, that any man or woman who performs or
takes part of this abomination of the murder of the unborn shall be given a
heavy penance upon earth, or if this penance is not given upon earth, that
person found guilty in the eyes of his God shall suffer eternal damnation in the
fires of hell." - Our Lady,
December 28, 1976
DESTROYED
"All who become part of or condone abortion, the murder of the young, shall be
destroyed!" - Jesus, June 2, 1979
HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED
"The Eternal Father command that you stop these murders at once! You will not
destroy the lives of the unborn. Human life is sacred in the eyes of your God.
No man has the right to destroy a life. The Father, He sends this life to you,
and only He will decide when it will return back to the Kingdom.
"Do not, My children, be deceived by the words of the evil ones about you
who cry to you of no space left for man. There is space, for My Father has a
plan for every life He sends." - Our Lady, August 5, 1971
WILL NEVER BE CONDONED
"You will remember, My children and My child, to guard the young. Your clergy
have fallen into darkness. Abortion will never be condoned. But We must have
others who fervently will go forward and bring out to the minds of those who
have actually seduced the country and the children--bring them the knowledge of
Heaven, hell and purgatory. Then they will not have free license to sin."
- Our Lady,
May 28, 1983
GOVERNMENT
"For that one reason among many, the United States will suffer unless there is
placed into your government a group that fears the Lord if they cannot love the
Lord. They will fear Him and find measures to stop the slaughter of the unborn."
- Our Lady,
April 14, 1984
NUNS
"That is what makes My heart ache, My child. That is one of the reasons Theresa
is crying constantly when she looks into the convents and sees what is going on.
Many now believe in abortion, the murders of the children; and many have
committed this act upon themselves." - Jesus, October 1, 1988
SIXTY MILLION
"I say this for this reason: the Eternal Father is much disturbed at the numbers
of abortions being committed throughout your country and the world. These
numbers go upwards to fifty to sixty million in one year throughout the world." - Our Lady,
June 18, 1986
TREATED AS GARBAGE
"O My child, My tears fall upon you all when I see all of the innocent little
babies being slaughtered . . . cast into garbage pails like nothing but dirt and
scum. They are living human beings! And all murderers shall get their just
recompense." - Our Lady,
March 18, 1983
HOLY SPIRIT
"At the time of conception, the Holy Spirit makes the child, and the breath of
the Almighty gives it life." - Our Lady,
June 18, 1991
LIMBO
"And what, My children, are We going to do with all the aborted babies? O My
child, I know you feel as I do, for I can see the great distress on your face.
What are We going to do, My child? Do you understand when they come to Us, they
must go to Limbo? They are in Heaven, a happy place, but they cannot see God." -
Our Lady, October 2, 1987
SORROWFULLY
"Sorrowfully, the penance that is to come upon the world for the murders of the
unborn shall be a chastisement far greater in severity than man has ever
witnessed in the past nor ever shall pass through again. Your world is plunging
into a deep chasm of suffering and destruction." -
Our Lady,
May 20, 1978
OATH
"Your once loyal to the oath of a doctor, your once loyal doctors are now
butchers! For money they kill the young!" - Our
Lady,
February 10, 1978
WOE TO THE WOMAN
"Know, My child, this simple lesson, that in these days of the latter times,
women will seek to cast off their role as mother and a woman. Women will cast it
off under the direction of satan, and murder her children. Woe to the woman who
does not repent of this vile abomination! She has walked the road to eternal
damnation and hell. Repent, O woman, or forever be lost!" -
Our Lady, March 18, 1975
Directives
D23 - Abortion PDF
D196 - Life Begins at Conception PDF
D224 - Restore America to One Nation Under God PDF
Videos online:
|
World
Monetary Crash |
Deception
of the Century Watch here... |
Third
Secret Fabrication |
The
Miraculous Story of Bayside
|
A
Pilgrimage to Our Lady of the Roses Shrine |
Jacinta's
Third Secret vision: She saw Pope Paul VI Watch here... |
Consecrate
Russia |
| Home | Introduction | Messages | Directives | Testimonies | Veronica | Photos | Videos |
Revised:
February 26, 2013