DUBUQUE, Iowa — Dubuque Archbishop Jerome Hanus has publicly corrected a Franciscan nun in his diocese who spoke at a rally for Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry. Sister Michelle Nemmers spoke at the rally October 25 telling the crowd that Catholics can vote for Kerry “without sin or forfeit of Communion.” Nemmers said, “Catholics should not be fearful of supporting the Kerry ticket. There are a lot of loyal, conscientious Catholics in the area, and they fear that they may not be welcome at Communion.” In addition Nemmers excused Kerry's stance on abortion claiming that being “pro-choice” differs from being pro-abortion. On abortion Nemmers said, “Women have a choice. They can choose to raise their child in a Christian household, they can choose adoption, or they can choose abortion. We hope women don't choose abortion. It should be the extreme last choice.”
Sister Nemmers's quotes appeared in the October 29 edition of the Telegraph Herald on page three. However Archbishop Hanus's response was covered on the front page on October 31. In his letter of response, Archbishop Hanus said “Sister Michelle Nemmers is wrong. Her words show that she does not understand the Catholic Church's teaching. She is quoted as saying that it can be acceptable to choose abortion. This is totally contrary to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.” Archbishop Hanus added, “Sister Michelle seems to want to present herself as a teacher of Catholic thought. As the Catholic archbishop of Dubuque, it is my responsibility to assert that she is not a qualified teacher of Catholic thought. What she has said is erroneous. No Catholic who desires to be in communion with the Catholic Church should accept or follow her words.”
Concluding, the Archbishop quoted the section of a US Conference of Bishops' document (Living the Gospel of Life) that applies to pro-abortion politicians who claim to be Catholic such as John Kerry. “No public official, especially one claiming to be a faithful and serious Catholic, can responsibly advocate for or actively support direct attacks on innocent human life,” he wrote.
See also:
Archbishop Hanus's full letter of response
(This update courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com.)
