Archbishop José Cardoso Sobrinho of Recife, Brazil has rebuffed reports that the Church excommunicated a 9 year-old girl whose twins were aborted.The girl underwent the abortion after a court ordered it, citing the fact that she was pregnant because of rape.
The Brazilian press attacked the Catholic Church today, falsely reporting that the 9-year old girl, raped earlier this year by her step-father and pregnant with twins, had been excommunicated.
The Archbishop of this Northeastern Brazilian region explained that, contrary to the press reports, all those involved in the abortion have incurred in excommunication latae sententiae (automatically) “except for the little girl, who is not morally responsible for this tragic act.”
The girl was required to have the twins aborted on Thursday at a hospital in Recife, Brazil.
The Catholic Church teaches that a person who commits a sin of grave matter must be fully conscious, or in this case, have a mature understanding of the act they are committing.
Archbishop Cardoso said that “in order to incur an excommunication, it is required to have a full conscience of the act. In this sense, the Church is benevolent with the minors and the victims of abortion.”
“All those who approved, promoted and performed the abortion, incurred automatic excommunication, according to code 1398 of the Canon Law.”
The case has drawn widespread attention since abortion is illegal, except under specific circumstances, and because Brazil is the world’s most heavily Catholic country.
“The Church usually does not announce or publicly that that is the case, but it was important for me to do it on this occasion,” Cardoso said.
“My hope is that those affected by the excommunication they brought upon themselves may change their hearts and may not wait until the proximity of death to repent,” he concluded.
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(Source: CNA)
Should people who use any form of contraception be also excommunicated because by their action they are denying life and can also be termed abortion of life and preventing a soul reaching heaven .
ReplyDeleteit says in the bible that we must always be open to life and there is no mention of the billings method and the rhythm method in the bible .
Archbishop José Cardoso Sobrinho of Recife is engaging in the sort of hair-splitting that brought the Jesuits into such disrepute. Of course it is the Church which has excommunicated those involved because it was the Church which came up with the Canon Law of 'automatic excommunication in relation to abortion. Even if you think the Canon Law correct, the archbishop's response is cowardly and pathetic.
ReplyDeleteShe was 9 years old... I beleave that she had the right for abortion because of her age, and the curcumstases in which she became pregnant. Also because her body was probably not finished developing the pregnancy could have damaged her body permamnatly. The people who gave her the abortion should be excused for the reasons I have stated above.
ReplyDeletep.s. I am a 16 year old athest who is open to all religions, for everone has faith but in different forms. But i do beleave some parts of religons do go a bit overbored.