Wearing out your welcome? Why do you care?

Dear Rep. Kennedy,

I have an elegant solution to your ugly problem with Bishop Tobin and his request that you not take Communion because of your Pro Choice stance.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091122/ap_on_re_us/us_ri_bishop_kennedy

Let him have his way. Don't take Communion. Leave the Church. And take your Kennedy money with you.

The Council of Catholic Bishops has recommended that all members of their church who "knowingly and consistently break with church teachings on moral issues" should be denied Communion. Why not excommunicate those members entirely? Obviously you want them to adhere to your teachings without question. That is, after all, the modus operandi of all religious dogmas. Let's take this all the way back to the Dark Ages and demand that all followers bend to your will unquestioningly or face excommunication. Or, for a more enlightened view, they can leave the Church voluntarily. Please. Pretty please? I really am pulling for this option, because it may just mean the demise of the Catholic Church once and for all. The tighter you clench your fist, the more people will slip through your fingers.

By the way...stay the Hell out of the realm of politics. American politicians are to be answerable to the American people of all races, creeds, and religions or lack-there-of. They are not subjects to a foreign prince.

Oh, and just one other thing of note: The article relies upon a common misunderstanding of the Church's position. A misunderstanding that is apparently also held by a number of its Bishops. According to its own teachings, the Church cannot tell us when, exactly, life begins. They have declared that a mystery best left to science and philosophy (their words, not mine) and have "committed to extremely little in the way of positive definite teaching on the subject."
-- Catholic Encyclopedia, "Life" In other words, Catholics should stay the Hell out of the abortion debate.

O.K....I'm confused. Who is "breaking with Church teachings" here?