Reverend's anti-abortion letter thrusts church into spotlight

By SUE NOWICKI
snowicki@modbee.com

CNN called Bishop Stephen Blaire of the Stockton Diocese requesting an interview Monday. St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Modesto had all four of its receptionists answering calls throughout the day. The church even had to add a special link to its Web site to accommodate the surge of e-mail comments.

The attention stems from a Nov. 21 letter from the church's pastor, the Rev. Joseph Illo, to his parishioners that referred to President-elect Barack Obama's stance on abortion.

Illo advised his members that if they were "one of the 54 percent of Catholics who voted for a pro-abortion candidate, you were clear on his position, and you knew the gravity of the question, I urge you to go to confession before receiving communion. Don't risk losing your state of grace by receiving sacrilegiously." According to exit polls, 54 percent of Catholics nationwide voted Nov. 4 for Obama.

Illo's letter generated news coverage and reaction across the country over the weekend.

Blaire released a statement Monday afternoon in response to media questions. Illo is one of more than 80 priests in the diocese, which includes more than 200,000 Catholics in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and four other counties.

In the statement, Blaire says, in part, "I am deeply committed to the teaching of the Catholic Church, not only in modern times, but throughout history, stating clearly and consistently that abortion is an intrinsic evil.

"However, determining the moral culpability of an individual Catholic who votes for a candidate with a pro-abortion record is a very complicated matter. Requiring all Catholics who voted for a candidate with a pro-abortion record to go to confession is not in accord with the moral guidelines set out in 'Faithful Citizenship' (a statement sent out by the U.S. Catholic Bishops as an election guide to Catholics). Nevertheless, if a Catholic votes for a candidate with a pro-abortion record with the motivation of supporting that abortion stance, then that is a grave matter." Illo said Monday evening that he and Blaire met earlier in the day to work on "strengthening our areas of agreement."

Illo is not the only priest to take a stand on abortion.

In Greenville, S.C., the Rev. Jay Scott Newman said in a letter distributed Nov. 9 to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church that they were putting their souls at risk if they received communion before doing penance for their vote for Obama.

"Our nation has chosen for its chief executive the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate or to run for president," Newman wrote, referring to Obama by his full name, including his middle name, Hussein. He added that a vote for Obama "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil." Many people on all sides of the issue called and e-mailed The Bee on Monday with their views.

A.J. Holmes of Sonora, a disabled, homebound woman who receives Eucharist once a week from St. Patrick's Catholic Church, said Illo's stance "just outraged me. I don't like to talk poorly about my own church, but there is a separation of church and state. It's not up to (Illo) as to who I vote for, and it's none of his business. I haven't been so inspired by anyone as I have been by Obama."

Glenda Dickerson of Modesto said she "worked hard for Obama campaign" and doesn't like Illo's comments for several reasons. One is the safety of the president-elect.

"Obama has already gotten so many death threats," she said. "I think what makes these kind of things more sensitive than it might otherwise be is that there are many people out there who want this man dead. When a church in any shape or form demonizes him, it adds to the rancor against him."

The Rev. Dean McFalls, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Stockton, said he had planned to go to confession no matter who he voted for because all the presidential and vice presidential candidates had issues that worried him.

"I agree that if a person voted for Barack Obama knowing that he has the intent to declare the universal right to abortion and would not support the partial-birth abortion ban, a Catholic could not in good conscience support him, even if everything else about him was good," McFalls said. "(But) I personally feel that God's hand is on Obama. I do. I didn't vote for him, but I think in some mysterious way, God has allowed him to rise to the presidency."