Catholics are demanding Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) be excommunicated from the Church after the Democrat signed and celebrated a horrifying bill that allows abortion up to the moment of birth in New York, loosens restrictions on who performs abortions, and wipes the fatal procedure from the state’s criminal code.
Catholic Bishops of New York State released a statement ripping Cuomo and pro-abortion lawmakers over the euphemistically-named Reproductive Health Act, but stopped short of calling for excommunication.
To many prominent Catholics, the statement was not enough.
As noted by Life News, Monsignor Charles Pope, writing at the National Catholic Register, said it was a “lie” to suggest Cuomo is in “good standing” with the Church.
“It’s time to end the charade, even the lie, that Andrew Cuomo and others like him are Catholics in good standing,” Pope wrote, adding that the bishops’ statement was “not enough.”
“Canonical penalties are due to the Governor and other Catholics who voted for this legislation,” continued Pope. “This is necessary both for the common good, to avoid the scandal of tolerance of evil, and as a strong summons to the governor and others to repent before the Day of Judgment.”
“At this point canonical penalties forbidding him to receive Holy Communion — or even, if possible, issuing a formal excommunication — are simply affirming what is already true and what he himself has done,” he added. “To fail to issue all possible canonical penalties at this point would, to my mind, show the Church to be irrelevant and a laughingstock.”
Prominent Catholic figure and Daily Wire’s own Matt Walsh was more blunt in his approach, asking Cardinal Timothy Dolan if he was going to excommunicate Cuomo — if it didn’t interfere with his “invitations to the cocktail parties.”
“Hi, [Cardinal Dolan]. The governor of your state is an alleged Catholic. He just legalized the murder of fully developed infants. Are you going to excommunicate him, as is your obligation, or are you concerned with making sure you still get invitations to the cocktail parties?” wrote Walsh.
Agreeing with Walsh, journalist and professor Dr. Taylor Marshall said Cardinal Dolan “needs to excommunicate these murderous Catholics in accord with Scripture and the current Canon law.”
Likewise, editor of First Things magazine Matthew Schmitz said excommunication of Cuomo from the Church was in order.
“If we Catholics really believe what we saw when we talk about heaven, hell, and the dignity of the unborn, [Cardinal Dolan] should, after exhausting all means of correction, excommunicate [Andrew Cuomo].” said Schmitz via Twitter.
“I want to remind Cardinal Dolan that part of the purpose of excommunications is to remind a member of the Church that he risks damnation unless he repents,” Stephen Herreid, Catholic Vote’s managing editor and host of the Stephen Herreid Show, told The Daily Wire. “But if Cardinal Dolan refuses to excommunicate Andrew Cuomo, Dolan’s soul will be in more danger than Cuomo’s. At least faithful Catholics have the comfort of that little justice.”
Human Coalition’s Lauren Enriquez told The Daily Wire that “Cuomo’s actions are a public scandal to the Catholic faith.”
“Celebrating death as a victory is the antithesis of our Catholic faith and a mockery of the great gift of life bestowed on us by a loving Creator,” Enriquez said. “But that is exactly what Andrew Cuomo did this week when he signed the RHA. Cuomo’s actions are a public scandal to the Catholic faith and a reminder that we as individual faithful Catholics cannot be complacent or silent in the face of evil.”
“If Andrew Cuomo remains a ‘Catholic in good standing’ after signing this abortion bill,” said Catholic Vote’s Thomas Peters, “then the Church’s institutional witness to life simply has zero teeth and the US bishops have completely abdicated their responsibilities as shepherd of souls. No other way to square it, folks.”
Pro-life website Life News started a petition on Friday calling for the excommunication of Cuomo from the Church. The petition can be accessed here.
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