{"id":24726,"date":"2026-08-23T12:57:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T12:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=24726"},"modified":"2026-08-23T12:57:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T12:57:02","slug":"catholicvote-calls-on-mass-bishops-to-excommunicate-maura-healey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=24726","title":{"rendered":"CatholicVote calls on Mass. bishops to excommunicate Maura Healey"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A Catholic organization is pressing Massachusetts bishops to act against Democratic Gov. Maura Healey after she signed a new law that will eliminate the state\u2019s previous restrictions on abortions after 24 weeks, making Massachusetts the 10th state to permit the procedure up to birth.<\/p>\n

“To weaponize Catholic virtues, to weaponize Christian virtues in the defense of something so egregiously contrary to the faith is a new moment in the political landscape and in the way in which bishops should deal with politicians,” CatholicVote president and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

CatholicVote is urging Massachusetts bishops to determine whether Healey, who is Catholic, incurred automatic excommunication under canon law and, if so, formally declare it.<\/p>\n

In a letter to the bishops, Reinhardt argued that Healey should be considered an “accomplice” in abortion under Catholic canon law and that her actions warrant formal discipline.<\/p>\n

The law, signed by Healey in mid-August and set to take effect Nov. 8, will allow abortions beyond the state\u2019s previous restrictions based on a physician\u2019s professional judgment, reigniting a decades-old fight over how Catholic leaders should respond to Democratic politicians whose support for abortion rights conflicts with Church teaching.<\/p>\n

LATE-TERM ABORTION TAKES FRONT SEAT AS BLUE STATE RUSHES TO EXPAND ACCESS BEFORE SESSION ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey turns toward supporters after signing legislation strengthening abortion protections and prioritizing access to care at the Massachusetts State House on Aug. 10, 2026, in Boston.<\/span> (Jessica Rinaldi\/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

While Catholic politicians have repeatedly faced condemnation, warnings and calls for consequences, formal discipline from bishops has been uneven \u2014 a divide CatholicVote says Healey’s latest move should force Church leaders to confront.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019ve seen generations of Catholic politicians now claim this same exception,” Reinhardt said, referring to politicians who say they are personally opposed to abortion while supporting abortion rights. “It gave cover for too many years and now that cover is no longer possible.”<\/p>\n

NEONATOLOGIST SOUNDS ALARM OVER MASSACHUSETTS ABORTION LAW ALLOWING PROCEDURES UP TO BIRTH: ‘VERY DISTURBING’<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Governor Maura Healey holds a press conference on May 8, 2026 with abortion advocates.<\/span> (Suzanne Kreiter\/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Bishop Robert Barron, who leads the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota, sharply condemned the new Massachusetts law and the celebration surrounding its signing.<\/p>\n

“Please understand what this means. A fully-formed child, moments before exiting the birth canal, can be eviscerated, chopped into pieces, have its head crushed or skin burned off,” said the bishop in an X post.<\/p>\n

“What I found particularly gross was the reaction of the entirely female crowd around the female governor of Massachusetts as she signed this barbaric provision into law,” he said, referencing those surrounding Healey during the signing.<\/p>\n

Utah Sen. Mike Lee reposted the bishop\u2019s comments, highlighting, “They were clapping and cackling with delight because what can only be called infanticide can now be practiced with impunity in their state” along with “[microphone emoji] dropped.”<\/p>\n

Barron\u2019s condemnation reignited a broader conversation over whether Catholic bishops should move beyond public criticism and impose consequences on Catholic politicians who champion abortion rights in defiance of Church teaching.<\/p>\n

TEXAS DEM NOMINEE JAMES TALARICO INVOKES FAITH TO DEFEND ABORTION RIGHTS, \u2018THE BIBLE IS SILENT ON ABORTION’<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A pro-life demonstrator holds a crucifix while praying outside the Planned Parenthood building during the National Men’s March to Abolish Abortion and Rally for Personhood in Boston, Massachusetts on November 1, 2025.<\/span> (JOSEPH PREZIOSO\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“It\u2019s left entirely to the bishops,” Reinhardt said, adding that when politicians are allowed to publicly take positions “so contrary to the faith,” it “creates confusion for people in the pews.”<\/p>\n

Both Reinhardt and Barron referenced previous examples invoking former New York Governor Mario Cuomo\u2019s 1984 Notre Dame speech.<\/p>\n

At the time, Cuomo said that Catholic politicians could personally accept the Church\u2019s opposition to abortion without necessarily imposing that belief through civil law.<\/p>\n

WHAT MY SON’S ULTRASOUND TAUGHT ME ABOUT ABORTION \u2014 AND MASSACHUSETTS IGNORES<\/strong><\/p>\n

“We\u2019ve seen generations of Catholic politicians now claim this same exception,” said Reinhardt.<\/p>\n

Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was barred from receiving Holy Communion in the Archdiocese of San Francisco by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone in 2022 because of her public support for abortion rights.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s certainly a tool that bishops have in their legislative disciplinary toolbox, which is to say, you know, actually you\u2019ve found yourself in a state of grave sin because you\u2019ve publicly advocated for this so I can no longer give you the Holy Sacrament,” said Reinhardt.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fox News Digital reached out to Healey’s office and Massachusetts Catholic bishops for comment.<\/p>\n

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Ashley J. DiMella reports on politics for Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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