Monday, Dec 23 2024 Donate
A service of EWTN News

Uruguay bishops say lawmakers who support abortion are excommunicated

Uruguay's bishops say that local lawmakers who recently voted to legalize abortion in the country are automatically excommunicated for separating themselves from the Church's teaching.

"Automatic excommunication is for those who collaborate in the execution of an abortion in a direct way," said Bishop Heriberto Bodeant, secretary for the Uruguayan bishops' conference.

"If a Catholic votes...with the manifest intention that he thinks the Church is wrong about this, he separates himself from the communion of the Church," Bishop Bodeant recently told reporters.

"Excommunication means you are not in communion with the ecclesial community to which you openly claim to belong by doing something that puts you outside communion, and therefore you cannot participate in the Eucharist," he explained.

The Catholic Church teaches – and canon law upholds –  that life must be respected from the moment of conception, he said.

If the new law is signed by President Jose Mujica – who vowed support for the measure – the Church will strengthen its work in support of human life to "reinvigorate the law written in the heart of every person that says that a fundamental value exists, which is life."

This "is above all other" rights, the bishop said.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

At Catholic News Agency, our team is committed to reporting the truth with courage, integrity, and fidelity to our faith. We provide news about the Church and the world, as seen through the teachings of the Catholic Church. When you subscribe to the CNA UPDATE, we'll send you a daily email with links to the news you need and, occasionally, breaking news.

As part of this free service you may receive occasional offers from us at EWTN News and EWTN. We won't rent or sell your information, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Click here

Our mission is the truth. Join us!

Your monthly donation will help our team continue reporting the truth, with fairness, integrity, and fidelity to Jesus Christ and his Church.

Donate to CNA