US Senator John F. Kerry persists in desecrating the Blessed Sacrament by receiving the elements of Communion while brazenly endorsing moral issues that the Church considers sinful - abortion, active homosexual lifestyle, stem cell research and euthanasia.

Of course, Kerry, who basically has gotten on his terms what he wants from life, thinks that when it comes to Christianity, he can write his own religion. Those who adhere to Holy Scriptures as the base for all doctrinal truth know that that can't be done. Scriptures are divinely revealed truth; one must not take away from nor add to the revelation. When it is attempted, it is known as Pharisaism, that is, claiming to be defender of righteousness while practicing sin. When it is tried, it is regarded as hypocrisy.

Yet as weeks go by in this Kerry campaign, Kerry either attends a Protestant church on Sundays or goes to Mass to desecrate the sacred moment. When in a Catholic sanctuary, he steps forward to take the sacrament while, according to Scripture, prays for damnation upon his soul.

"Whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. . .he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." (I Corinthians 11:27-29; King James Version)

Enough Catholic stir has come of this on-going blasphemy that devout Catholics are up in arms - and won't stop their clamor. I am sure that Kerry thought that it would be a mild dust flurry for a day or so, then all would settle for other campaign issues. Not. Catholics are now being joined by devout Protestants in proclaiming that somebody has to do something about this renegade church-goer. He claims to be Christian; he doesn't show the righteous fruits of a Christian. He claims to be Roman Catholic; he's not acting like one should, no matter where his name is on a membership list.

Further, the Roman Catholic Canon law is specific. For instance, concerning abortion, note:

"Canon Law 1398 Catholics who have obtained an abortion, or performed an abortion, have excommunicated themselves latae sententiae (automatically by their very action) from the Catholic Church. They remain outside the church until the reception of the sacrament of Penance through a good confession.

"Canon Law 1329 Catholics who are accomplices in enabling and permitting the crime of abortion to occur, who without their assistance the crime would not have been committed, incur the same penalty.

"Canon Law 912 All baptized Catholics, who are not forbidden by law, must be admitted to Holy Communion.

"Canon Law 915 (an exception to receiving Holy Communion) "Others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion."

Kerry realizes that he's running of out ammo. Therefore, he has to go for the big guns on this one or the blasphemous act is going to surface for months - no doubt getting more severe the closer we get to November. There are some calling for his excommunication.

Now Matea Gold reports in the Los Angeles Times that Kerry "met Thursday with the Washington archbishop who heads a church task force studying whether there should be sanctions for Catholic politicians who go against church doctrine.

"Kerry and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick met privately for about 45 minutes. The presumptive Democratic nominee requested the meeting.

"The Massachusetts senator reached out to McCarrick as some Catholic leaders have been openly demanding penalties for Catholic politicians who support abortion rights, stem cell research, gay marriage and other positions that go against church teachings.

"In February, the archbishop of St. Louis, Raymond Burke, said he would refuse to give Kerry Holy Communion because of his stance on abortion. Kerry's own Boston archbishop, Sean O'Malley, has said such politicians should refrain from participating in the sacrament, which honors the sacrifice of Jesus and is reserved for those in good standing with the church.

"Last year, Bishop William K. Weigand of Sacramento, Calif., called on then-Gov. Gray Davis to change his support for abortion rights or stop taking Communion.

"The Vatican issued a doctrinal note in January 2003 saying that Catholic lawmakers have a duty to uphold church teachings. Last year, the U.S. Conference of Bishops created a seven-member task force to establish guidelines on how to approach Catholic politicians who openly reject church teachings. Some have suggested denying them access to Catholic schools, hospitals and other institutions, or even excommunication."

One thing for certain, while church leaders deliberate, God has already spoken. According to the Scriptures, Kerry and wife stand before the judgment seat of Christ as committing sin, in the parlance of the Catholic Church, "grave sin."

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HOLY SCRIPTURES ON ABORTION

The Holy Scriptures speak of a fetus as a person, not simply tissue that can be discarded if found to be a bother or nuisance. Since the fetus is a person from the moment of conception, then the destroying of the fetus is killing a person. "In the past, some people have mistakenly speculated that perhaps the body might be in the process of formation for some time, and then 'God breathes a soul into it.' They had it backward. The life that is present forms matter into a body for itself' (Joseph Breig, "Life Forms Matter," The Catholic News, Jan. 24, 1974, p. 8).

"Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me? Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? Did you not pour me out like milk ... and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit" (Job 10:8-12 NIV).

"Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name...and now the LORD says--he who formed me in the womb to be his servant..." (Isaiah 49:1, 5).

"The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations'" (Jeremiah 1:4-5).

In the following passages we note that personality is ascribed to the unborn.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that fully well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:13-16).

"Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him" (Psalm 127:3).

Exodus 21:22-25 relates how Israel was to judge a circumstance relating to the death of the unborn:

"If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, wound for wound, bruise for bruise."

All of the latter deals with unintentional hurt that comes to a pregnant woman; how much more will divine penalty come upon those who intentionally discard the fetus? The Gospel of Luke ascribes personality to the fetus within Elizabeth:

"When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit... As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy" (1:41, 44).

Mere tissue does not leap for joy; only personhood leaps for joy. The Bible regards the fetus as having personality. In Galatians, Paul speaks of himself as a person while still in his mother's womb, but more a person consecrated by God for a holy mission (compare Jeremiah 1:5 for the same accent):

"But when God, who set me apart from birth, and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles..." (Gal. 1: 15-16).

Since the Bible regards the fetus as personality, then the aborting of the fetus is murdering personality.

Some verses from Scripture dealing with murder are then appropriate for study, such as Genesis 9:6: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man." Also, read Exodus 23:7: "Have nothing to do with a false charge, and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty." Note I Peter 4:15: "If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer..."

"For all the talk of freedom and self-determination, the abortion movement is at its heart a movement denying rights to a silent segment of humanity and soliciting public sanction, support and subsidy to its own cause" (Donald P. Shoemaker, ABORTION, THE BIBLE AND THE CHRISTIAN, Hayes Publishing Co., 1976, p. iv).