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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’s previous restrictions on abortions after 24 weeks, making Massachusetts the 10th state to permit the procedure up to birth.
“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.
CatholicVote is urging Massachusetts bishops to determine whether Healey, who is Catholic, incurred automatic excommunication under canon law and, if so, formally declare it.
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.
The law, signed by Healey in mid-August and set to take effect Nov. 8, will allow abortions beyond the state’s previous restrictions based on a physician’s 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.
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While Catholic politicians have repeatedly faced condemnation, warnings and calls for consequences, formal discipline from bishops has been uneven — a divide CatholicVote says Healey’s latest move should force Church leaders to confront.
“We’ve 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.”
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Bishop Robert Barron, who leads the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota, sharply condemned the new Massachusetts law and the celebration surrounding its signing.
“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.
“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.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee reposted the bishop’s 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.”
Barron’s 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.
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“It’s 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.”
Both Reinhardt and Barron referenced previous examples invoking former New York Governor Mario Cuomo’s 1984 Notre Dame speech.
At the time, Cuomo said that Catholic politicians could personally accept the Church’s opposition to abortion without necessarily imposing that belief through civil law.
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“We’ve seen generations of Catholic politicians now claim this same exception,” said Reinhardt.
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.
“It’s certainly a tool that bishops have in their legislative disciplinary toolbox, which is to say, you know, actually you’ve found yourself in a state of grave sin because you’ve publicly advocated for this so I can no longer give you the Holy Sacrament,” said Reinhardt.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Healey’s office and Massachusetts Catholic bishops for comment.
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