Conservative Catholic outrage at John Kerry seems to increase on an almost daily basis. Why? I would hazard to guess that his public presence as a liberal Catholic makes it more difficult for them to claim to be the only True Catholics in America and to argue that there is something unseemly about liberal Catholicism. Perhaps that’s one heresy charges have been filed against Kerry.

Julia Duin writes in The Washington Times, mouthpiece for Rev. Moon’s Unification Church:

"Heresy is a public, ecclesiastical crime," said Mr. Balestrieri, 33, whose complaint is posted at www.defide.com. "It affects entire communities. It is one of the greatest sins you can commit." If the Boston Archdiocese, which is refusing comment on the case, decided to press heresy charges, the Massachusetts senator could be excommunicated.

The Rev. Arthur Espelage, executive coordinator for the Canon Law Society in Alexandria, said a Catholic layman can legitimately bring a case against another layman in a church court. The charges, known in church parlance as a "denunciation," are similar to a criminal complaint in secular law. But "this is really unique," he said. "I have never heard of a case like this being processed before." Father Espelage said church officials, not politicians, are the ones usually accused of heresy. But this suit may change that. "It's as if someone has launched the nuclear missile now," the priest said. "I'd suspect there will be communication between the [Boston] Archdiocese and the Holy See on this."

"By spreading heresy, he is endangering not just mine by every Catholic's possession of the faith," he said. "I am inviting all baptized Catholics who feel injured by Kerry to join the suit as third parties" by reading the document on the Web site and then sending a certified letter of agreement to the Boston Archdiocese. "People are saying you can be pro-choice and be a good Christian, that it is not contrary to the faith to support aborted murder," Mr. Balestrieri said. "This is a life-threatening heresy. Bishops have had 31 years [since the Supreme Court made abortion an individual right] to do something on this matter, but they've done nothing," he said.

I doubt that these charges will go very far. I doubt that the Boston Archdiocese will press any charges, forcing Balestrieri go to the Vatican. Once there, I think that the charges will sit on a desk and be ignored for a while, only to be rejected at some point down the road. It is my impression that the Vatican doesn’t like to be drawn directly and openly into such partisan political disputes and I think that they only feel annoyance over having to do anything about it at all.

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