Pope Benedict XVI - How His Abortion Agenda Can Destroy the Church in the U.S.

Pope Benedict XVI quickly steered the Catholic Church in reverse when he succeeded Pope John Paul II, who died on April 2, 2005. As a "tough-talking" Pope who is thoroughly dedicated to the more traditional views of the Catholic Church, a fact that he expresses by the attire he chooses to wear, he quickly reversed many John Paul II's more future-looking changes.

Dismissing his predecessor's declaration that Hell is not an actual place, rather a state of being, who said of Hell that it is, "...the ultimate consequence of sin itself. Rather than a place, Hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy." The new Pope, preferring a nostalgic return to a more "Hell and brim fire" type of sermon, redefined the Church's view of Hell, "[It] really exists and is eternal, even if nobody talks about it much anymore."

However, idea of Hell isn't the only John Paul II doctrine that the right-leaning Pope is willing to overturn. Indeed, the new Pope is beginning to lay the foundation for cannon that could have serious consequences for the viability of an already troubled US Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XVI is lending his voice, power, and authority to a movement that seeks to not only deny communion, but to excommunicate politicians who support a woman's right to choose.

While traveling en route to Brazil from Rome, a reported asked the Pope what his feelings are about an abortion debate in Mexico City, where lawmakers had pushed through a law legalizing abortion. Bishops in the city responded that in by passing this measure, the politicians had excommunicated themselves from the Catholic Church.