So, despite the governor's pretense of being a devout, Mass-attending Catholic who lectors on Sundays, it seems that Granholm's actions show her to be more of a believer in the Gospel of EMILY's List than the Gospel of Christ.  

Governor Granholm should voluntarily leave the Catholic Church.  

Or she should be disciplined by Church authorities - up to and including the ultimate form of punishment, ex-communication.  

Enough is enough.  

Earlier this year, Pope Benedict named Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Earl Boyea as the fifth Bishop of the 10-county Diocese of Lansing.  He will replace outgoing Bishop Carl F. Mengeling, who, as Granholm's bishop since 2003, has - to put it charitably - "ignored" the scandal of Granholm's active pro-abortion position.  

It is time for the Church to practice some tough love with the governor - whose love of money and power has allowed her to buy into the fantasy that abortion on demand is a "right" guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.  

When Bishop Boyea takes over from Bishop Mengeling in a short while, he must make it clear to Governor Granholm that being "personally opposed" to abortion is not good enough for a Catholic public official and that she must not cooperate in a moral evil via her public acts as governor.  It's that simple.

In fact, if the state House ever gets around to passing Michigan's fourth attempt to outlaw partial-birth abortion at the state level, like the state Senate did back in January of this year, Governor Granholm may have a chance to redeem herself.

Will she or won't she sign this bill, if it crosses her desk in the upcoming weeks (or months)?  

The new bishop's strong lobbying of Granholm on this bill could make a difference.  But will he be any different than Bishop Mengeling?

As one can see, there are a lot of unanswered questions hanging in the air.  But perhaps God has provided an opportunity for Granholm to repent and follow ALL of the teachings of her Church - a church whose membership includes approximately 1 in 4 Michiganders.

Lord knows, we do not need any more pictures of the Nancy Pelosis of this world kissing the Pope's ring while embracing an agenda that is in direct opposition to what that ring symbolizes - the Pope's teaching authority on matters such as the right to life.

I am really praying that Granholm seizes the moment and does the right thing by signing into law Michigan's fourth attempt to ban partial-birth abortion, if such legislation reaches her desk.

If she chooses not to seize such an opportunity, though, it is time that the Church's leadership finally shows her the door - and slams it in her face.

Choose wisely, governor.

About the author: Andrew Shirvell, Esq., is a pro-life citizen activist who writes a weekly column that is published every Thursday for RightMichigan.com in which he focuses upon Michigan pro-life issues. Shirvell attended Ave Maria School of Law - Ann Arbor, where he served as president of the school's Bioethics Society, from 2004-2005.  He also served as president of Students for Life at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, from 2000-2002.