What are Bishops thinking? (and WWJD?)

Bill Knight column for Mon, Tues., or Wed., 10-18, 19 or 20. 2021

 A Catholic, I can’t explain American Bishops seeking to deny a sacrament to some people any more than I can clarify Bitcoin, the Unified Field Theory, or Cubs ownership. However, I can report on Catholics questioning Bishops’ draft to withhold Communion to politicians who won’t defy U.S. law to conform to some Bishops’ interpretation of Catholic teachings.

The draft passed in mid-June, 168-55, with 6 abstentions. Days later, Bishops backtracked, claiming “there will be no national policy on withholding Communion from politicians” despite their May 22 memo specifically targeting “Catholics who are cultural, political or parochial leaders.”.

President Biden’s faith is vital to him (ex-Speaker John Boehner, a Catholic Republican, said Biden’s “a good man, a good Catholic and a good politician”), so maybe some thought he could be bullied into violating his oath of office.

The Feast of St. Luke is this week. His Gospel stresses salvation for everyone, not just the privileged few, and chronicles the centurion saying to Jesus, “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof” – which we say before Communion.

Next month, Bishops will finalize their document; to take effect, Church law requires it must be unanimous or get Vatican approval if two-thirds of the Bishops support it.

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Catholic Democrat, commented, “To enshrine church doctrine on sexuality as mandatory for all Americans is contrary to our basic liberty. Elevating issues of human sexuality, however important, above all others seems contrary to the Gospel. No reading of the life of Jesus would suggest these issues as his primary, or even secondary, concern. His towering message is about love of neighbor as oneself with a special focus on the poor, sick, hungry, marginalized.”

Indeed, What Would Jesus Do? The 2,000-year-old Church’s stand on abortion is just 152 years old. Pope Pius IX in 1869 set a penalty of excommunication for all abortions – after centuries of teaching that ending a pregnancy was acceptable before the fetus was infused with a soul, at “quickening,” when mothers detect the fetus’ first movement in the womb, indicating a separate consciousness.

Defending today’s Bishops, New Orleans Archbishop Joseph Rummel compared focusing on abortion to fighting racism in the Civil Rights era. The Church did, but now Bishops are mostly silent on other clear teachings such as the death penalty, even as executions increased under Catholic Republicans Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, and former Attorney General Bill Barr.

Hypocrisy extends to Bishops insisting on parishioners respecting hierarchy while disrespecting the authority of Pope Francis.

Francis, who opposes abortion, has sent signals: “What should a shepherd do? Be a shepherd and not going around condemning.”

Communion’s not a prize for the perfect, he’s said, but medicine for the weak.

“Whenever the Church in order to defend a principle, didn’t do it pastorally, it has taken political sides,” Francis said. “If a pastor leaves the pastorality of the Church, he becomes a politician.”

Politician John F. Kennedy, who became the nation’s first Catholic president months later, 61 years ago said, “I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches, or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials.”

Within Catholicism, Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George once said, “I don’t want my priests playing cop at the Communion rail,” and Chicago’s current Cardinal, Blase Cupich, suggests ways to revive Communion’s importance, including its call to participate.

Priests offer thoughtful options. Father Thomas Reese advises the Church to stress who should go, not who shouldn’t, and encourage the “active participation by all people,” as advised by Vatican II.

Another, Father John D. Whitney of Oregon, warns Bishops: “Bishops, priests, etc. are neither the hosts nor the bouncers nor the ones who wrote the guest list. Jesus Christ is the one who invites. (‘Take this, all of you.’). The wait staff doesn’t get to exclude those who want to come. If you don’t like the company Christ calls (admittedly, it is a rag-tag bunch of sinners, one and all), it’s you who need to leave the table, not them.”

In congregations, 67% of American Catholics believe Biden should be permitted to receive Communion regardless of politics, Pew Research found.

To friends of other faiths asking “They’re denying Communion: What in Hell?” I can only say, “I don’t know. Maybe.”