This essay was written by Arthur C. Donart, Ph. D.
President Joseph Biden is right, and the Roman Catholic Bishops are wrong.
A number of influential Roman Catholic Bishops–with very conservative views–set in motion a scheme, to use their organization, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, to prepare a document. It would state that Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be denied the opportunity to receive the Eucharist, a.k.a. Holy Communion. This would be aimed specifically at President Joseph Biden, the second Catholic President in U. S. History.
These same Bishops had fawned over President Donald Trump, who had recently switched from Pro Choice to Pro Life. They, thus, made a sacrament of the Church into a political weapon, with which to club those Catholic politicians who would dare to disagree with them.
A minority of about 25% of their fellow Bishops saw the folly in this and argued against the idea. The Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, let them know that Pope Francis did not like their plans. The Cardinal ArchBishop of Washington, D. C., Wilton D. Gregory, let them know–in no uncertain terms–that no one in his diocese would be denying Holy Communion to anyone. So the stage was set for yet another Bishop fiasco.
Tom Roberts, retired Editor of the National Catholic Reporter, wrote, “U. S. Bishops’ latest display of desperation has roots in years of dysfunction (NCR June 30, 2021.)” For years I have read his columns. Occasionally I would disagree with him, but usually not. In this article Roberts makes some excellent observations.
“They have shown themselves minimalists in facing other moral issues, including an obscenely immoral military buildup; new generations of nuclear weapons that make a mockery of their previous pastoral statement on the issue and threaten life as we know it; vast inequities in the richest democracy in the world; ongoing consequences of systemic racism; a climate crisis that threatens Earth itself. The U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has become a shell of its former self,” Roberts concludes.
He cites several theologians (Messimo Faggioli, the late Eugene Kennedy, and Fr. James Keenan, S. J.) to bolster his argument. The Bishops have lost any credibility and moral authority they had, for which the pedophile scandal was only a symptom of the rot. He notes, “Pope Francis has changed the image for the community (Church), from an encampment behind well-defined barriers, with border-control Bishops checking credentials of those coming and going, to a community of journey and accompaniment. In that new image, boundaries become blurred and the travelers’ first instinct is ‘welcome,’ not checking if spiritual visas are in proper order.”
Roberts concludes, “It is a vision that understands the limits of religion in the public square and the limits of politics as moral agent. The Bishops have lost their own moral authority, tangle up the difference between the two spheres and end up, inevitably, as pawns in others’ political schemes.”
Roberts’ article came out three days after E. J. Dionne, Jr.’s article, “The Catholic Bishops’ anti-Biden Project is Backfiring,” was published in The Washington Post. Dionne writes, “A majority of the Nation’s Roman Catholic Bishops didn’t seem concerned that, by uncritically fusing the vicious culture wars of our secular politics with the church’s sacrament of the Eucharist, they will drive more people away from the faith and a transcendent sense of life.” Indeed, Dionne is on target.
Out of my three daughters, all who were raised Catholic, only one remains Catholic. When she heard that the Bishops were planning on denying President Biden the Eucharist, her reaction was, “Episcopal Church, here I come!”
Dionne and Roberts are in agreement and essentially expressing the same concerns. Dionne puts things in clearer perspective as he states, “It’s the anti-Francis majority of American Bishops, not liberals or Francis defenders, who would put politics ahead of faith, ideology ahead of theology, and partisanship ahead of fellowship. The 75% of Bishops who voted on [Thursday,] June 17[, 2021,] to prepare the statement are importing the worst aspects of American politics into the life of the church.” He also concludes, “Thus, Bishops who would block Biden from the Eucharist find themselves allied with the most conservative wing of the Republican Party.”
While I applaud both Dionne and Roberts, the hero in all this is Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Communicating with the NCCB through its President, ArchBishop Jose H. Gomez (supporter of the anti-Biden group), Cardinal Ladaria informed them that before they started writing, they must first have extensive consultation with all the politicians involved. Once they finish that chore, since what they are writing about has implication for the whole church, they must next consult all the other Catholic Bishops in the world. Finally, when all the consultations are done and their document is written, it must have the Pope’s approval. This is Cardinal Ladaria’s nice way of telling the 75% of Bishops voting for it, that the Vatican Council II’s document Lumen Gentium was ratified on November 21, 1964, and they definitely need to read and understand it!
Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Chapter One, Item 12 states, “The holy People of God shares also in Christ’s prophetic office; it spreads abroad a living witness to Him, especially by a life of faith and love, and by offering to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips praising His name (cf. Heb. 13:150. The whole body of the faithful who have an anointing that comes from the Holy One (cf. Jn 2:20 and 27) cannot err in matters of belief.”
This characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of the faith (sensus fidei) of the whole people, when, “from the Bishops to the last faithful” they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals.” For example, Popes, Bishops, and Priests have spoken out about the evil of birth control. They insisted it is a teaching of the church. Certainly it is/was a teaching of the Bishops and Priests, but it was not accepted by the faithful. For that reason, it is not a teaching of the Church. It has been rejected by the sensus fidei. The same might possibly be said about their teaching on abortion. Ireland, a Country noted for its Catholicism, recently amended its Constitution to eliminate the ban on abortion, in spite of the opposition by their Bishops.
When Gay marriage began to be legalized here, without extensive consultation, the Bishops made fools out of themselves by saying, “This will destroy families; marriage has always been between one man and one woman.”
They were goofy! Anyone who has read the Old Testament knows that Abraham and others had wives and more. I have interviewed Gay couples that had been married for 15, 20, and 50 years.
I asked them, “If the Iowa Supreme Court upholds the lower court order legalizing Gay marriage, will this hurt your family or marriage? The answers were all in the negative. Had the Bishops consulted widely, I don’t think they would have seemed so ill-informed. At a minimum, they had better listen to Cardinal Ladaria and Pope Francis and read–no, study–the documents from Vatican Council II.
Until they do, the Catholic Bishops are not Catholic. They demand “religious freedom.” But by imposing their beliefs, they are trampling on the beliefs of Jews and Muslims. These people believe abortion is required to save the life of the mother or to prevent harm to the mother.
Could it be that President Biden’s “Pro Choice” stand is protecting freedom of religion–which the Bishops insist on?