The debate about whether Catholic bishops should allow obstinately pro-abortion politicians, like President Joe Biden, to receive Holy Communion, has recently been resurrected. This week, major news outlets have brought to light the divergent views on the subject of two prominent California bishops: Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco and Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego. For the three reasons discussed below, Archbishop Cordileone is clearly correct in stating that pro-abortion politicians should not receive Holy Communion, and Bishop McElroy is clearly wrong in holding the contrary view.
First, what may ostensibly be seen as an act of compassion by allowing a reprobate like Joe Biden to receive Holy Communion, is actually an act leading to his condemnation. Moreover, his sacrilegious reception of the Holy Eucharist causes grave scandal to those who are truly faithful and, according to St. Paul, is a great offense against our Lord who is defiled in the process.
Second, Bishop McElroy is going against what Pope Francis, who appointed him Bishop of San Diego, said on this very subject when, as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he was serving as the ordinary of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, Argentina: “We must adhere to ‘eucharistic coherence,’ that is, be conscious that [legislators and heads of government] cannot receive Holy Communion and at the same time act with deeds or words against the commandments, particularly when abortion, euthanasia, and other grave crimes against life and family are encouraged.
Third, the serious sin of abortion is by no means on par with other sins, as it violates the Fifth Commandment: “Thou Shall Not Kill.” It also represents the murder of the innocents which, according to Genesis 4:10, cries out to heaven for vengeance. Since abortion was legalized in the United States in 1973, over 60 million innocent babies have been slaughtered in their mothers’ wombs.
Therefore, it is difficult to understand the rationale of Bishop McElroy comparing this sin to the sin of “racism.” In his statement, Bishop McElroy asks: “Why hasn’t racism been included in the call for eucharistic sanctions against political leaders? … As to whether racism is a sin that threatens human life, anyone with doubts should talk with the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Trayvon Martin.”
It is ironic that Bishop McElroy would compare racism to abortion when it is abortion that is the leading cause of death in the African American community, tantamount even to genocide: “Abortion is not just a woman’s issue. It’s a human rights issue. Abortion is the number one killer of black lives in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, abortion kills more black people than HIV, homicide, diabetes, accident, cancer, and heart disease … combined. In 2016, black women had 38% of all abortions in the U.S., despite African-Americans comprising only 13.4% of the total population.”
Charles LiMandri is Special Counsel for the Thomas More Society. LiMandri has led the fight in several cases involving religious freedom. In Februrary 2021, his firm, LiMandri & Jonna, successfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the State of California’s unconstitutional COVID-19 restrictions which were keeping churches closed in California.
Full story at LifeSiteNews.
Concerned Catholics doubling down, I like it!
Good article! Judie Brown, President of the American Life League, also wrote a very good article on this subject, praising Archbishop Cordileone and scolding Bishop McElroy. Love the above photo of devout Catholic communicants kneeling at the altar rail to receive Holy Communion– perhaps at a Tridentine Latin Mass.
“Love the above photo of devout Catholic communicants kneeling at the altar rail to receive Holy Communion– perhaps at a Tridentine Latin Mass.”
That is indeed the Traditional Latin Mass. Scenes exactly like this are becoming increasingly commonplace as young families reject the liturgical chaos of Vatican II.
Find one near you. https://www.latinmassdir.org/
Deo gratias
Vatican II is here to stay. The liturgical reform is unstoppable. Deal with it or isolate yourself in your Catholic traddy bubble. But don’t disparage the new Mass nor new Mass Catholics. FYI, people kneel to receive Communion on the tongue at my novus ordo parish. Not all, but more and more they are doing it.
The TLM will always be fringe and small. You want to evangelize? Work with novus ordo parishes.
They kneel to receive because they see the reverence of trads and like it.
Anonymous, you sound like a very young person– with no experience in the Church. In time, you will see, the Church does what the top clerical leaders want, in every historical era. Nothing in this world is ever “here to stay,” so don’t get your hopes up. Also, liturgical revisions occur regularly. Those with very deep religious devotion, are always quite few in number, in every age. Those few seek out Masses and religious devotions that are very holy– like the holy Tridentine Latin Mass, for example. The rest don’t care. In today’s Church, we have two Masses, the old Latin Mass and the New Mass. You may choose to attend either Mass. And you may also choose to get involved in evangelization work for Christ, in either tradition. Just ask the priest for guidance.
The rationale of +McElroy is very simple: follow the party line.
E-r-r-r-r-r-r, the socialist marxist party line.
I can’t compliment the tortured logic [and sometimes outright misstatements] the Bishop uses to twist the plain meaning of canon 915. Disingenuous to say the least. Given his intellect and education he surely knows better. But in all sincerity, recent photos show that he has lost a considerable amount of weight—and at his age that’s really tough to achieve. [I know from personal experience.] So three cheers to him for that, and for trying to safeguard his health in a tough, tough job. Axios!
I know that I cannot control anything that McElroy says, so I have learned to ignore anything he says. I encourage real Catholics to do the same.
Bishop McElroy, down in San Diege, has stated that “The Eucharist is being weaponized and deployed as a tool in political warfare” after Archbishop Cordileone, San Francisco, stated that Pelosi and Biden should not receive Communion based on their pro-abortion status. Doesn’t this San Diego bishop understand that abortion is murder? Doesn’t he understand that murder is a grave offense against the 5th Commandment, Thou Shalt Not Kill?
McElroy is saying why are you singling out Democrats on abortion when nobody is saying anything about denying Republicans Communion for their racism and warmongering and support of capital punishment. Be fair or leave the negotiating table. You want to politicize the Eucharist by using it as a weapon against Democrats only.
Bishops Cupich, Gregory, Tobin, Dolan, and McElroy will make sure this proposal dies in committee.
You have no right to make yourself above God by deciding who gets to receive him.
Martin…Are you referring to the Democrat’s racism or involvement in wars? Of course, capital punishment, which I am against, cannot compare to the killing of the innocents. But most are on death row because they murdered an innocent life. Denying someone Communion is pastoral and could save their soul. It is not being used as a weapon as the pro-abortion Dems like to claim. It just indicates their cluelessness on this life and death issue. “You have no right to make yourself above God by deciding who gets to receive him” And you have no right to allow baby killing politicians to get away with acting like God and deciding who lives or dies through abortion.
Do you understand these words of Jesus? “I came not for the righteous but for sinners.”
But you cannot receive Holy Communion if you’re in the state of mortal sin. It would be a worse sin to intentionally receive and not repent. It would be a sacrilege.
He understands that abortion is murder. He understands that it is a grave sin. He misunderstands the purpose of forbidding Communion to pro-choice politicians. A lot of Catholics that are calling for Biden to not receive Communion speak as if it is a punishment for his stand on abortion or as a way to change the position of these politicians to make abortion illegal. It is neither. It is a protection for their souls. While they are already in grave sin by supporting abortion rights and their actions to expand abortion rights, they should not be permitted to commit sacrilege which will cause them even more suffering in the next life.
Only the bishops and the Pope can decide if this is truly the proper thing to do.
I think a lot of the pro-life people are helping to confuse the situation by some of what they write.
What a wonderful name it is. Nothing compares with this. What a wonderful name it is. The name of Jesus.
What a powerful name it is. Nothing can stand against. What a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus.
If you think Jesus is hurt by being given to sinners in Communion, you are wrong. Jesus died for sinners. Communion is for sinners.
Denying Communion to sinners is like denying antivenom to someone who was bitten by a venomous snake.
They will die without Jesus, and you don’t want to be the cause of that.
Yes sinners. But not the dead. It was always taught that mortal sin killed the life of Christ in the soul and that you cannot feed the dead. The act of sacrilege just put the person in a worst state.
Repentant sinners I agree. But you cannot receive the Body & Blood of Jesus if you’re in the state of mortal sin. Do you not understand that. Of course, we’re all sinners and that’s why we need to go to Confession often and repent of our sins.
https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2021/04/14/aquila-denver-eucharist-politicians-teaching-240396
This is in the same magazine America as the essay by Bishop McElroy. It has a different opinion by Denver Archbishop Aquila
“Bishop McElroy asks: “Why hasn’t racism been included in the call for eucharistic sanctions against political leaders?”
Great question.
The answer is that Abortion actually exists; Racism however is a Marxist political construct.
This comment combined with your TLM advocacy above proves that most TLM parishes are just Republican parishes pretending to be Catholic. TLM parishes are cults of toxic traditionalism and exclusive Republicanism. They also overwhelmingly reject the science of the Big Bang and Evolution, but they won’t discuss that at first.
Racism is mentioned in the Catechism as a sin. Therefore it exists. It is not a social construct.
Or do you reject the new Catechism too like you reject the new Mass and you reject Vatican II?
Traddy TLMers have a lot of growing up to do. I will never let you get away with thinking or saying that you are real Catholics while the rest of us Vatican II Catholics are not.
Wow, so much anger toward traditionalists. Calm down, you have tons of novus ordo parishes to choose from, they mostly have to travel to bad parts of town for Mass. If anyone should be mad, it’s them for being relegated to the hinterlands even though their numbers are climbing while old lib Catholic parishes are dying out.
These politicians have come out supporting abortion. They haved identified themselves. Racism is wrong but who is to judge if a person has not identified as a racist. God will judge all. Still these politicians should not present themselves for communion if they are in the state of mortal sin.
These politicians have come out supporting abortion. They haved identified themselves. Racism is wrong but who is to judge if a person has not identified as a racist. God will judge all.
The Vatican recently provided guidance on this very issue. I’ll follow the magisterium of the Church.
Any down vote you get is from a traddy schismatic.
Done.
McElroy says: “As to whether racism is a sin that threatens human life, anyone with doubts should talk with the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Trayvon Martin.”
Racism had nothing to do with it. Criminality did, along with deeply dysfunctional values, lifestyle, and background.
The Floyd, Taylor, and Martin families are multi-millionaires now (at least temporarily). Who says crime doesn’t pay?