Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver has given his public support to Archbishop Charles Chaput and his declaration that former Vice President and ardent abortion supporter, Joe Biden, “should not receive Holy Communion.”
On Saturday, Aquila tweeted a statement by Chaput and then added his own thoughts. Chaput stated in the journal First Things, regarding Biden’s promotion of permissive abortion laws, “Mr. Biden has said that he will continue to advance those same policies as president, and thus should not receive Holy Communion. His stated intention requires a strong and consistent response from Church leaders and faithful.”
Aquila, answering Chaput’s call, wrote “Archbishop Chaput speaks the truth for the salvation of souls. The scandal & confusion are real & when we don’t treat the Eucharist with love & reverence our faith is weakened in the real presence.”
Full story at LifeSiteNews.
See previous CalCatholic story: Archbishop Chaput warns Biden not to receive Communion
Thanks be to God for bishops who speak the truth. I hope they are privately encouraging their brother bishops to do the right thing as well. ABs Aquila, Chaput and Cordileone may never be Cardinals but the infinitely higher goal of heaven may be on their horizons.
And, their speaking out is the compassionate and pastoral response to Mr. Biden and others who claim a fake Catholicism. God will not be mocked. He is the just judge of all of us.
Good discussion and one that needs to be had…but has he actually presented himself for Communion? I mean recently? I’ve not seen any photographs of that and I’m not sure he even has.
They love Biden enough to speak the truth. You love someone when you tell them what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear.
They aren’t tellilng HIM what he needs to hear, they are telling the WORLD what they think he needs to hear. Mounds of difference.
Cardinal Gregory, who will likely be Mr. Biden’s bishop next month, has promised to “dialogue” with him. Other bishops are speaking out because of the very public nature of the scandal and to help Catholics have clarity about the gravity of this matter.
Blood is on the hands of those promoting murder, yet, if we fail to speak out, it’s on us as well. See what the Lord says in Ezekiel 3:17-19.
And, there is not one case in which private conversations between bishops and pro-abortion officeholders has made them any less pro-abortion while in office.* In fact, most have had more extreme abortion positions after such. In half a century, such an approach has not been effective at all, so we shouldn’t expect different results this time (though, of course, we can pray for miracles).
“A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the Bread and drinks of the Cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the Body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” (1 Cor. 11:28-29)
* After leaving office in 1982, New York Governor Hugh Carey reportedly repented for his support of abortion.
Did Hugh Carey give up his government pension as part of his “repentance”? Probably not, is my guess.
Mr. Biden will swear an oath to uphold the secular law of the land..
mikem,
Yes, true. But Biden is also called by God and mankind to rid the nation of unjust laws. Biden must seek legal avenues to overturn the abortion laws of this country.
Mike M if a law goes against the Church teaching a Bishop has the right and the duty to oppose those who claim to be Catholic and seek the sacraments, how is this so hard for you to understand?
The unconstitutional law of the land you mean. I wonder if he would have upheld Dred Scott.
The Oath of Office:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
And he’ll be lying through his false teeth when he does.
Thank you, Abp. Aquila! An honest and true Catholic prelate!
So if Biden is denied Communion for his support of abortion what about those who support capital punishment? Mr Trump, the alleged pro-life president is rushing to execute more federal prisoners than any other president. And he is rushing to do so in spite of a tradition of over 130 years that a lame duck president does not approve of executions. And yes he isn’t Catholic but is almost venerated by many who are. What about those Catholics who are devout in business practices based upon greed? Finally, and most important, who of us, receiving our Lord in Holy Communion is perfect? Even among the bishops who has a perfect faith? Which of the bishops have not failed in their oversight of the abuse crises? My point is we are all BEING redeemed. To deny someone who faithfully comes to Mass and seeks the Lord is perilous in my mind. Think of those at the Last Supper? How many did Jesus refuse to give of Himself?
The Catholic Church has always taught that those conscious of serious sin should refrain from presenting themselves for Communion. The bishop is not saying to deny Biden Communion. He is saying that Biden should not present himself for Communion.
You do not have to be perfect to receive Communion. Your venial sins are forgiven when you receive Him.
It’s pastoral, could save his soul and the death penalty, although I’m against it, is not the same as an innocent child in the womb, who doesn’t have the opportunity or chance to have a trial or jury to try and save her/his life. No say whatsoever. How can someone be considered faithful when they support child killing and same-gender disorders? Of course, no one is perfect and we all fall short and but intentionally advocate for killing, sodomy and transgenderism is beyond a mortal sin. It’s an abomination. And so is the homosexual sex abuse scandal that was covered-up (and still is) and those who knew or even participated in this depravity.
@ Harry Martin – in response, capital punishment is never on a par with the evils of abortion. St. Augustine, in his The City of God, states: “The same divine law which forbids the killing of a human being allows certain exceptions, as when God authorizes killing by a general law or when He gives an explicit commission to an individual for a limited time. Since the agent of authority is but a sword in the hand, and is not responsible for the killing, it is in no way contrary to the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill” to wage war at God’s bidding, or for the representatives of the State’s authority to put criminals to death, according to law or the rule of rational justice.”
Despite the prudential – which means nonbinding – gum flapping of Jorge Bergoglio, the Church recognizes the right of the state to carry out a sentence of death for capital crimes.
“To deny someone who faithfully comes to Mass and seeks the Lord is perilous in my mind.”
You’d likely find Christ’s exhortation on the manner in which the unrepentant are to be excommunicated from the Church in Matthew 18 to be perilous as well.
AA Cunningham is wrong. The Church’s teaching against the death penalty (that it is morally not permissible) is not a mere prudential judgment, but is a binding teaching that touches on faith and morals. Lumen Gentium (#25) enjoins the faithful to adhere to this teaching with religious submission of mind and will. And this teaching commenced with Pope St. John Paul II, continued by Benedict, and now by Francis.
BTW, just to correct Silent Observer here: the death penalty was indeed permissible during St. Augustine’s time, but not in our time, per the judgement of the Supreme Pontiffs from John Paul II through Francis. The Popes have judged that whatever good that can be derived from the death penalty has been vitiated by the existence in our time of other means that can contain a capital criminal short of killing him. The dignity of the criminal’s human life far outweighs whatever good that can be effected by this barbarous relic of the culture of death, namely the death penalty. In other words, the circumstances, one of the three founts of morality, has changed–thereby vitiating whatever is good in the death penalty. Listen to the living Magisterium. Respect life!
jon is wrong. Scripture and the Church Fathers all endorse capital punishment as a morally legitimate option.
Guess what, anonymous: the death penalty was very much permissible during the time of the Church Fathers, and even during the time of the writing of the Canon of Scripture, which spans centuries by the way. But the death penalty is not morally permissible in our time per the teachings of the Supreme Pontiffs from John Paul II through Francis, and of the rest of the bishop of the Church in union with them. Listen to the living Magisterium. Respect life!
jon is incorrect. He conveniently fails to mention the following from the Catechism which references Lumen Gentium:
“2267 Assuming that the guilty party’s identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.”
Said Catechism was promulgated by Pope Saint John Paul II and compiled by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger – Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Nothing that has been published in the current pontificate abrogates this teaching; including the selective, arbitrary editing of the Catechism, regardless of the prudential narrative that was published in Fratelli tutti. The current Pontiff is not an absolute monarch and he will be reminded of that fact during his particular judgment.
Those needing edification would be well served to obtain and deliberately read Edward Feser’s “By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed”
If the living Magisterium is intent on destroying the faith it is to be not only ignored but, God willing, destroyed.
The Church is trying to teach that human life is sacred.
Sorry, but AA Cunningham is grossly wrong. First, he/she conveniently tries to gloss over a pivotal phrase from the very article (2267) heshe references that proves him/her wrong: “when [the death penalty] is the only practicable way to defend the lives of human beings effectively against the aggressor.” In other words, AA, it is only when the death penalty is the only practicable way to protect society can that same society have recourse to it.
But guess what, the death penalty is NOT the only practicable way anymore, which leads me to the second way that AA is wrong. The last line of article 2267 proves that point: “Today, in fact, given the means at the State’s disposal to effectively repress crime by rendering inoffensive the one who has committed it, without depriving him definitively of the possibility of redeeming himself, cases of absolute necessity for suppression of the offender ‘today … are very rare, if not practically non-existent.'” In other words, AA, the fact that there are now other means to deter a capital criminal short of killing him, makes the death penalty unnecessary, if not cruel. John Paul II wrote that final line in 2267. And guess, what Pope Francis continued his teaching by judging that the death penalty in our time continues to be morally inadmissible, as written in the new version of article 2267.
People, resist AA Cunningham gross, self-serving, and almost heretical point that the “Magisterium is intent on destroying the faith.” This is flat false and wrong. The living Magisterium (that’s the Pope and the bishops in union with him, for you protestants out there) is the guardian of the deposit of faith, and they are defending the Catholic Religion’s teaching of the dignity of every human life, including the capital criminal. Listen to the living Magisterium. Respect life!
The Catholic Church teaches that capital punishment does not violate the Fifth Commandment. It has always taught this, and always will.
Why is it there is any question. Catholic Canon Law clearly states Mr. Biden hs self excommunicated himself from the Catholic Church. Don’t these Bishops know how to read ?
I so disagree with this. I’m so sorry. I’m a catholic but it seems so biased. Mr. Trump is an aweful person and people support him. He’s not a Christian! It’s ok for him to be ugly towards people who DO NOT SUPPORT HIM, he is so aweful about women, immigrants, has no respect for Veterans and people who are disabled. You may same I’m ignorant, but to those who judge me, get your heads out of his lies and deceit.
Anonymous Please stop listening to the deranged fake news. You are deceived by your hatred of Trump & the lies of those with who are unhinged & bent on destroying this country.
Annon – everything you say is true. I remain amazed at the ongoing reverence being given to the outgoing administration in light of his words and actions. I am praying for reason to return to government, and I have faith that it will.
Archbishop Chaput was a great supporter of the Latin Mass community while he was Archbishop of Denver Colorado! Very pleased with his stance on NOT giving the “FAKE” Catholic Biden Holy Communion, this is what a Roman Catholic bishop should do, it’s called upholding the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Faith!!!
Not one of us is truly worthy to receive the body and blood, soul and divinity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I think Cardinal Gregory has the right pastoral approach. A question: What about all of the priests, sisters and Cardinals who sexually raped and abused children? Are they allowed to receive Holy Communion? What about the sisters in Ireland who buried presumably dead children in a septic tank – are they allowed to receive Holy Communion?
Cardinal Gregory pal of McCarrick? Are you serious?
No one aware of serious sin is to take Holy Communion. If they do, it is the sin of sacrilege.
God bless the bishops who are finally enforcing canon law for the sake of serious public sinners. It should have been enforced long ago, so Catholics did not become so confused as to what is right and what is wrong.
Bernard. Of course those who abused others should not receive Our Lord. As for those Sisters in Ireland I’m not sure those allegations are accurate or part of an agenda by those who hate the Church. The information has been discredited with the numbers revised .But even one child or teenage boy which was the majority should sicken us.
Wilton Gregory? Oh boy if you only knew! His priests in Atlanta sure did!
The Congregation for Divine Worship agrees: Biden can be denied Communion on the tongue, if his bishop prohibits Communion on the tongue.
Romulus Augustus: read the Scriptures! It is unholy to slander someone’s reputation. Do you have any evidence of the concerns of the priests in Atlanta?