Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco was right to ask House Speaker Nancy Pelosi not to receive Holy Communion because of her abortion stand, Bishop Joseph Brennan of Fresno, California, has said.
In a June 6 letter addressed to clergy, seminarians, and Catholic faithful of his central California diocese, Brennan cited the need to show true concern for Pelosi’s soul and for unborn children and the need to protect Holy Communion.
At the same time, the bishop criticized what he suggested was “virtue signaling” on the part of some Catholic politicians who approach the Eucharist as an opportunity to demonstrate their “Catholic credentials” for “a kind of spiritual photo op.”
“There is more than enough hypocrisy to go around these days — in my own life too — but it takes some kind of immense spiritual hubris and hypocrisy to waltz up for Communion while at the same time publicly ignoring and positively working against essential Church teaching and practice, much less promoting something that is intrinsically evil,” Brennan said in the letter.
Saying that Cordileone “has taken a lot of heat, in and out of the Church, for standing up for what’s right,” Brennan said he wanted to write in support of the San Francisco archbishop for several weeks.
“He chose this course of action for her persistent stand in support of abortion and for her recent participation in an effort to codify into Federal law the right to take the life of an innocent, unborn child so as to enshrine that right in the law of the land,” Brennan said….
“The archbishop has done his due diligence and has made consistent attempts for a number of years to communicate with the Speaker about authentic Church teaching in this regard,” Brennan said. “In other words, like a good pastor, he is trying to lead her away from a very sinful situation. He is caring for her soul.”
Brennan, without mentioning her by name, quoted Whoopi Goldberg, co-host of the television daytime talk show “The View,” who defended Pelosi and criticized Cordileone.
“This is not your job, dude! That is not up to you to make that decision … What is the point of Communion, right? It’s for sinners. It’s the reward of saints, but the bread of sinners,” Goldberg said in late May. “How dare you!”
Brennan said it is indeed the archbishop’s job “to teach, to correct, to admonish and, if necessary, to impose sanctions.”
“It is his job (everyone’s job in fact) to point things out to and charitably correct anyone who is in a sinful situation,” he said. “That is even more important to do when the person and the situation are so public, persistent, and brazen….”
“Although it is not the archbishop’s job to make the decision for her to receive Communion or not — it is his job to make every effort to properly form her conscience. It is Nancy’s job to decide to refrain from taking Holy Communion until such time as she is reconciled to church teaching about the unborn and until such time as she desists in publicly promoting and advocating the protection and expansion of abortion and abortion rights.”
Brennan said he did agree with Goldberg’s commentary when she said “What’s the point of Communion, right? It’s for sinners.”
“Precisely!” Brennan answered. “Yes, Communion is not a reward for good behavior. It is not anything that we are entitled to in any way, shape, or form. Nobody is entitled to receive!”
This is why everyone, including the priest or bishop at Mass, prays, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.”
The above comes from a June 8 posting which appeared in Catholic World Report.
The left shows time and again that they are ignoramuses who have an unwarranted, inflated view of themselves, their importance, their knowledge, their virtue and their opinions. They should be ignored.
Maybe the bishop could quote St. Paul or Pope Benedict or many from our Catholic tradition on this matter. Quoting a non-practicing Jewish, thrice-married comedian seems odd for a bishop to do publicly. What knowledge of the Catholic Faith does she have?
“What’s the point of Communion, right? It’s for sinners.” That statement is partially true. But, the “point of Communion” is much more than that, including Holy Communion with the Lord, communion with other believers in the Church and sharing in the Divine life. And, it’s for repentant sinners, that’s an important distinction. We’re all sinners, but Holy Communion is not for those choosing to continue to commit sins. We should not encourage people to drink judgment upon themselves. Love compels us to ask them to refrain. See 1 Corinthians 11:27-30. No other human loves as much as Jesus. And, He said, “Go and sin no more.” (John 5:14 and 8:11.) Pray for this bishop and all bishops.
I was confirmed bishop brenan back in high school
good for you, but why did we need to know this?
What grades did you get in English classes?
It was a typo, sir. I got A’s and B’s in AP english classes if you must know.
Dylan– glad you were confirmed. Who was your Confirmation Saint? All Sacraments are very holy, with many graces from Heaven. Christ is present in all of the Sacraments– they are His. Don’t pay any attention to smart-alecks like “irrelevancy reigns supreme” or “grades.” And ignore the disrespectful, anti-Catholic actress Whoopi.
Thanks, it was St. Gonzaga
Love how celebrities find Catholic sacraments so important and fascinating. Wonder if Whoopie feels the same way about Confession…
People need to ask the question, “What is the point of confession?” The answer is to prepare one’s soul to receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. How many people who demand the”right” to receive the sacrament of the Eucharist do so while refusing to accept the sacrament of confession?
We are all sinners and unworthy to receive our Lord in communion. but our loving God gave us the sacrament of confession to allow us to receive, unworthy though we are. Some people receive after repenting of their sins, while others demand their “right” to receive as they tell God that he is wrong.
It is ironic that people demand “Communion”, while refusing to be in communion with Church teaching.
Whoopi would never have the courage to criticize Islam.
No saints to quote? The best quote that he can find comes from a person who consistently contradicts Catholic teaching?
What’s his opinion about the poison jab?
what, exactly, do you mean by asking “his opinion about the poison jab”: its immunological efficacy? its side effects, their nature and severity across a wide population? neither his opinion –nor yours or mine– are qualified to assess these things. best leave them to the qualified immunologists and medical statisticians.
or are you asking whether it is morally permissible, in the Catholic Church’s teaching, to take the “poison jab”? the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is specifically delegated by the Pope to rule on such matters, has issued a lengthy and carefully reasoned argument, concluding: taking the “poison jab” is at most a material [not formal] cooperation with evil so remote [not proximate] that it IS morally permissible.
In light of this, is your question relevant?
Are ethical considerations in the quality control testing of vaccine dose lots irrelevant as well?
The headline of this article made it sound like Bishop Brennan shared Whoopi’s opinion. I am very glad to see that the author did not go that way with this article. I’ve known Bishop Brennan for many years. We were in Seminary together. I was about to jump down someone’s throat. But it was only him quoting how ridiculous her statement was.
It’s time to oppose trans and gay ideology with the same fervor that some bishops oppose abortion