A Statement from Parish Council Regarding the Eucharist
As the Holy Trinity Parish Council, we stand with our Archbishop, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, concerning the issues surrounding offering the Eucharist to American politicians. As a parish which has a long history of welcoming all, we concur with and support the pastoral approach of our Archbishop. Holy Trinity Catholic Church will not deny the Eucharist to persons presenting themselves to receive it.
Cardinal Gregory serves as one of the most prominent ecclesiastical leaders in the current controversy and so it was therefore shocking and disappointing that his request to postpone the draft of portions of this document about the Eucharist received the minority of votes among the bishops. As Cardinal Gregory stated in the discussions leading up to the vote, “The strength of our voice in advancing the mission of Christ has been seriously weakened.” Sadly, the recent vote has caused considerable desolation among our parishioners as well as Roman Catholics throughout the nation.
As Pope Francis recently reaffirmed, communion should be viewed “not as a prize for the perfect, but as a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.” None of us, whether we stand in the pews or behind the altar, is worthy to receive it. The great gift of the Holy Eucharist is too sacred to be made a political issue.
The above comes from an undated statement from Holy Trinity.
Who cares what a bunch of “Susans from the parish council” think? These people aren’t real Catholics.
And their Jesuit priest isn’t “Catholic,” either! A true “schismatic” parish! None of these people, nor their priest– has any authority over the Sacraments, at all! And the Archbishop– who does have the ecclesiastical authority– has sadly abused it, and betrayed Christ.
Oh, sorry– In my post of July 2nd, at 8:35pm, I meant, the Cardinal-Archbishop of Washington, Wilton Gregory.
Terrible example being set by this parish pastor, who thinks he is being inclusive. Wrong, the sheep and the goats will be separated, as like the wheat from the chaff. Bad pastoring leads to loss of the flock, whose souls are in his care. He will answer for his actions.
The parish council at Holy Trinity are theological and canonical illiterates. Their agreement–or dissent–is irrelevant as to whether their pastor and his associates are fulfilling their duty to authentically teach the truths of the Catholic faith. For that matter, so are the personal opinions of the aforementioned clergy. Nothing in Church teaching or in canon law relieves pastors from the duty of teaching the AUTHENTIC faith in its fulness. In that regard, what in the explicit, unambiguous text of canon 915 justifies their and their pastors’ laissez-faire position? What justifies the parish council opining on matters above their level of competence? None of them holds the office of teacher of the Catholic faith.
Shoemakers, stick to your lasts!
Parish councils just give the impression to parishioners that they have control. They don’t and shouldn’t. When there is a good pastor, that’s all the leadership a parish needs.
Yes, a good parish council is an advisory group and should have no power in decision making, especially in doctrine and morality.
It’s a Jesuit parish with a Jesuit pastor, so there’s that valid reason to lament that this parish is not going to promote the authentic Catholic faith. You’re right that parish councils are advisory only. In this parish, the council and pastor are probably all of one mind.
It is not a political issue at all. It is a morality issue. Saying that nobody is worthy of the Eucharist does not excuse irresponsibility. If their bishop has told them that they should not deny anyone communion, then they should obey that. Any guilt then falls on the bishop. And the person who has committed grave sin and approaches the Sacrament.
This is something that some bishops disagree with. They feel it is their duty as a pastor of souls to deny Communion to those who publicly sin or support grave sin.
The real guilt is on the sinner, though. Just because they don’t believe they will be punished doesn’t mean they won’t be. Pray for God to grant them the grace to repent.
There’s nothing holding parishes and dioceses together anymore. Unity is a lie. There’s no common faith. It’s pretend. You cannot seriously claim that this parish and a TLM parish have the same faith. You cannot seriously claim that Catholics are united in faith, for they clearly aren’t.
A TLM parish could make this same decision. They have to obey their bishops too. And yes the Faith is the same if you are referring to TLM parishes that are in union with the Church.
Utter nonsense anyone who is willing to be Truthful knows there is a functioning schism going on in the Church and it will soon come into the open. If you think the church of Jimmy Martin is the same as any orthodox/traditional parish you are delusional
This is heresy. Each priest does not have his own Church. When priests leave the Catholic Church and set up an independent chapel, that is schism. Schism is heresy. A priest like Fr. Martin may make some of us upset but he does not have his own Church. It is the same Church. There is One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
The point you seem not to understand is that these priests and others have left the church but remain within the church’s institutions. It’s schism without formal defection.
I agree with the people posting here that there is a defect in the church’s unity of faith. Some Catholics, such as those who signed the statement above, aren’t true Catholics.
That is not how it works in the Catholic Church.
I agree that there is a long standing defect in unity in faith among the laity in the US.
I think you don’t have much experience with the church. I have extensive experience with the church and working for the church in some of her fraudulent institutions, such as Catholic schools, so I know well the code words and verbal sleight of hand that are played by those who reject the apostolic faith but try to camouflage their dissension. The statement issued by the parish is replete with dissent-speak gobbledygook and self-righteous, selective citations from church documents.
A visit to the parish website, such as here:
https://trinity.org/lgbtqia-ministry/
Will confirm upon a quick read that the parish rejects some central tenets of Catholic faith and morality even though they play the same game James Martin does of walking right up to the line of heterodoxy in public without demonstrably going over it. The parish is Jesuit, which is another reliable indicator of dissent.
Holy Trinity, I dare say, does not hold to Catholic faith, does not promote Catholic faith and is not in full communion with the church. The parish’s faith is leftist ideology. They worship leftism and celebrate leftism and indoctrinate into leftism.
Yet they are allowed to pretend they are Catholic.
That’s what I meant by saying unity in the church is a lie.
I contrasted the parish with a TLM parish because there isn’t a TLM parish on the face of the earth that would have a website page such as I linked to from Holy Trinity above. But there are plenty of faithful novus ordo parishes too.
Not all bishops, priests and parishes who claim to be Catholic are genuinely Catholic. That’s what I mean. There is no common faith. Unity is a lie, and that needs to be admitted and solved before anything else.
Judge much?
Yes, because that’s what my intellect requires I do. Cats and dogs don’t judge because they don’t have intellects. I judge all the time, and so does every intelligent and responsible human being.
Reflect on Luke 18:9-14.
Your biblical reference fails because the LGBTQ advocates are not equivalent to the tax collector; they are far from repentant. They believe there’s nothing sinful about what they do or support. And they are terribly wrong. They come to Mass thinking, “I am wonderfully made, including my LGBTQness, and the church is behind the times in recognizing the goodness of my relationship with my partner. God approves. I am fine. I am wonderful. Fr. James Martin has told me so.”
People who call out the deception and sinfulness of LGBTQ are not equivalent to Pharisees, which is the modern accusation made by unthinking people who want to shut up others whose opinions they don’t like. Think more along the lines of John the Baptist and you’ll have a better biblical counterpart for Christians who oppose LGBTQ.
Maybe also read Matthew 7:21-23.
What part of the Apostolic Faith do you see being rejected? Use the Creed.
From the parish statement: “To our LGBTQIA+ friends, we want to stress that Holy Trinity is enriched by your presence, ministry and leadership. Our parish is honored to baptize your children, accompany you in grief, celebrate your love….”
The “celebrate your love” part is the most obvious rejection of the biblical and anthropological and Catholic understanding of the truth of marriage as between one man and one woman. And don’t play the game of saying the statement says nothing about sexual love. That’s exactly what it’s about, but the parish doesn’t have the courage to say so explicitly. They walk right up to the line without demonstrably crossing it, yet what they intend to communicate and what they mean is clear through their crafty use of ambiguity.
The parish response was crafted after the Holy See said the church could not bless same-sex unions because God doesn’t and cannot bless sin. The parish indirectly affirms same-sex unions by “celebrating your love.” The parish disagrees with the Holy See. The parish is not adhering to Catholic faith. The parish is renegade.
If you want a creedal reference, the parish is acting and believing contrary to “I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church.”
Catholics affirm that Tradition is a source of revelation in addition to Scripture, and the approved creeds are early summaries of apostolic faith that are not exhaustive in expressing all that Catholic faith is and entails.
Ok you made a good case for it. It is a little stretchy but you did what I ask and I accept your perspective. I actually share it. The part that indicated to me that they were supporting same sex relationships was the “baptize your children” because why would a Catholic Church write that? The Church baptizes babies all the time. Why would that be a problem? Unless… And yes “celebrate you love” could mean anything.
LG is not B is not Q is not T and is definitely not I and absolutely not A and then there is the +. The + could be anything.
There is all that confusion plus if this is a ministry to people who will not enter marriage in the church and want to live lifestyles which prohibit their receiving of Communion it does not seem as if it is made to accompany them. But it could be or it could have the potential to become that.
I think my bishop would not allow this kind of lay led ministry.
I agree with you that the page is problematic for faithful Catholics. I especially do not like their “resources.” But the outreach is not to faithful Catholics. It is to alienated, angry Catholics.
It is a lay-led ministry. I am not in that ministry. This type of ministry is in its infancy. Mistakes are going to be made.
Also, consider if you will, the distortions in the media after the Vatican came out with its explanation of why same sex unions could not be blessed by the Church. It seems appropriate that there would be outreach to all Catholics and those who are confused by what they read in the media.
Yes, this ministry could be “the Catholic church is mean but we are not”. It could be sinners trying to justify themselves. It could be a sincere attempt to walk with people who are not sinning or who are converting
These ministries have a way of evolving. Some of them devolve. People err in how they love sometimes.
To me the question would not be “Where do I fit in the Church” but “How do I live now?” which all of us have to decide.
“Where do I fit in the Church” but “How do I live now?” which all of us have to decide. Here is a real quick answer to that mealy mouthed question from the of Our Divine Savior Himself.. Pick up your cross and follow me. Why does the Church constantly mangle its teaching to appease the screeches of less than 1 percent of Church adherents. Accept the Church’s teachings or get out
The voice of bohemond is the voice of John the Baptist.
bohemond, getting out is not a real option. They should just accept the churches teachings.
In order to receive Holy Communion we must be in communion with God and with the Church.
As Catholics we believe what the Church authoritatively teaches on matters of faith and morals, for to hear the voice of the Church, on matters of faith and morals, is to hear the voice of Christ himself.
To give selective assent to the teachings of the Church not only deprives us of her lifegiving message, but also seriously endangers our communion with her.
If a Catholic in his or her personal or professional life were knowingly and obstinately to reject the defined doctrines of the Church, or knowingly and obstinately to repudiate her definitive teaching on moral issues, however, he or she would seriously diminish his or her communion with the Church. Reception of Holy Communion in such a situation would not accord with the nature of the Eucharistic celebration, so that he or she should refrain.
USCCB
So why does Fr. Jimmy Martin receive Communion then?
Real true life story. At my former parish (I left because of the pastor), a homeless man was at daily morning Mass and approached for Communion. The pastor refused him and made a scene. He was so proud of himself for withholding Communion from that man. He made up some excuse like, “I saw you eating a Snickers Bar, so you haven’t observed the Communion fast.” Priests like that drive people away. I never took Communion from him after that ever again.
Anonymous, you might not know the whole situation. Perhaps that priest knew the man better than you. Perhaps the man was homeless because there was never any discipline in his life. Perhaps the priest had talked to him before and asked him not to eat UNTIL he had received Communion. Perhaps the priest or someone else had even offered the man a job, and he refused. Perhaps the priest was trying to make that man more responsible for his actions. Some people seem to think the world owes them a living without them doing anything to improve their condition. It does not. Just saying.
It seems that the Pope has forgotten that Christ has made us worthy to receive the Eucharist. We all have said the words: “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
The Lord has said the Word.
There are different meanings to “worthiness.”
Now look whose teachings lack clarity
Each and every time Canon 915 is flouted, the local bishop and pastor commit multiple mortal sins: among them–giving grave scandal and direct participation in sacrilege against the Blessed Sacrament.
It’s even worse. They had the gall to read the statement at the end of Mass last weekend. Listen to how long the church erupts in applause at the end:
https://youtu.be/nvwZzxxqhZs?t=3255
Not a Catholic parish.
It’s a Democrat parish, obviously. With the high likelihood that the parish has many members who are high-level Democrat government operatives, it’s probably more than Joe Biden there who needs to refrain from receiving Communion.
There is no such thing as a Democrat parish.
True, because you can’t be a Catholic and a Democrat.
If it is a diocesan parish, it is a Catholic Church. We are not Protestants. We don’t separate and form different Churches because somebody said something we don’t agree with.
Catholic parishes are required to uphold Catholic faith. When a parish promotes LGBTQ stuff it’s not Catholic.
That is not correct.
Yes it is. Fr. James Martin is not Catholic. Oh, technically he is a “baptized Catholic” minimally, but he’s such a bad Catholic, meaning he’s distorted Catholic faith so much and misleads people about Catholicism, that he’s not Catholic anymore.
It is not only correct but spot on.
Satan is the father of all lies. I am not a fan of Fr. Martin but he is Catholic and it is a lie to say he is not. He is a Catholic priest not just a baptized Catholic. He is very careful not to distort the Catholic faith but I think people hear what they want to hear. All Father Martin says is the Catholic Church accepts you and loves you. (And the people in the Church who don’t love you and accept you are mean and hypocritical) He does not get into the marriage issue or Communion issues or the morality issues which in my opinion and yours misleads people.
He is now jumping on the CRT bandwagon. So expect another book.
You should be careful that your hyperbole does not become heresy.
Look at it this way: if a baseball team decided to add a “fourth base” between third and home, if it decided to field twenty people instead of nine, if it bounced a foursquare ball to the batter instead of throwing a baseball, if it said each inning consists of five outs instead of three, if it said you could peg a runner out instead of tagging him, and if it did all that even though the baseball league said none of that is baseball, would it still be a baseball team and would it still be playing baseball?
No.
Connect the dots as it applies to Catholicism, parishes and individual Catholics, whether ordained or lay. There are indeed Catholic parishes that aren’t Catholic because they have changed the articles of faith. Holy Trinity is an example. There are Catholics who aren’t Catholic because they don’t profess the true faith even though they claim to be “devout” Catholics.
That is not how it works and you know it. If a parish is established by a diocese or by an order with the permission of the diocese, it is Catholic.
If there is a situation at a parish that needs addressing, the bishop does that. It does not mean the parish is not Catholic.
It’s lazy, it’s sloppy and it is heresy to say that a Catholic parish is not Catholic.
Even if everyone who attends the parish believes none of the Creed or morality of the Church it is still a Catholic Church.
When a bishop corrects a priest and he leaves or hijacks the parish and the laity follow suit and declare themselves no longer part of the Church, then the bishop can kick them out. The Church is still a Catholic Church. They schismatics have to go elsewhere. Although there has been a case where they had to get a court order to get them out.
A while ago, I wrote the pastor of this parish directly about the situation with Mr. Biden. I’ve received no response. Sadly, I don’t really expect one.
I believe we are all called to speak out about such grave injustice, sacrilege, cruelty and scandal.
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.” Ezekiel 33:7-9
When my last breath departs, I will not be standing before Cardinal Gregory or Rev. Gillespie or that parish council.
We will all stand before the fearsome judgment-seat of Christ, our God who is just as well as merciful.
Thank you for trying.
I’m like that girl on the right in the picture.
I’d be disturbed too if Creepy Biden picked up my kid. The same goes for Bishop McElroy and Bishop Rojas.
Recently, there was an op-ed published (June 27th, I think) in the “S.F. Chronicle” entitled, “Catholic Bishops Trying to Weaponize Communion Are Alienating Their Own Flocks.” A very misleading title and a fraudulent, sensationally-oriented article. It was placed inappropriately in a section titled “Politics.” I joined with many other Catholics to send short letters of support and appreciation of Abp. Cordileone’s efforts for “Eucharistic Coherence” and Pro-Life. This Satan-infested city badly needs a conversion to Christ.
I think what this whole matter is revealing is that large swaths of people who are baptized Catholic have little to no understanding what it means to have Catholic faith. I wonder what they believe in that differs from the Democrat Party platform beyond affirming God exists and Jesus died on the cross. It’s like being Catholic is just a Sunday club that makes no demands on your moral choices.
How did we get here?
And even some ordained
Read “Infiltration” by Dr. Taylor Marshall to find out.
https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/infiltration-idiots-guide-to-problems-church/
Nobody in my family lives the Catholic Faith the way I do. And everybody in my family can say that same sentence. Look at your family. Is that true also?
Note to Admin: It’s really difficult to follow or respond to the comments’ threads, with at least 24 posters on this thread alone using “Anonymous” or “Anon.”. I think it would be appropriate to require a User Name for clarity. Thank you.
President Biden supports a woman’s right to choose an abortion. That is obviously a no-no. The parish, and its Pastor, obviously have a different view about Canon 15 than the minority of traditional, well-schooled Catholics still around. Let’s be clear about the lack of “this is the faith and if you don’t believe it and live it you will go to hell” teachings in the Church today. The majority of Catholics don’t have a problem with a woman’s right to choose. They do, however, oppose abortion. The majority of Catholics don’t oppose same-sex marriage. Yet, 25% of them go to church on a regular basis, go to communion each time they go to church, have great reverence for the Eucharist as they understand it, etc. They believe they are good people and they are. They believe they are good Catholics, and they are by their definition. The point is, calling them horrible people, non-catholic, and other names don’t keep them wanting to come to church. The church doesn’t call holy people, the church calls and welcomes the sinner. We should do the same.
But does the church welcome the sinner in such a way that prompts turning away from sin? What do people think the confiteor is about?
And how are the lines for confession at parishes?
Bob One, this isn’t a theatre. We are not trying to get butts in the seats.
And yes, these things were never issues. You know what it was really like before Vatican II (unlike some comments here who idealize it.)
Nobody talked about the sin of Sodom except as being on the list of sins crying to Heaven for justice. We were not even taught what it was. Maybe boys were?
They weren’t worried about abortion. They were worried about keeping kids 10 inches away from each other. If you got caught behind the bushes, you got married.
Sinners were gossiped about and ostracized. There wasn’t much divorce so there wasn’t the issue of remarriage but if you did do that, you did not go to Church, so there was no issue about receiving Communion.
Even after Vatican II, these were not issues. Part of this came from pro-life organizations; part of this came from the evangelicals. Cardinal Burke made an issue of John Kerry and said he would he deny him communion and Cardinal Burke was a person who St. Louis (and its newspaper) loved to hate so it made the news. I never heard of Canon 915 until 2006 or so. The internet drives a lot of this.
Living in California, maybe you had a different experience.
Jesuits are a scourge on the church.
Cardinal Gregory has no more standing in the USCCB than any other bishop. His opinion doesn’t count for more because his see is Washington. His opinion happens to be wrong, besides.
What I see is a bunch of divided people all claiming God is on their side, yet God isn’t stepping in to resolve the dispute. This is going to worsen. The Church is going to fracture even more, maybe formally split.
God resolved the dispute. People don’t accept it and sometimes those people do leave the church. There may be a faction that leaves the Church. There usually are just individuals who leave the Church. In the 80s, people gossiped about how the US Church would split from Rome. It did not happen. It never came close to happening.
Now when there are so many opinions on the Internet, it looks like a more fractured Church than it is.
This parish has had presentations by people advocating for women’s ordination:
https://trinity.org/social-justice/causes/Women-Who-Stay
Discussions and topics are co-moderated by a woman who founded “5 Theses”, which openly advocates for women’s ordination:
https://5theses.com/
This parish is a hotbed of heresy. The evidence is abundant.
I know what Catholic is, and this isn’t it.
Thanks for the links. It was interesting.
Stuff like that doesn’t happen at my parish.
Maybe in the 80s.