What a year this has been! With the Covid-19 vaccine now being distributed, we are beginning to optimistically hope for some return to normalcy in 2021. For Christians, future uncertainty comes with the inauguration of a new president, one who calls himself a Catholic but openly defies much Catholic teaching. Before he even takes office, the debate over his Catholic disposition has come to the forefront.
Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory, now Cardinal Gregory, stated he would not deny Holy Communion to President-elect Joe Biden despite his pro-abortion stance. Archbishop Charles Chaput said Biden should not receive Holy Communion because of his support of a “great moral evil.” Other bishops have made similar statements. Having bishops seemingly hold opposing views in the secular press and Catholic publications can bring forth discord and confusion among the faithful.
Referring to the proper disposition for receiving Holy Communion, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion. (CCC1385) (See 1 Cor 11:27-29)
Denying Joe Biden Holy Communion prevents him from committing a sacrilege. For a priest to offer the Eucharist to a person he knows to be in the state of mortal sin would seem to be cooperation in profaning the body and blood of the Lord, as well as an invitation for scandal. What message does this send to other Catholics who may be receiving Communion in a state of mortal sin? Might they take comfort in thinking what they do is okay?
Senator Dianne Feinstein once expressed her trepidation about Justice Amy Coney Barrett's Catholic faith by saying “The dogma livesloudly within you.” Contrast that with Joe Biden's Catholic faith where the dogma is of little apparent concern. How are Catholics to react if the Church refrains from using her faculties to support the dogma? Is this not the most opportune time in our history to make a strong statement on the evil of abortion? Denying Holy Communion to Joe Biden is merely showing concern for his soul. I would argue the proper response in this case should be excommunication where the abortion proponent holds the highest office in the land.
According to Canon Law, Excommunication is a medicinal penalty of the Church. Its purpose is not necessarily to obtain justice or satisfaction but is meant to awaken an individual’s conscience to repentance (canon 1312 & 1331). Is not the real objective here to awaken Joe Biden to the evil of abortion in order to save his soul? The problem may be that too many Catholic clergy tend to be liberal on social issues and are reluctant to publicly censure a liberal Catholic politician.
There may be reasons why some bishops consider excommunication an unwise or inappropriate tactic in this case, but an explanation of those reasons would help alleviate the confusion some Catholics experience. A unified magisterial statement would be prudent at this time.
As this awful year draws to a close, we look ahead hoping for better days when we can all worship together, without masks, share meals and hugs, and return to a normal life. After having the Sunday obligation suspended for so long, I am concerned that some Catholics will not take their Mass attendance as seriously as they once did. Saint Thomas Aquinas understood the effect changing a law has on its binding power. In the Summa Theologiae Question 97,Artlicle 2, he said the following:
But, to a certain extent, the mere change of law is of itself prejudicial to the common good: because custom avails much for the observance of laws, seeing that what is done contrary to general custom, even in slight matters, is looked upon as grave. Consequently, when a law is changed, the binding power of the law is diminished, in so far as custom is abolished. Wherefore human law should never be changed, unless, in some way or other, the common weal be compensated according to the extent of the harm done in this respect. Such compensation may arise either from some very great and every evident benefit conferred by the new enactment; or from the extreme urgency of the case, due to the fact that either the existing law is clearly unjust, or its observance extremely harmful.
Observing the Sunday obligation during the pandemic could have been extremely harmful, and thus wisely suspended, but we must realize the importance of returning to our Sunday obligation when the danger subsides. In my observation, the most vulnerable, the elderly, were the ones who continued attending Mass, while the younger Catholics were the ones who stayed away. Let us all pray that 2021 brings forth a renewal of fervor for our Catholic faith and our churches are filled again.
Wishing everyone a Blessed Christmas Season and a Healthy New Year!
