Vito Corleone, a fictional character in The Godfather movie, and San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone have similar names; but they are at opposite ends of the sanctity-of-life spectrum. Should high-level elected Catholic officials, who support abortion, receive the Sacrament of Communion? A devilish conundrum.
Biden's name was mentioned several times during the contentious U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) meeting in June 2021. The bishops voted 168-55 to draft a formal statement on the meaning of the Eucharist. This would question whether Catholic politicians supporting abortion would be permitted to receive communion. Sixty-seven bishops signed a letter asking for a delay on the abortion/communion discussion.
Archbishop Cordileone responded to delay attempts. I am deeply grieved by the rising public acrimony among bishops and the behind-closed-doors maneuvers to interfere with the accepted, normally agreed-upon procedures of the USCCB. Those who do not want to issue a document on Eucharistic Coherence should be open to debating the question objectively and fairly with their brother bishops, rather than attempting to derail the process. Those who reject the teachings of The Church on the sanctity of human life, and those who do not seek to live in accordance with that teaching, should not receive the Eucharist.
Prominent Roman Catholic elected officials who take positions against church doctrine while continuing to take the Eucharist, are a hot button. Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry and many of the 25 Catholic members of Congress support abortion. Should they be permitted to take communion?
One of the flies in the ointment is pro-abortion Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington D.C. President Biden attends Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, D.C. and Biden devotees have no problem giving him Communion. One wonders why a pro-abortion cleric is a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church.
Pope Francis always defends the unborn. Life, once conceived, must be protected with the utmost care; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes. What is thrown away is not only dispensable objects, but often human beings themselves; victims of abortion will never see the light of day. This horrendous crime is a very grave sin.
Defend the unborn against abortion, even if they persecute you, set traps for you, take you to court or kill you. - We should commit ourselves to Eucharist Coherence, we should be conscious that people cannot receive Holy Communion and at the same time act or speak against the Commandments, in particular when abortions, euthanasia and other serious crimes against life are facilitated.
Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, President of the USCCB, has concerns about President Biden. Our President has pledged to pursue certain policies that advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously abortion. As Pope Francis teaches, we cannot stay silent when nearly a million unborn lives are being cast aside in our country year after year through abortion.
President Biden said in 2012, “Life begins at conception, that's the Church's judgement. I accept it, but I refuse to impose it on others.” Nine years later, he claims it is a personal matter to decide when human life begins. It is a personal matter to decide, just like deciding whether there are 12 inches in a foot is a personal matter. Being scientifically ignorant about basic human development should be an embarrassment.
Pro-abortionists profess that an unborn child is just tissue. The former President of Planned Parenthood, Faye Wattleton, said, “I think we have deluded ourselves into believing that people don't know that abortion is killing.” Science proves that the development of a human starts at fertilization and ends at death.
Archbishop Cordileone is grieved that this situation even needs comment. He warns against pro-abortion Catholics receiving communion, and writes, “We are dealing with public figures and examples of public cooperation in moral evil, this correction can also take the public form of exclusion from the reception of Holy Communion. When other avenues are exhausted, the only recourse a pastor has left is the public medicine of temporary exclusion from the Lords Table. This is a bitter medicine, but the gravity of the evil of abortion can sometimes warrant it. In the case of someone so prominent as the President of the United States, this is a scandal, and it is causing confusion in the minds of Catholics."
Most would agree that Archbishop Cordileone's solution is more appropriate than elected officials waking up with a dead horse-head in their bed.
The internationally published writer is a former English teacher, stockbroker, and owner/president of a small corporation. She is active with Republican Women Federated, The Coachella Valley Lincoln Club, The California Republican Party, and Armed Services YMCA- 29 Palms Marine Base. She can be reached at darlenecasella@msn.com