This current tizzy over Catholic bishops' denial of Holy Communion to people whom they see as violating Catholic doctrine is interesting. Some bishops have said that John Kerry will be unwelcome at the altar because of his pro-choice voting record. Some have said that they will deny Communion to any Catholic who even votes for a pro-choice politician. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) has already been denied Communion at his home parish. In response, he's released a "Catholic Issue Analysis" in which he charts the 24 Catholic U.S. Senators and their voting records' fidelity to Catholic teachings. (Interestingly enough, the survey shows none other than John Kerry in the top three senators in accordance with the official position of the U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops.)

The fact that some members of the Catholic Church feel that Communion should arbitrarily be denied to politicians with whom they don't agree is deeply troubling. Communion is a symbol of Christ's forgiveness and God's love. It is a symbol of grace. Catholic doctrine says that "Holy Communion is morally necessary for salvation, that is to say, without the graces of this sacrament it would be very difficult to resist grave temptations and avoid grievous sin." It goes on to say that "The subject of Holy Communion is everyone in this life capable of the effects of the Sacrament, that is all who are baptized and who, if adults, have the requisite intention."

In other words, because some bishops may not like a person's political views -- a person who, presumably is a baptized Catholic who has the "requisite intention" for Communion -- they are willing to in effect condemn someone to damnation, by withholding that which "is morally necessary for salvation." I don't understand how this is consistent with Christianity's primary moral message of love and forgiveness.

It's a real contrast to the 1960 campaign, in which some were concerned that Kennedy, the Catholic candidate, would be taking orders from Rome. Now apparently some are concerned (and what do you want to bet that the Bush campaign is behind this?) that he won't.

Furthermore, I don't understand why this is a one-issue fight. Conservative Catholic bishops who have denied or are proposing to deny Communion to more liberal parishioners are speaking solely in terms of the prospective communicants' stance on abortion. But what about the death penalty? The Pope has firmly denounced capital punishment in sermons, public addresses, and even an official papal encyclical. So is the issue of abortion somehow more important than the other social issues out there? I mean, life either is or isn't sacred, right?

Or is this just a craven political ploy by certain bishops?

Comments

[lex icon]

The Pope may have spoken out against the death penalty, but the death penalty has no biblical prohibition. Indeed, the Old Testament tells you to kill your children if they are disobedient, and the list of offenses that lead directly to stoning a person to death is very, very long. God loves capital punishment.

[Vidiot]

True, there are many passages in the Old Testament especially that can easily be interpreted as being in favor of capital punishment. What I find disingenuous is when people, as these bishops are doing, are focusing on a candidate's adherence to one particular issue in order to either influence their congregations or to deny that candidate the sacrament of Communion.