The Washington Examiner reached out to the Washington DC diocese regarding San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone banning Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi from taking Holy Communion.
Someone probably got a lecture or two for responding with the wrong email:
“Just sharing for you to know what comes in,” the email stated. “Email since Saturday, when I last checked the comms inbox has just been a couple of random people wanting to tell the Cardinal to bring down the hammer on Pelosi. Aside from Jack Jenkins at RNS, this is the only new media inquiry. It will be ignored, too.”The Washington Examiner reached back out to the Archdiocese of Washington asking for clarification.
Whoops.
Random people? Something tells me that The Washington Examiner is not the only publication to ask for a statement from Archbishop Wilton Gregory.
“I apologize for the mistaken email. We have not been responding to inquiries on this topic because Cardinal Gregory’s position has not changed from what he has said in the past,” the follow-up email stated. “Cardinal Gregory has no new comment about the issue of Catholic politicians receiving Communion. The actions of Archbishop Cordileone are his decision to make in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Cardinal Gregory has not instructed the priests of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington to refuse Communion to anyone.”
You know, not a lot of people know Gregory’s position on the subject. We can guess but still. This is HUGE because an archbishop rarely bans someone from Holy Communion.
In 2021, Gregory spoke to Crux:
Crux: On his way back from Slovakia, Pope Francis answered some questions about the reception of communion by pro-choice politicians. He said abortion is a crime and told bishops to be shepherds when making decisions about communion. How helpful were his words in terms of the current US situation?Gregory: I think it was extraordinarily helpful, and it reminded the bishops, all of us, that we’re not there as police, we’re there as pastors, and as pastors, we certainly have to teach the faith of the Church, we have to be true to the Church’s heritage of faith, but we also have to bring people along with us. It is not simply a matter of pointing out their errors. That’s a part of our job, but the other part is welcoming and drawing them closer to the life of the Church, and we need to do that more effectively, more publicly.So, I was very grateful for the Holy Father’s words. I felt supported by his words, and I think bishops should reflect on how he is trying to support us in our pastoral service to our people.What does it mean for you for bishops to “act as shepherds” on issues like this?It seems to me that a Good Shepherd, using that image that the Lord himself used, is always looking for the ones that stray. It’s easy to be a shepherd if the whole flock stays together. It’s more challenging if one or two of the sheep stray and then you have to go out and get them and place them on your shoulders and bring them back to the flock that belongs to Christ.
Also, has Gregory read the Canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law? It states: “Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.”
This is not hard. If you are not in Communion with the Catholic Church you should not present yourself for Holy Communion.
It’s a cop-out for Gregory. But, in all honesty, if Pelosi wants to take Holy Communion knowing full well she is not in Communion with the Church then so be it. It’s between her and God. It’s her soul…if she has one.
Then again, how many pro-death penalty people and politicians receive Holy Communion? The Catholic Church is against the death penalty. Pope Francis revised the Catechism of the Catholic Church to oppose capital punishment:
2267. Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”,i and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.
Pelosi asked on Morning Joe why the Catholic Church doesn’t punish pro-death penalty Catholics. Punish is the wrong word. She’s not being punished.
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