Confraternity Concurs with Communion Policy
The Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, a national association of 600 priests and deacons, publicly endorses the decision and rationale of Archbishop Raymond Burke (St. Louis, MO) to deny Holy Communion to politicians who obstinately and openly support abortion or euthanasia. We respectfully urge all his brother bishops to universally and decisively support this initiative at the upcoming annual Fall General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in November.
We agree that a regrettable situation exists where great scandal is given to the faithful by fellow Catholics holding or running for public office in government who also declare and give formal and/or material cooperation to grave evil. Abortion and euthanasia directly and intentionally target the innocent unborn or the terminally ill and seek to end their lives. These “are crimes which no human law can make ratified,” said Pope John Paul the Great in Evangelium Vitae, as quoted by Archbishop Burke in his recent article in Periodica De Re Canonica. The obligation to refuse Holy Communion to someone publicly unworthy or unable to receive is a most serious matter for it affects both the individual and the entire mystical body of Christ.
Canon 915 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law explicitly states that those “who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to holy communion.” Giving consent to an evil act is de facto formal cooperation in evil and is as much a mortal sin as the person who commits the physical act itself. Those who support abortion are as guilty of sin as those who have or perform abortions. Equally culpable are persons who may classify themselves as being ‘personally opposed to abortion’ but who also provide necessary assistance for the evil to occur. This is clearly understood as material cooperation in evil. Immediate or direct material cooperation in evil is always a mortal sin. Hence, individuals who refrain from giving formal cooperation are nonetheless still guilty of grave sin when they provide necessary material cooperation, such as the politician who votes for legislation enabling others to commit the evil of abortion or euthanasia. They are no different than the person who knowingly and willingly drives the woman to the abortion clinic or the nurse who directly assists the doctor performing the evil deed.
We furthermore applaud Archbishop Burke’s consistent stand to defend life, especially when the most innocent and defenseless are in jeopardy. We also commend him for equally applying the injunction against giving Communion to notorious abortion and euthanasia supporters regardless of their political party affiliation. Whether democrat, republican or independent; whether a member of the executive, legislative or judicial branches; all public officials who publicly support, promote or give assistance to others to commit evil are cooperators in that evil. When he was still Cardinal Ratzinger, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, clearly stated in his 2004 letter to the USCCB (“Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion”) that “not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia.” Therefore, “there may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia.” He also states in that same letter that the minister of Holy Communion “must refuse to distribute it” to “a Catholic politician [who] consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws.”
It is an erroneous and specious argument to say that denying Holy Communion causes equal or more scandal to the faithful. Some Catholics may indeed consider it a judgmental act or one void of pastoral charity and compassion. Recall the parable in Matthew 22:2-14 where the man is physically removed from the banquet for not wearing a wedding garment. Some might consider it unfair treatment since he was not one of the originally invited guests who refused to come, rather, he was asked at the last minute. Yet the gospel shows there is no excuse. The man was ‘speechless’ since it is presumed everyone had a wedding garment and to show up, even unexpectedly, without wearing proper attire, was an insult to the host. Catholic politicians have no excuse, either. If they openly support abortion and/or euthanasia, even though they claim to be ‘personally opposed’, they are in fact publicly unworthy to receive Holy Communion due to their cooperation in evil. Greater scandal is given when bishops, priests, and deacons do not protect the sanctity and dignity of the Most Blessed Sacrament by allowing public persons notoriously known for their positions which directly violate the Divine and Moral Laws.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dear Legislators,
Your
letter of May 10th is self-incriminating. While criticizing the Pope for
doing his job as supreme pastor, you yourselves betray your own duplicity as
Catholic lawmakers. The supreme pastor of the universal church has
jurisdiction over every Catholic Christian in the world. Canon Law makes it
clear that every baptized Catholic is under the authority of the Church in
matters of faith and morals. Hence, when the Roman Pontiff upholds and
enforces the Divine Positive and the Natural Moral Laws, he is not
interfering with man-made civil law, rather, he is reminding you of its
subservience to the higher laws to which it must conform for the common good
of all.
Canon 1398 states that “a person who actually procures an abortion incurs a
latae sententiae excommunication.” Anyone who supports abortion is a formal
cooperator in evil while those who ‘personally oppose abortion but uphold a
woman’s right to choose abortion’ are material cooperators in evil. When he
was still Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Benedict sent a letter to the US Bishops
in 2004 which said “a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in
evil, and so unworthy to present himself for holy Communion, if he were to
deliberately vote for a candidate precisely because of the candidate's
permissive stand on abortion and/or euthanasia.” He also said that Catholic
politicians who consistently campaign and vote for permissive abortion and
euthanasia laws are formal cooperators in evil and they are “not to present
themselves for Holy Communion.” Our words and actions make us worthy
or unworthy. Church law merely ratifies our decision by telling us to
refrain from Communion when we should not be taking it.
The Pope has the right, the obligation and the duty to enforce the moral
law, which is superior to all municipal, state, federal or even
international law. The Nuremburg trials proved that when Nazis were
convicted of the heinous evil and injustice of genocide despite the apparent
civil legality at the time. The government enacted immoral laws which
society and decency said should never have been upheld or enforced.
Your letter insinuates that the Bishop of Rome is interfering with American
jurisprudence. He is not. Pope Benedict is merely reminding Catholic
Americans that their first and foremost loyalty is to God and the common
good. Any and all civil laws which contradict the Divine and/or the Natural
Law are invalid and have no obligation upon anyone. If that were not the
case, then slavery, segregation and anti-Semitism would have to be tolerated
if some legislature or court upheld laws supporting these atrocities.
Thankfully, even the evil of apartheid is finally gone though it had been
legal for centuries in South Africa.
Learn from history and remember that it has usually been religious people of
faith who have convinced lawmakers and judges that immoral laws must be
abolished no matter how ‘constitutional’ they may appear. Our inalienable
rights do not come from any document, not even the Constitution nor are they
bestowed upon us by any government. The right to life comes from the Creator
and once given, it cannot be unjustly taken away. The unborn children
murdered by abortion have had no due process yet their civil rights have
been denied them. Even though they are in their mother, the unborn are no
more ‘property’ than was any slave. No one owns another human being, whether
in the womb or out of it.
On the one hand you state “advancing respect for life and for the dignity of
every human being is, as our church has taught us, our own life’s mission,”
yet you remonstrate the spiritual leader of our one billion member church
simply because he reaffirms the innate evil of abortion. How can you advance
‘respect for life’ and the ‘dignity of every human being’ without a complete
and total ban on all abortions? Reducing abortions and providing moral
alternatives, like adoption, are very laudatory, but they are not enough.
All abortions must be outlawed and Roe v. Wade needs to be overturned once
and for all. Would abolitionists and African-Americans been satisfied if
slavery had merely been ‘reduced’ rather than abolished? Of course not.
Though shamefully our nation legalized slavery at one time, limiting and
reducing an immoral evil and a civil injustice was not enough. Even though
the Supreme Court issued their infamous Dred Scott and (1857) and Plessy v.
Furguson (1896) decisions, slavery and racial segregation remained unjust,
evil and immoral, despite their apparent ‘legality’ by the highest court of
the land. Likewise, Roe v. Wade (1973) may have ‘legalized’ abortion across
the land, but its inherent injustice to the unborn human child remains a
moral and civil evil upon our country.
Catholics, whether politicians, judges or voters, need to act responsibly.
If they give direct and proximate material cooperation in evil, from
abortion to euthanasia, then Divine Law, Moral Law and Canon Law say they
are ineligible for Holy Communion. You do not need an official
excommunication, either. Hopefully, more bishops and pastors will remind
their people and enforce this so as to discourage any and all cooperation in
these moral evils.
Rev. John Trigilio, Jr.
President
Click here to read the original letter
Here are the infamous 18 Democrat members of Congress who want to tell Pope Benedict how to do his job as chief pastor and shepherd.
Representatives Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3), Joe Baca (CA-43), Tim Bishop (NY-1),
Joe Courtney (CT-2), Anna Eshoo (CA-14), Maurice Hinchey, (NY-22), Patrick
Kennedy (RI-1), James Langevin (RI-2), John Larson (CT-1), Carolyn McCarthy
(NY-4), Betty McCollum (MN-4),
Adriana Surfas (DeLauro) 202-225-3661
Michael Levin (Joe Baca), 202-225-6161
Will Jenkins (Tim Bishop),
202-225-3826
Brian Farber (Joe
Courtney), 202-225-2105
Jeff Miller (Anna
Eshoo), 202-225-8104
Jeff Lieberson (Maurice
Hinchey) 202-225-1265
Robin Costello (Patrick
Kennedy), 401-729-5600
Joy Fox (James Langevin),
401-732-9400 x. 18
Stephanie Valencia (John Larson), 202-225-2265
George Burke (Carolyn
McCarthy), 202-225-5516
Bryan Collinsworth (Betty
McCollum), 202-225-6631
Austin Durrer (
Caley Gray (Bill Pascrell),
973-523-5152
Brad Bauman (Tim Ryan),
202-225-5261
James Dau (Linda Sanchez),
202-225-6676
Philip Schmidt (José
Serrano), 202- 225-4361
Sonia Melendez (Hilda
Solis),
202-225-4573
Anne Warden (Mike Thompson), 202-225-3311
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The Confraternity of Catholic Clergy prayerfully supports Archbishop Raymond Burke of Saint Louis for his pastoral decision to dissolve ties with the Cardinal Glennon Children's Foundation for their outrageous invitation to a notorious abortion advocate for their fundraiser. Popular rock singer, Sheryl Crow, was invited to a benefit for a children’s medical center, despite the fact that she is adamantly pro-abortion and has used her fame to promote this grave evil against the unborn. The ends never justifies the means, so no matter how noble the cause, like raising money for a children’s hospital, the use of someone so well known for her abortion stand, especially by a Catholic foundation for a Catholic hospital, is unconscionable. She may do lots of good elsewhere and helping sick children is indeed a worthy endeavor but the simultaneous support of legal killing of innocent unborn children within their mothers’ wombs is a moral contradiction which cannot be given legitimacy especially by Catholic medical centers. Archbishop Burke made the correct response as did CBS when they dismissed Don Imus for his racist remarks on the air regarding the Rutgers Girls’ Basketball team. Consistency demands that not only individuals and institutions defend life and repudiate injustice, but that those same people not employ the public assistance of persons who openly espouse such evils as racism, ant-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, abortion, euthanasia, and so on. One cannot compromise principles or the natural law just to raise money even for worthy causes.
Rev. John Trigilio, Jr.
President
Confraternity of Catholic Clergy