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A Great Moral Battle Brews
in America
By John Horvat II
Among the many surprises that will mark
2004 is the fact that a gripping film about Our Lord, “The
Passion of the Christ,” dominated the movie screens
and humbled Hollywood producers by breaking box-office records.
Perhaps even surprising, however, is the
current debate over who may or may not receive the Body
of Christ in Holy Communion.
Indeed, no one could have predicted that
Catholic politicians would feel the heat for their rejection
of Church teaching while receiving the Eucharist.
Something has changed on the political
and spiritual landscape where religious and moral issues
like abortion, homosexuality and rampant promiscuity are
shaping the debate.
As part of the reaction, over twenty bishops
have now issued statements saying that politicians who claim
to be Catholic must explain the ever-widening chasm between
their personal lives and public policy. As Archbishop Charles
Chaput of Denver, Colo., puts it, “to receive Communion,
we must be in communion” with Church teaching.1
The issue is taking on such an importance
that wayward Catholics and even non-Catholics are opining
on the matter. Many are now criticizing the Church claiming
that denying Catholic politicians Communion is divisive,
imprudent or politicizing.
Profaning Christ
Such claims display ignorance about
the Church and the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Indeed, the media seemed to have turned
the privilege of receiving Holy Communion into a “human
right” that cannot be denied to those who “feel”
they are in good faith. The media has unilaterally reduced
the Sacrament into a mere symbol of Church community.
Nothing could be more contrary to the truth.
The Church teaches that the Holy Eucharist is the actual
Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. It is only
proper that the requirements for receiving Our Lord be upheld
since anyone who receives unworthily is, in the words of
Saint Paul, “guilty of profaning the body and of the
blood of the Lord.” (1 Cor 11:27)
Being in Communion
Thus, these requirements are
very clear. Catholics must be in a state of grace and display
proper reverence and love for the Eucharist. Those who voluntarily
deny the Church’s teachings on grave moral matters
objectively break their links with the Church, create their
own law, sin gravely and no longer have the necessary conditions
to receive the Eucharist.
Those who receive Communion in a state
of public rebellion against the Church’s doctrines
objectively commit a sacrilege. It also scandalizes the
faithful when this is done publicly.
Finally, those who publicly defend attitudes
contrary to Church doctrine and morals, yet receive Communion,
give the erroneous impression to the faithful that these
attitudes are in accordance with Church teachings.
Politicizing the Eucharist
Thus, the praiseworthy attitude taken
by the bishops is a pastoral duty that is entirely in accordance
with Church tradition.
Those who would criticize the current condemnations
as divisive or as a politicization of the Eucharist do not
understand the bishops’ role or the nature of the
truths taught by the Catholic Church.
The object of the moral and doctrinal truths
in question is not to unite, divide or politicize but to
guide the faithful. Those who want to conform are united
in these truths and make these the norms of their lives.
The determining factor is not the number of the faithful
but the unwavering fidelity to Church teaching.
Thus, the bishops have a pastoral obligation
to clarify the consciences of Catholics as to the proper
conditions when Holy Communion may be received.
Anyone who insists upon receiving Communion
while violating these conditions is in fact being divisive.
By this erroneous public persistence, that person is the
one, and not Church officials, who is politicizing the Eucharist.
“If we claim to believe in Jesus
Christ and the Catholic faith,” continues Archbishop
Chaput in his weekly column, “then we need to act
like it—without caveats, all the way, all the time,
with all our heart, including our lives in the public square.”2
Breaking the Limits
The controversy over politicians and
Communion comes at a time when the Culture War that divides
America is reaching a new intensity.
Court decisions, circumventing any popular
participation, are mandating measures that go far beyond
previous court decisions. Following in the footsteps of
Roe v. Wade, the courts are not just pushing limits
back but eliminating them, and standards are not just being
revised but defined downward altogether.
For example, when the Supreme Court’s
Lawrence v. Texas decision gave constitutional
protection to sodomy, it also laid the groundwork for the
overthrow of all morality in law; when the Massachusetts’
Supreme Judicial Court mandated same-sex “marriage,”
it not only harmed but it redefined and distorted the sacred
institution of marriage itself; and by issuing false marriage
licenses to same-sex couples in San Francisco, city officials
not only broke the law but manifested their blatant disregard
for the rule of law.
Even vague references to God are no longer
sacred. All acknowledgment of a Creator in public life is
threatened or removed, and God’s Law, the Ten Commandments,
must be wheeled away ignominiously from public places.
It is becoming increasingly clear that
this is no longer just a matter of public policy or civil
rights, it is a religious struggle since it targets the
very core and practice of Christian morality.
Asking for Consistency
The growing realization that public
policy is reshaping America, morality and even religion
may well be one reason why so many are asking for consistency
among their lawmakers and leaders.
A growing number of American bishops have
responded by issuing statements calling for Catholic politicians
to refrain from Holy Communion because of their public positions.
Others, such as the newly appointed Bishop Robert McManus
of Worcester, Mass., have clarified the Church’s unequivocal
stand on homosexuality. “Catholics, especially public
officials, who willingly and with approval facilitate the
legal sanctioning of same-sex unions are involving themselves
in cooperation with evil,” writes Bishop McManus.
“Such cooperation is not free from serious moral and
spiritual harm.”3
Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Neb.,
Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, Mo., and Archbishop
John J. Myers of Newark, N.J., have gone publicly on record
saying they will deny Communion to such politicians who
approach the altar rail.
Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Fla.,
refuses to politicize the debate. “It is totally within
our competence to say that one cannot be complicit in the
injustice of denying the right to life of an unborn child
or an invalid elder and still consider oneself a good Catholic.
It is totally within our competence to urge our Catholic
people to participate in the political life of our nation
with coherence and honesty.”4
Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, N.D.,
was no less emphatic in his April 25, 2004 homily at the
Cathedral of Saint Mary. “While we may never impose
the Gospel message or force someone to believe in Jesus
Christ, we must always propose the truth. We cannot move
into negotiation, ever, with evil.”5
A Matter of Conscience
Bishop Michael J. Sheridan of Colorado
Springs, Colo., has taken the matter a step further in a
recently issued pastoral letter.
Bishop Sheridan demolishes the argument that
many politicians use to justify their anti-Catholic political
behavior. He states that they must vote their conscience,
“All people have a grave
obligation to form their consciences by adhering to the truth,
precisely as that truth is found in the natural law and in
the revelation of God. As Catholics we have the further obligation
to give assent to the doctrinal and moral teachings of the
Church because “to the Church belongs the right always
and everywhere to announce moral principles, including
those pertaining to the social order . . . .”6
Bishop Sheridan’s letter will undoubtedly
prove logical, refreshing and helpful to the faithful.
Further Steps to Take
However, decisive leadership is urgently
needed. For this reason, the American TFP initiated a petition
drive last August asking all the American bishops to take
this decisive leadership role regarding the homosexual issue.
With the same-sex “marriage”
issue now threatening to spread throughout the nation, that
plea is timelier than ever. Unfortunately, too many political
and church leaders are leery to confront it directly.
Transcending Politics
While political action is extremely
important, there is also a dimension that transcends politics.
For any public initiative to take root
in society, it needs the regenerating soil of a moral culture.
It calls for a transformation in the lives of so many Americans.
Any effective rejection of same-sex “marriage”
must also encompass the rampant promiscuity, indecent fashions
and immoral lifestyles that undermine this nation’s
ability to react.
It is a call to go beyond the regime of
practical atheism in which so many live. By living as if
God and his Blessed Mother do not exist, so many deprive
themselves of the spiritual means that are so necessary
for victory.
These are the very issues raised by the
Fatima Message. Our Lady issued her call for prayer, penance
and amendment of life. This call must be taken not as a
replacement for effective political or social action but
as the only perfect complement to it.
Indeed, many of those who have been mugged
by the cruel reality of this new offensive against Christian
morality are already making the connections and working
toward this transformation.
A Need for a Crusade
A great moral battle is brewing and
what is needed is decisive action, ardent prayers and steadfast
hearts. This calls for a true spiritual crusade.
Using the same-sex “marriage”
issue as a catalyst, Americans must work untiringly to create
the moral climate where homosexuality is rejected. They
must pressure their leaders to act urgently and decisively.
Ballot initiatives are already underway
in many states that would add constitutional protection
for marriage on a state level. Many organizations are rallying
throughout the country to show politicians just how strong
traditional marriage support is.
Above all, Catholics need to get involved
now. Catholics are the largest bloc of the American population
with a consistent body of doctrine on this issue that, even
if only a minority is mobilized, have the best possibility
to resist same-sex “marriage.”
Those who uphold traditional marriage must
not be intimidated! Pro-family Americans must voice their
rejection loudly and firmly, legally and peacefully, in
defense of Christian morals.
Above all, they must take the Fatima Message
to heart. Decisive action, together with prayer, penance
and amendment of life, make up the formula for the triumph
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
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