Bishops wrongheaded to weaponize Communion

Every day, someone in the Catholic Church’s hierarchy wakes up says, “What can we do today to show how out of touch we are with our people and lose more of them?” The current leader of that effort is José Gomez, archbishop of Los Angeles and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The conference is considering whether Catholic politicians, like President Joe Biden, should be denied Communion—the heart of the Catholic liturgy—when they are pro-choice regarding abortion.

When you consider that the bishops didn’t say a word about Trump—likely the most immoral of all presidents, save, perhaps Andrew Jackson—this is a stunning move. “The former guy,” as Biden has referred to him, was a racist, a womanizer, misogynistic, mendacious and narcissistic.

Apparently, the bishops believe that because Biden is Catholic, he’s obligated to carry their anti-abortion message, never mind that he presides over a nation where just 20 percent of adults are Catholics. What right does Biden have to preach Catholic dogma to the other 80 percent? Hello, bishops, we’re not running a Catholic theocracy here.

Let’s remember, the nation is divided on the issue. According to a Gallup poll conducted last May, 47 percent of those surveyed think abortion is “morally acceptable,” and 46 percent said it’s “morally wrong.”

Division on abortion exists with the bishops’ own people. Catholics are split almost 50-50 as Democrats and Republicans and mostly side with their parties on abortion. A Pew Research poll in 2019 found that 64 percent of Catholic Democrats and Democratic leaners say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 55 percent of Catholic Republicans and GOP leaners think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.

The bishops should be high-fiving each other and doing cartwheels over Biden. Not only is he Catholic, but, unlike JFK, our first Catholic president, Biden wears his Catholicism on his sleeve and isn’t a philanderer. On top of that, he’s empathetic and emotionally intelligent. What’s not to like? Oh, yeah, he isn’t forcing Catholic doctrine on the nation.

The bishops should think of how they might use Biden as an ally. Instead, they’re giving priority to the culture war that has overtaken the subject of abortion. Let the bishops preach all day long—to their Catholic congregants—about the sin of abortion. And while they’re at it, they should be searching for ways to minimize unwanted pregnancies and provide life-giving options to pregnant women who don’t want to be mothers.

Weaponizing Communion makes the bishops look as small-minded and wrongheaded as the evangelical right but in a different way. The evangelicals overlooked all of Trump’s many personal failings in exchange for his position on abortion and gay rights, the latter disguised as religious freedom.

The bishops have done just the opposite. They have overlooked Biden’s long list of virtues and want to sanction him because he won’t carry their water. There are myriad social issues beyond abortion that require the bishops’ attention, most of which would likely galvanize the faithful, but the bishops suffer from myopia and, regrettably, have forgotten Christ’s admonition that we not be judgmental.

We shouldn’t be surprised. By virtue of who they are—older and largely white, celibate men who live insular lives—the bishops will always have a constricted view of life and, consequently, wonder why the number of Catholics in America is decreasing.

I write all this as a practicing cradle-Catholic.

[This post was published as an op-ed in The Columbus Dispatch on June 26, 2021.]

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Jack D’Aurora writes for Considerthisbyjd.com

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Mary June 28, 2021

Right on, Jack. Thanks you for sharing sentiments I feel is such an articulate way.
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Gary Allietta June 28, 2021

Kudos Jack. You’ve written the words that I would dearly love to send to my Bishop. This doesn’t even delve into the extreme disappointment that I have in the CCB for wading into the political pool; I don’t say the Catholic Church since the Vatican warned these guys to stay aware from this issue. Good insight on your part. If only the CCB would offer opinions on election rights now.

GWA
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Kay+G. June 28, 2021

Well written and I could not agree with you more. Left the Church many years ago when as a social worker I saw a woman who was repeatedly severely beaten by her husband appeal for the Church to approve her divorce. No way was the response. Yet they allowed Jackie Kennedy’s sister to have an annulment and remain a Catholic after 20+ years of marriage. She had lots of $. Then there is their blind eye towards pedophilia by priests. Sad state of the Church. Trump had to be the most evil man in the world. Yet the bishops said nothing again. I view the Church as corrupt as it was in the past centuries. The other christian churches are not much better as they seem to ardently support Trump corruption. The U.S. is fast becoming another Roman Empire…rotting from within. Glad I am a senior citizen that grew up in a much better world and will not see the final guts of the democratic institutions and the Church ooze out.
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James+Cowardin June 28, 2021

As a cradle-Catholic, I say, Jack, why drag religion through the quagmire of politics? Trump is not Catholic. He may be the worst person on the planet, but right behind him beeping for him to get out of the way is Traitor Joe Biden, China’s favorite US president. Read _Profiles in Corruption_ and even you might agree what a moral failure we have sitting in the Oval Office at the moment guiding our careening toward Socialism-Marxism. But, I know, it was another chance to slam Trump.. There are just so many other real issues out there to discuss. But be sure the script for the “Mumbler-in-Chief” is explicit enough and does not use words beyond the fourth grade reading levle.
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Bruce June 28, 2021

I mostly agree with you Jack on this one, but you could have left out the Trump reference as it does look like a cheap shot. The Bishops need to pull that big plank (not permanently removing child abusing priests for one) out of their own eye before considering the speck in others.
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Mike Ratliff June 29, 2021

Jack,
Your article should be titled: Bishops demonstrate the moral strength for protecting unborn children.
This ofcourse coming from a “wrongheaded and small minded” evangelical Christian.
Despite the standard polítical and incorrect racist jab parroted from CNN et al, I will take a misogynistic womanizer who stands up for unborn children versus our current pro abortion, on the edge of dementia office holder.
Putting the political jabs aside, the bottom line here is do we want to be a moral society standing up for children or a society of moral relativism. Which unfortunately I believe is where we already are.
Christ may not want us to be judgmental as that will be his job, but he also implores us to not forbid the children but to bring them to him. For anyone who follows Christ, you should truthfully ask yourself, “what would He do” regarding the sanctity of unborn life?”
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Nancy O June 29, 2021

Let’s stand up for all the innocent children who have been caged for years on American soil, all the American-born children sleeping in cars, all the children in an American foster-care system who get passed from house to house. Let’s bring these children to Christ and support the sanctity of the innocents already on Earth.

Thanks for posting and could not agree more, Jack. As a cradle-born Catholic, I left the church as a young adult when I learned more about the Catholic leadership’s persistent failings and disregard of protecting innocent children from pedophilias masquerading as priests (not all, but enough to know it was and remains an ongoing issue), homophobia, misogyny, and pro-life stance that offered few alternatives to people in untenable situations.

Pro-choice offers much needed choice for people to consider options when forced with very tough situations. I know women who made very tough choices, I met attorneys who argued for Roe v Wade, and I know countless of conservatives who are pro-life and have total disregard for living children who are in poverty-stricken, unhealthy, life-threatening circumstances not of their choosing nor doing. Pro-choice is allowing women to choose what happens to their lives and their bodies; it’s not an automatic abortion. It’s letting the right person have the ability to choose.
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Jim July 1, 2021

Leaving the Church does not do anything to fix the problems. The Church is the lay people, not the hierarchy. If we have any chance of making changes, it has to be from within. The Democrats can’t fix the Republicans. The Republicans cannot fix the Democrats. It must be done within their own ranks. The moral fabric of America has unraveled and we need people of faith, any faith, to get in there and improve it from within.
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