Bread Of Sinners

Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way." 

Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:1-6)

“In my Father's house there are many dwelling places,” and “…I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?”  It sounds as if Jesus is the manager of a B&B.  Therefore, it’s likely when we arrive at his B&B, owned by the Father, many of us will have complaints.  The room is too small.  The bed is uncomfortable.

Some of us won’t like our neighbors who make too much noise.  They will ask for another room.  Perhaps their neighbors are of the “wrong” nationality or race, or perhaps have the “wrong” opinion about important religious and political issues. Again, the complaints rain down on the manager.  

Jesus is not too pleased, but he must be tolerant and smooth or still the waters.  God is merciful.  Jesus puts away his whip and decides not to flip tables [or change our dwelling place], although he’s tempted out of good conscience and compassion.  His Father is the boss.

Every Eucharist is a dwelling place for Christ.  Who should be denied entry? Cardinal Raymond Burke, an extremely vocal opponent of Pope Francis, believes entry should be strictly regulated with an entry-prohibited sign for many Catholics.  He wrote the 2022 booklet: “Deny Holy Communion?” originally published under the title: “The Discipline Regarding the Denial of Holy Communion to Those Obstinately Persevering in Manifest Grave Sin” (2007).

So, why deny?  Burke’s primary arguments are that “giving Holy Communion to one who is known to be a serious sinner leads people astray in two ways: (1) Either they are led to think that it is not wrong for an unrepentant sinner to receive Holy Communion (and to be given the Holy Eucharist), or (2) they are led to think that what the person is known to have done was not gravely sinful.”  He makes an exhaustive case for denial relying on Canon Law and historical documents/decisions.  

Others have concluded the Eucharist should not be “weaponized” for political reasons with one notable past event being given as evidence. (begin) [October 2021 coverage published at The Hill] President Biden met with Pope Francis in Rome on Friday and the two discussed if Biden should continue receiving communion, despite his support of abortion rights. Biden met with the pope in a closed-door meeting and afterwards told reporters, “We just talked about the fact that he was happy that I was a good Catholic and I should keep receiving communion,” said Biden, according to Bloomberg. 

However the Catholic church’s discomfort with Biden’s pro-choice stance became clear just as he was inaugurated, with Josė H. Gomez, archbishop of Los Angeles and president of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, releasing a statement that included, “I must point out that our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences.”

The issue escalated over the summer, as Roman Catholic bishops of the U.S. pushed to deny Biden communion due to his support of abortions. That support directly contradicts Catholic church teachings that say, “abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.” 

However, the Vatican issued a warning to not create division over the issue of Biden receiving communion after American bishops tried to push a vote on denying communion to the president. Pope Francis even weighed in on the issue in September, saying, “I have never refused the eucharist to anyone,” according to The New York Times (my emphasis). The pope also emphasized that bishops should focus on being pastors, not politicians. 

Today’s meeting between the pope and Biden confirms the president’s religious beliefs do not interfere with his political stances. It also attests to the broader consensus among American Catholics, with two-thirds saying Biden should be allowed to receive communion when responding to a Pew Research Center survey. (end)

Pope Francis’ explanation was provided in a September 2021 article in America Magazine written by Gerald O'Connell. (begin) “I have never denied Communion to anyone,” Pope Francis revealed in answer to one of my questions on the flight back from Bratislava to Rome, Sept. 15. It was a significant revelation coming at a time when a group of bishops in the United States are pushing to deny Communion to pro-choice politicians, including President Joe Biden. Francis appears to be sending a very different message—and it was not the only one.

He sent a second strong message in answer to my other question about the heated discussion regarding denial of Communion to pro-choice politicians, when he called on bishops to be “pastors,” not politicians. I was struck by this because over the past year, I have heard several Vatican officials ask: “Why can’t the American bishops be pastors not politicians?”

On the plane, Francis elaborated on this when he said, “if we look at the history of the church, we will see that every time the bishops have not dealt with a problem as pastors they have taken sides politically.” He cited examples where their taking sides politically has cost lives such as in the case of the Dominican Friar, Giacomo Savonarola, in Florence in 1489, and the Huguenots (Protestants) in France in 1572.

“When the church, in order to defend a principle, acts in a non-pastoral way, it takes sides on the political plane, it has always been so,” Francis said. He asked, “What must a pastor do?” and responded: “Be a pastor. Don’t go condemning. Be a pastor because he is a pastor also for the excommunicated.” Bishops, he said, should be “pastors with God’s style, which is closeness, compassion and tenderness.” (end)

We soon will return to this heated issue of denying communion especially as we get deeper into 2023 and then the 2024 election year. Jesus said to his disciples and now to us: "Do not let your hearts be troubled.”  But they will be as Catholics continue to divide on receipt of the Eucharist.  This division will harden our hearts.  

Jesus said to him and now to us: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  There are numerous ways to follow the way and truth and to go to the Father besides the Eucharist, although it is first and foremost.  Following means to show mercy, compassion, love, and to forgive.  When we follow Jesus in these ways, our hearts will no longer be troubled.

Denying Holy Communion is a hot-button religious and politically motivated issue.  While I appreciate Cardinal Burke’s well-presented perspective, I choose to follow our shepherd, Pope Francis.  Like Francis, I prefer to call the Eucharist “medicine for the sinner” and not to deny those in need of the healing offered by that medicine.

Our Pope has said: “When we receive the Eucharist, Jesus does the same with us: he knows us; he knows we are sinners; he knows we make many mistakes, but he does not give up on joining his life to ours,” the pope said. “He knows that we need it, because the Eucharist is not the reward of saints, but the bread of sinners. This is why he exhorts us: ‘Do not be afraid! Take and eat.'”

I will continue to take and eat and never deny the Eucharist to anyone, especially because I cannot read minds or look into hearts - only my own.

Deacon David Pierce