Catholics take a closer look at church doctrine





By Stephanie Bertholdo
bertholdo@theacorn.com

Conventional wisdom used to say that religion and politics don’t mix. But mix they do, from the marrying of the religious right to the Republican Party, to powerful religious lobbies that manipulate Congress, and now the Catholic Church where some U.S. bishops have attempted to twist the arms of parishioners to tow a certain political agenda through withholding the sacrament of Holy Communion.


In May, Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs announced in a pastoral letter that Catholics who voted for politicians who favored abortion rights, stem cell research, euthanasia or gay marriage wouldn’t be eligible to receive Holy Communion unless they recanted and repented their action in confession.


Msgr. Peter O’Reilly, pastor of St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church in Westlake Village, said in an e-mail, "No bishop has the right (nor Pope, who is really the Bishop of Rome, to be precise) to tell me how to vote. They can give me pointers to help me make up my mind, but the final decision is up to me.


"We human beings do not have God’s ability to see that much into the future," O’Reilly added. "In any case, one should approach such a serious thing as voting by weighing all of the factors, not just one. Legislation that affects the lives of the people, especially the lives of the vulnerable (e.g., the poor, the young and the elderly, etc.) is manifold in its consequences and should not be boiled down to just one issue," he said.


In Chicago, Cardinal Francis George denied Communion to members of the Rainbow Sash Movement, religious homosexuals who made a political statement by wearing colored sashes to receive the sacrament. O’Reilly said in a subsequent telephone interview that while he would have given members of the group Communion, priests do have the right to deny the sacrament to parishioners if they make a very visible public statement against church doctrine.


O’Reilly illustrated his point with the example of how the overindulgence of alcohol is perceived by most people as bad, while in the church’s view, it’s morally wrong or sinful. The church, however, wouldn’t condone banning the sale of alcohol, but would instead try to help the alcoholic.


On the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) website, an article ("Catholics in Political Life") stresses the Catholic view that abortion is "evil," but there is no mandate to "confess" transgressions against Catholic doctrine as sins to a priest in a confessional.


"We need to continue to teach clearly and help other Catholic leaders to teach clearly on our unequivocal commitment to the legal protection of human life from the moment of conception until natural death," the June 18, 2004 article said. "Our teaching on human life and dignity should be reflected in our parishes and our educational, health care and human service ministries."


The article further detailed how each person must examine his or her conscience regarding worthiness to receive Holy Communion, which represents to Catholics the Body and Blood of Christ. "This examination includes fidelity to the moral teaching of the Church in personal and public life," the article said.


O’Reilly interpreted the USCCB article to mean that while the church’s belief on the sanctity of human life is central to the Catholic faith, every person must act according to his or her own conscience.


In his e-mail, O’Reilly clarified the theory behind the sacrament of communion. "The Eucharist is the sign and the reality of our unity," he said. "It is Jesus who brings us together, it is Jesus who promised to send the Holy Spirit to ‘bring to mind all I have taught you,’ and that surely means that we remain as ONE people even if we differ in our political (or any other) opinions."


Catholic officials, as with many religious groups, use as much political clout as they can muster. In the USCCB article, the authors said, "We commit ourselves to maintain communication with public officials who make decisions every day that touch issues of human life and dignity."


The USCCB article also said, "The polarizing tendencies of election-year politics can lead to circumstances in which Catholic teaching and sacramental practice can be misused for political ends. "Respect for the Holy Eucharist, in particular, demands that it be received worthily and that it be seen as the source for our common mission in the world."



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *