Catholic bishops are morally correct to deny communion to pro-choice politicians

Do elected officials, particularly those purporting to be devout Catholics, view sin, particularly the mortal type, a grave offense against God? If so, do these same politicians take seriously the necessity of sacramental confession before receiving the body and blood of Christ — source and summit of the faith — in the Eucharist?

A recent op ed by Paul Prather questioned the validity of Catholic bishops disciplining pro-abortion politicians.

President Biden, along with many other “Catholic” politicians, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have used politics to obfuscate authentic Church teaching on the respect and dignity of human life.

They refuse to recognize abortion as “sin,” a “grave, moral evil,” that has caused the deaths of more than 63 million unborn children and harmed the lives of untold women — spiritually, emotionally, even physically.

Biden and his absolutist Democratic colleagues are currently attempting to dismantle the longstanding bipartisan Hyde Amendment, banning taxpayer-funded abortions — an unprecedented move violating the right to life of preborn children and, as polls show, the consciences of the vast majority of Americans (Hyde has saved over 2.4 million babies since 1976).

Why then aren’t Biden and Co. held accountable for sacrilege against the faith and causing scandal among Catholic faithful? After all, the sanctity of human life remains a bedrock principle of the Church.

Pope John Paul II (“The Gospel of Life”) stated, “abortion and euthanasia are crimes which no human law can claim to legitimize.” The Pontiff called laws favoring both “intrinsically unjust” adding, ”There is no obligation in conscience to obey them.”

Recently, the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted to create a document on Eucharistic coherence - not, as so many have reported, to rebuke President Biden, but to remind Catholics and others of the sacred nature of what — or, rather, Who — the Eucharist is, namely, Jesus Christ Himself.

Key to this controversy is the Church’s disciplinary guide, the Code of Canon Law, which specifically forbids Holy Communion to those who “obstinately persist in manifest grave sin.”

As guiding principle for determining a worthy reception of the Eucharist, St. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 11, “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord…,” evoking further judgment from Jesus.

Cooperating in the destructive act of abortion, while not fully and properly forming one’s conscience, is reason enough to withhold the Eucharist to a communicant.

As Catholic writer and editor Mike Stechschulte puts it, “Communion is a precious gift — not a right — and it’s given so that we might examine our consciences before God, humbly repent of our sins, and return to Him before it’s too late.”

Many bishops, as shepherds guiding their flock, have insisted they are not trying to “weaponize” Communion by refusing it to pro-abortion politicians; rather, they are concerned for their souls.

Bottom line: Catholics, and other Christians, have a responsibility to further the kingdom of God — to instruct the Ignorant, counsel the doubtful, even admonish the sinner — “In season and out of season,” regardless of how difficult or uncomfortable.

So, when Bishop Peter Baldacchino of Las Cruces denied Communion to New Mexico State Sen. Joe Cervantes, D - Las Cruces, earlier this month, based on Cervantes’ vote to keep abortions legal up to birth in the southwestern state (in the event Roe v. Wade is overturned), while repealing the New Mexico’s conscience protections for pro-life medical workers, and even voting to legalize doctor-assisted suicide, it was Baldacchino who acted righteously: “I desire not the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live.”

Schu Montgomery is a Catholic middle school teacher in Louisville and lifelong pro-life activist.