They know that God exists. They are absolutely sure of that. Their problem is
one of public relations.
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Saturday, June 19, 2021 11:13 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Catholic bishops vote on controversial Communion
document
So the actual issue is how to present a united position on an issue that defies
a united solution.
Here is the basic problem confronting the Catholic Church. Mortals attempting
to read the mind of God, while avoiding the question as to whether God exists.
And beyond that is the problem of how to pacify all Church Members into
believing that the words of these Mortal Men are actually coming from the lips
of God.
That reminds me, did they ever solve the question of how many Angels can dance
on the head of a pin?
Carl Jarvis
On 6/18/21, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Catholic bishops vote on controversial Communion document Image
without a caption Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, president of the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, confers with staff during a
virtual assembly on Wednesday.
(U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops/AP) By Michelle Boorstein June
18, 2021 at 1:26 p.m. EDT
Catholic bishops on Friday voted to create guidelines on the meaning
of Communion, a move that could be an early step toward limiting the
serving of the Eucharist to President Biden and other politicians who
support abortion rights.
The vote came after a 3½-hour-long emotional discussion Thursday at
the annual spring meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Multiple bishops clashed over how, or if, they should single out the
church’s teaching on abortion.
The vote on whether to create a draft document about the meaning of
the Eucharist, the bread-and-wine rite at the heart of Communion,
needed a simple majority. The measure passed 168 to 55, with six abstentions.
Biden’s presidency, the second Catholic to hold the position in the
nation’s history, is revealing deep divisions among U.S. bishops, and
one after another appeared Thursday at their annual meeting to declare
their fraternity is at a crossroads..
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Embedded in the organization’s agenda this week were explosive,
profound differences about theology, pastoring, human nature and a
political backdrop that set off a rare public show of division among
the bishops . One bishop said the men were meeting at a time of
“historic opportunity.” Another said he could not recall a moment like
this in 30 years. Yet another said the bishops’ discussion was the
most robust discussion in a decade.
The pandemic devastated an immigrant community. Its first Latino
priest is spreading hope.
Each side said the other was jeopardizing the church’s reputation.
Normally,
the men meet for three days each June in a huge Baltimore ballroom,
but this year (like last year) they were spread across the country,
addressing one another virtually.
“Our credibility is on the line. … The eyes of the whole country are on us.
If we don’t act courageously, clearly and convincingly on this core
Catholic value, how can we expect to be taken seriously on another
matter?” asked San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. He was
among the members who urged the creation of the document, an idea that
grew from Biden’s election in November and concern about the image of
him receiving Communion at Mass each week.
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But San Diego Archbishop Robert McElroy said the threat was the vote —
which would link a politician, their policy position and the
Eucharist, considered the heart of Catholic worship.
“The Eucharist itself will be a tool in vicious partisan turmoil. It
will be impossible to prevent its weaponization, even if everyone
wants to do so,”
he said. “Once we legitimize public-policy-based exclusion … we’ll
invite all political animosity into the heart of the Eucharistic celebration.”
A document that so elevates the sinfulness of an abortion policy — not
a personal viewpoint, as Biden says he personally accepts the church’s
teaching on the topic — McElroy argued, would fatally undermine the
bishops’
ability to speak on other things, “including the condemnation of
poverty, racism and environmental destruction.”
Catholic bishops this week will discuss if Biden qualifies for Communion.
It’s the culmination of decades of abortion politics.
The bishops spoke emotionally about their desire to be unified, and
how much they all treasure the Eucharist, which Catholicism teaches
brings God to worshipers who have prepared by examining their sins,
confessing periodically and fasting. Yet their appearances raised
starkly different perspectives. Does a good Catholic priest focus on
sin and repentance or first inclusion? Elevate abortion above
everything else or not? Is it a priest’s job to assess policy
solutions to a sin or stick to teaching theology?
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The bishops have talked for several years about reviving interest in
the sacrament of the Eucharist. But when Biden was elected last fall,
the USCCB created a working group to deal with what its president, Los
Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, said was the “problem” of Biden and his
policies on abortion and LGBTQ protections. That working group
recommended that the conference produce a document on “Eucharistic
consistency.” Some bishops immediately expressed concerns about the
aims of such a group; others celebrated it.
Biden, while he attends Mass weekly, has not spoken much since taking
office about his faith and how it impacts his policy views, including
on abortion.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
The prospect of creating a document on the “meaning” of the Eucharist
has kept the issue simmering.
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“I think it’s the time to clarify, to speak the truth — and why?
Because we are shepherds and teachers, and I believe if we don’t do
it, we have failed.
We don’t want to issue a document entitled, ‘We agree to disagree.’
Our integrity is at stake,” said Bishop Thomas Daly of Spokane, Wash.
Kathleen Cummings, a historian at the University of Notre Dame who
runs the school’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, said
the U.S.
Catholic Church for many decades was defined more by questions of how
and whether Catholicism — then mostly a faith of immigrants — could
fit into America. Questions of being outsiders united them more, she said.
But in recent decades, with the complete integration and rising power
of Catholics in America, along with the sexual revolution, the
divisions became more internal. And they have been building.
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“ ’Us against them’ — it worked for unity. Now, it’s us against us,”
she said.
Biden could redefine what it means to be a Catholic in good standing.
Catholics are divided on whether that is a good thing.
In addition to disagreement about issues, another sentiment was on
display
Thursday: distrust.
The bishops who want to create the document offered conflicting
answers on whether its purpose was to primarily restate church
teachings on the Eucharist, and thus reinvite people back to its
beauty, or whether it might focus on Catholic politicians or abortion.
Bishops who opposed creating the document cited past statements
Thursday showing that some appeared to want something akin to a
national policy on more definitive norms about who is excluded from Communion.
“I see a discrepancy, in what it is intended to do, and repeated
interventions that it’s about a Catholic president,” said Bishop John
Stowe of Lexington, Ky.
But the bishops who wanted the document, including the head of the
doctrine committee, said they had let go of the idea of something like a
policy.
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Catholic law gives the power to decide such things to each bishop. The
USCCB is more of an industry group and doesn’t have the authority to
mandate or even teach without two-thirds agreement and approval from
the Vatican, said Nicholas Cafardi, a prominent canon lawyer and
former dean of Duquesne University.
“The bishops have a right to promote Catholic morals, but what they
don’t have a right to do is to tell politicians which laws are
necessary to enforce those morals,” he said. “They’ve left the grounds
of: ‘What’s the best way to handle the problem?’ They say the only way
to fight this is to make abortion unavailable. You just changed gears.”
Cafardi added: “I think our president is pro-life because he favors
laws that will make abortion much less likely, and they miss the
sophistication of that.”
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Cardinal Wilton Gregory, who leads Washington, D.C.’s archdiocese and
has stated that his priests would not deny Communion to Biden, said a
document on such a sensitive topic needed more time and discussion.
“The choice before us at this moment is either we pursue a path of
strengthening unity or settle for a document that will not bring unity
but will very well further damage it,” he said.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.