"The Eucharist must never be instrumentalised for a political end, no matter how important," said Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego.

President Biden was reportedly denied Communion in October 2019 when he attended Mass while campaigning in South Carolina.

The priest argued that "any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of church teaching."

Backers of eucharistic exclusion cite St Paul's exhortation "not to eat or drink unworthily at the table of the Lord."

But they de-emphasize every element of St. Paul except for "discipline," making it instead "a theology of unworthiness," McElroy said.

And, if "abortion and euthanasia are particularly grave evils, they are intrinsically evil, and they involve threats to human life," he asked, then "why hasn't racism been included in the call for eucharistic sanctions against political leaders?"

"It will be impossible to convince large numbers of Catholics in our nation that this omission does not spring from a desire to limit the impact of exclusion to Democratic public leaders and a desire to avoid detracting from the focus on abortion," McElroy said.

McElroy's America essay came soon after Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco issued a pastoral letter saying: "Those who reject the teaching of the church on the sanctity of human life and those who do not seek to live in accordance with that teaching should not receive the Eucharist."

Although McElroy did not identify Cordileone by name, he commented that those aligned with this movement use three arguments to justify their position for "a national policy of eucharistic exclusion": support of abortion that departs from church teaching; a "theology of worthiness" to receive Communion — a rite in which the assembly prays to being, "Lord, I am not worthy"; and a persistent rejection of clear Catholic teaching that "extinguishes that worthiness."

The bishop cited the Second Vatican Council and the last three popes to blunt those arguments.

The Vatican II document "Lumen Gentium" says Jesus instituted the Eucharist as "a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity."

But "a national policy of excluding pro-choice political leaders from the Eucharist will constitute an assault on that unity, on that charity," McElroy said.

McElroy added: "I do not see how depriving the president or other political leaders of Eucharist based on their public policy stance can be interpreted in our society as anything other than the Eucharist being weaponised.

"It is an effort not to convince people by argument and by dialogue and by reason, but, rather, to pummel them into submission on the issue."

"At a time when we are emerging from a pandemic and seeking to rebuild the eucharistic community, it would be particularly wounding to embrace and emphasize a theology of unworthiness and exclusion rather than a theology that emphasizes Christ's unrelenting invitation to all," McElroy said.

Sources

• Crux
• Religion News

Speaking at the University of San Diego this week he said such labeling "distorts the call to authentic discipleship in voting rather than advancing it."

Abortion and the environment are "core life issues in Catholic teaching," he said.

"The death toll from abortion is more immediate ...but the long-term death toll from unchecked climate change is larger and threatens the very future of humanity.

"There is no mandate in universal Catholic social teaching that gives a categorical priority to either of these issues as uniquely determinative of the common good."

McElroy said even if either of these issues were the current preeminent question in Catholic social teaching in the US, partisans will hijack them.

They will suggest "Catholics have an overriding duty to vote for candidates that espouse that position," he added.

Last November U.S. bishops approved a series of videos to augment their "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizens" document.

At the time McElroy said he was concerned about a supplementary letter to voters that told them abortion is the preeminent teaching of the church.

This would open the door to people ignoring Pope Francis's urging that other concerns "equally sacred" should be considered.

These issues include "the lives of the poor and elderly people, human trafficking victims and others who are struggling to survive," Francis wrote.

During his talk at the university McElroy also listed 10 issues Catholics should scrutinise.

Besides abortion and the environment, immigration and refugees, euthanasia and assisted suicide, racism, work and workers' rights, poverty and inequality, the promotion of marriage and family, nuclear disarmament, and the protection of religious liberty are all top concerns to consider.

Catholic social teaching points toward an understanding of justice, life and peace that refuses to be categorised, McElroy said.

"At the same time, this very comprehensiveness makes the prioritization of Catholic teachings difficult for voters."

McElro also spoke of a third compelling election issue.

He said "the culture of exclusion" has developed during the last three years, resulting in increased racial injustice and new language and symbolism that seek to advance the evil of white nationalism and create new racist structures.

This culture "seeps into all of the most salient questions of life and dignity that our society faces and corrodes each one in turn," he said.

Many faith-filled Catholics believe the most compelling Catholic social teaching for American voters is the need to get rid of the culture of exclusion before it spreads further.

Voters must choose, McElroy said. "It is the candidate who is on the ballot, not a specific issue.

"Which candidate will be likely to best advance the common good through his office in the particular political context he will face?"

Source

• Catholic News Service
• Image: US News & World Report

That understanding of the "emerging pastoral theology" delineated and promoted by Pope Francis "both links us to the pastoral action and ethos of the Lord himself" and is "highly attuned to the challenges and culture of the 21st century," McElroy told participants at the annual assembly of the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests (AUSCP) held June 25-28 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

McElroy declared the "see-judge-act methodology" that undergirds this understanding of pastoral theology "is rooted in the world as it is, rather than in the world as it is imagined to be."

"The pastoral theology of Pope Francis," he said, "rejects a notion of law which can be blind to the uniqueness of concrete human situations, human suffering and human limitation."

Titled "Pastoral Theology for a Post-Modern World," the address drew a sustained standing ovation. McElroy exhorted Catholics to:

• Banish "judgmentalism from the life of the church, and replace it with the constantly affirming love of Jesus Christ";
• Embrace the principle that "lived experience of human sinfulness and human conversion are vital to understanding the central attribute of God in relation to us, which is mercy";
• Realize that "the pastoral theology of Pope Francis requires that the liturgical and sacramental life of the church be formed in compassionate embrace with the often overwhelming life-challenges which prevent men and women at periods of their lives from conforming adequately with important Gospel challenges."

The bishop drew an audible reaction from the more than 200 AUSCP participants when he said that while opponents of "elements of the pastoral mission of Pope Francis" often argue that "doctrine cannot be superseded by the pastoral," it is "equally important to recognize that the pastoral cannot by eclipsed by doctrine."

"And pastoral authority is as important as philosophical authenticity or authenticity in law contouring the life of the church to the charter which our Lord himself has given us," he said.

In "enormously important ways, the vision of pastoral theology embraced by Pope Francis is a rejection of the tradition which sees pastoral theology as primarily derivative," McElroy said. Continue reading

• Image: NCR