Benedict called the conservative Catholics "fanatics".

Some hardline conservatives Catholics are unhappy with Pope Francis and have often voiced doubts about whether Benedict stepped down willingly.

"Some of my more fanatical friends are still upset, they have not accepted my choice," he told Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview, at the Vatican's Mater Ecclesiae.

"There aren't two popes, the pope is the only one," Benedict emphasised.

The spectacle of having two living popes, one "emeritus" has led to constant rumors about Benedict's relationship with his successor.

Chiding the fanatical supporters Benedict said those who believe there are two popes are opposed to Church teaching.

Benedict said those nursing conspiracy theories are failing to respect his conscience.

"It was a difficult decision. (To resign.) But it was a fully conscious choice and I think I did well."

"They don't want to believe that it was a conscious choice."

"My conscience is clear," he said.

Benedict also took the opportunity to address the election of US President, Joe Biden.

Biden "is an observing Catholic and he is personally against abortion," Benedict said, referring to a point of contention that has arisen among the American bishops since Biden's election.

"But as president, he tends to present himself in continuity with the line of the Democratic Party....and on gender policy, we still don't really understand what his position is," said Benedict.

The presence in the Vatican of both a pope and a former pontiff - with the title "pope emeritus", both wearing white - has irritated some Catholics.

Leading church figures, including papal loyalist, Cardinal George Pell have called for new rules stipulating the status and dress of retired popes.

In 2013 Benedict for the first time in about 600 years, Benedict became the first pope to resign instead of dying in office.

The interview was published on March 1 to coincide with his resignation.

Sources

• The Guardian
• RNS

Today, we have an elderly pope in Rome, an elderly president and an elderly Republican candidate for president.

Age and ability

Because the 87-year-old pope has difficulty walking, the media were constantly talking about the possibility of Pope Francis resigning.

People forget that a president in a wheelchair got us through the Great Depression and World War II.

The ability to walk is not essential for popes or presidents.

In any case, the media stopped talking about the pope resigning after he performed so well in an extensive interview on "60 Minutes" and CBS News.

He was attentive, his answers were clear and his pastoral personality shone through. He hit the ball out of the park. Although some people did not like some of his answers, no one could judge him incapable of performing his duties.

Sadly, 81-year-old Joe Biden's performance in the debate with his 78-year-old opponent was not as encouraging, to say the least.

Rather than reassure the public, as the pope's appearance on CBS did, the debate reinforced concerns about the president's age, and caused handwringing among Democrats about whether it would be a permanent setback or something he can overcome in time.

Former president Trump

Biden's opponent was combative and on message, even though almost every word out of his mouth was a lie. The president's performance made us sad; Donald Trump's performance was scary.

Also scary are the people with whom the former president will surround himself if he returns to the White House.

The presidency is not a single person; it is also all the people the president brings to the executive branch to run the government.

Many of the experienced people who surrounded Trump in his first term have denounced him and endorsed Biden.

The second Trump presidency will be filled with incompetent sycophants.

Systemic issues

Beyond the personalities of the candidates, there are systemic issues that got us where we are today.

First, the Republican Party for decades was run by corporate interests who used popular grievances about race and religion to win elections so they could push through lower taxes and fewer regulations.

Republican demagoguery opened the way for a demagogue to take over the party from the corporate elites and party professionals who ran the party in the past.

Pragmatism gave way to the politics of grievance, which said that getting even was more important than getting anything done.

The Democrats, on the other hand, retooled party politics by replacing their own party bosses with primary elections as the method of arriving at a nominee after the disaster of the 1968 Chicago convention.

But in the absence of party elders, money and media now determine who gets nominated.

As primaries took hold in both parties, too, the most radical voters, unchecked by party professionals, gained sway. Rather than moving toward the middle to win elections, the candidates now move to the extremes to appeal to those who hold the most ideological positions.

In the past, Republican Party bosses could have stopped Trump. Remember, Barry Goldwater told Richard Nixon that he had to go to end the Watergate scandal.

Democratic Party professionals could have told Biden to quit after four years. Remember, Lyndon Johnson stepped aside for his more progressive veep, Hubert Humphrey.

Today, no elected Republican who faces a primary has the courage to speak out against Trump.

Nor is it likely Democratic professionals could get Biden to step aside and then coalesce around a new candidate without a political bloodbath. Every candidate puts self over party.

Today's politics makes one yearn for the days of Chicago's Mayor Richard J. Daley.

Party bosses brought us the likes of Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy. True, there was graft and corruption, but at least the garbage was collected. And a multitude of political professionals is better than one-man rule.

Money and media celebrities are running the country without any check. It is time to reverse this trend by giving some power back to political professionals.

• First published in RNS
• Thomas J. Reese, SJ is a senior analyst at Religion News Service

The Laetare Medal is conferred annually by Notre Dame "in recognition of outstanding service to the Catholic Church and society." American political leaders who have received the award in the past include President John F Kennedy, Al Smith, Ed Muskie, Sargent Shriver, and Tip O'Neill.

"Whatever the warrant for the award at that time, Biden as President has become the most formidable adversary of the Catholic Church on abortion, the very issue the nation's bishops, in their guide to Catholic voters, have consistently declared their "preeminent priority," the petition reasons.

Read More

Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries - a prominent ministry dedicated to rehabilitating gang-affiliated youth.

A new ministry

Immediately after his 1980 ordination, Boyle set about finding ways to give a second chance to ex-gang members and former prisoners.

He was pastor of Dolores Mission, a Catholic church and school that had one of the highest concentrations of gang activity in Los Angeles.

Six years later - just after the Los Angeles riots - he extended the ministry and founded Homeboy Industries.

It included the Homeboy Bakery where former prisoners and former gang members learned skills and got the chance to make changes in their lives.

Homeboy today

Thirty-six years later, that first social enterprise business has evolved into 13 social enterprises Homeboy Industries says.

It claims to be the United States' largest gang-intervention programme.

The nonprofit uses its $40 million budget to provide services and support to 10,000 people annually.

The nationwide ministry offers training and job skills to those formerly involved in gangs or in jail. Other services include case management, tattoo removal, mental health and legal services, and General Educational Development completion.

Homeboys Industries officials say Boyle "exemplifies the transformative power of compassion, forgiveness and second chances.

"For nearly forty years Father Greg has empowered hundreds of thousands of individuals to break free from the cycles of poverty, violence and incarceration."

Although the group says it is "not affiliated with any particular religion" it notes many of its works are "in line with the Jesuit practice of social justice".

Homeboy does not seek to "downplay" its Catholic identity, Boyle says. In fact, several years ago he described the ministry as "soaked with the Gospel".

The award

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the United States' highest civilian honour. This year, 19 people including Boyle received the award at a special White House ceremony on 3 May.

President Joe Biden - also a Catholic - presented the medals to the recipients.

White House officials say the medal is presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the country's prosperity, values, security, world peace and other significant societal, public and private endeavours.

The honorees "built teams, coalitions, movements, organisations and businesses that shaped America for the better" the White House notes.

"They are the pinnacle of leadership in their fields. They consistently demonstrated over their careers the power of community, hard work and service."

Other Catholic honourees to be presented the Medal of Freedom this year include former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and former Secretary of State John Kerry. Both are known for their pro-abortion advocacy.

In 2020, Boyle was one of several hundred religious leaders who signed an endorsement of Biden's campaign.

He also called for the Church to "include with more compassion our LGBTQ sisters and brothers".

Source

• CNA
• Los Angeles Daily News

Pew Research released a report on Apr 30 exploring support for presidential candidates sorted by religious affiliation.

The poll found that 55% of Catholics support or lean towards supporting former President Donald Trump in a head-to-head against Biden.

Conversely, only 43% of Catholics support Biden in the same one-on-one pairing.

The 12% margin of support for Trump marks a significant shift from 2020 when he held an extremely narrow lead—50% to 49%.

Biden currently leads among Hispanic Catholics with a narrow 49%-47% split, but the close contest marks a major shift rightward for the demographic.

Read More

Speaking on Face the Nation, Gregory expressed his view on Biden's faith, acknowledging sincerity but highlighting inconsistencies.

"I would say that he's very sincere about his faith. But like a number of Catholics, he picks and chooses dimensions of the faith to highlight while ignoring or even contradicting other parts" Gregory replied.

"There is a phrase that we have used in the past, a "cafeteria Catholic"- you choose that which is attractive and dismiss that which is challenging."

Biden a "devout Catholic"

Biden has repeatedly described himself as a "devout Catholic" who attends church regularly. The White House has also used the term to describe Biden when defending his aggressive pro-choice stance on abortion.

CBS News host Ed O'Keefe pressed Gregory, asking the country's first Black cardinal to identify aspects of the faith that Biden had forgotten.

Gregory told the host that while he admires him "tremendously", he hoped Biden would be more explicit in his personal belief as it relates to "life issues" instead of manipulating dimensions of the faith for his "political advantage".

"I would say there are things, especially in terms of life issues, there are things that he chooses to ignore, or he uses the current situation as a political pawn rather than saying 'Look, my church believes this, I'm a good Catholic, I would like to believe this.' Rather than to twist and turn some dimensions of the faith as a political advantage" Gregory said.

Abortion stance "incoherence"

Biden's stance on abortion, diverging from Catholic doctrine, has drawn criticism from many Catholics.

Pope Francis himself criticised Biden's views on abortion in July 2021. Francis argued that Biden's faith and pro-choice views were a display of "incoherence".

His observance of National Transgender Visibility Day on Easter Sunday prompted accusations of overshadowing the Christian holiday.

However, Biden wrote on Easter Sunday: "Jill and I send our warmest wishes to Christians around the world celebrating Easter Sunday. Easter reminds us of the power of hope and the promise of Christ's Resurrection."

Biden is the second Catholic US president after the late John F Kennedy.

Sources

Fox News

The Gazette

CathNews New Zealand

The future for Palestinians and Israelis is being erased each passing day. Before it is too late, the United States and Congress should side with peace, not more war, in the Middle East.

Hamas' horrific attacks that killed more than 1,400 Israelis and their abduction of more than 200 civilians should be strongly condemned.

The U.S. and international community should work fervently to hold those responsible accountable while securing the release of hostages. I stand for the safety and dignity of all Israelis.

I also stand for the safety and dignity of all Palestinians.

The indiscriminate, inhumane Israeli response that has already claimed as many as 8,000 lives in Gaza, including many children, must also be clearly condemned.

The U.S. and international community should insist international law be respected with all civilians protected.

As a person of faith, I mourn the tragic loss of all lives and pray for those who have lost loved ones in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

I also mourn the response of my government, which seems unable to value the human rights and lives of Palestinians.

In stark contrast to the Pope's message, President Biden has made clear which "team" the U.S. is on by asking Congress for billions more in weapons for Israel.

This not only makes the U.S. complicit in unfolding war crimes; it also fuels anti-American sentiment, undermining national and global security.

Having lived through the 9/11 attacks, I understand the fear and outrage that terrorism inflicts on a community.

But two decades of endless war, military quagmires, trillions of dollars spent and more than 432,000 civilians killed from our global war on terror should have taught us that war is not the answer.

Instead of pouring more weapons into the conflict with one hand while supporting humanitarian aid with the other, President Biden and Congress should be fervently working to help halt the killing while addressing the root causes, so the cycle of war and violence does not repeat itself.

Some media coverage is not helping. My middle-schooler, after a discussion about cable news with classmates, believed once an attack is labeled "terrorism," there are no limits to the violence used in response. This is not the way international law works.

International humanitarian law does not allow the indiscriminate bombing of civilians.

Hospitals, churches, schools and residential neighborhoods are not legitimate military targets, especially when they are providing refuge for thousands fleeing for their lives.

Killing and abducting civilians can never be tolerated. But waging war against an entire population in response only deepens suffering, inviting more attacks.

My Quaker faith calls me to reject all forms of violence and to continually work to prevent war, break cycles of violence and rebuild relationships.

But people of all faiths — or those not religious at all — can see the horrors of this war and what may come next.

More than 70 Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other organisations, including my own, recently signed this interfaith and civil society letter calling on Congress and the president to press for an immediate ceasefire and provide some measure of peace, security and humanitarian assistance to the civilians of both Israel and Gaza.

We agree all violence against civilians by Hamas and the Israeli military is to be condemned and must stop at once. A ceasefire should be declared, respected and enforced on both sides.

Protecting civilians, securing the release of all hostages and ensuring humanitarian aid can flow freely requires a halt to the fighting.

And rather than sending billions more in weapons, the president and Congress should work to de-escalate the conflict and insist Hamas and Israel fully respect international humanitarian law.

I cannot begin to understand the trauma and suffering people are now experiencing in Gaza and Israel, but I can choose to stand on the side of peace and of ending the killing, the side where human dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians still resides together.

• Bridget Moix is general secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation and its associated Quaker hospitality center, Friends Place on Capitol Hill. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.
• First published in Religion News Service. Republished with permission.

Before welcoming the island leaders, gathered under the umbrella of the 18-nation Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) on Monday, Biden announced US diplomatic recognition of two more Pacific islands nations, the Cook Islands and Niue.

"The United States is committed to ensuring an Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, prosperous, and secure. We're committed to working with all the nations around this table to achieve that goal," Biden said at the welcoming ceremony.

He pledged to work with Congress to provide $US200 million ($NZ335 million) more in funding for projects in the region aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, spurring economic growth, countering illegal fishing and improving public health, according to a document issued after a working lunch with the group.

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, the island forum's chair, called the summit "an opportunity ... to develop our partnerships for prosperity."

He urged Washington "to actively engage at the highest level" in the 52nd PIF leaders meeting he would host in a few weeks to endorse its 2050 Strategy. Continue reading

Archbishop of New York, Timothy Cardinal Dolan is trying to fix it - or at least, get some relief.

He's been calling out for a fellow Catholic, President Joe Biden, to help with the "tragic, broken" migrant system.

He's also been calling on NYC Governor Kathy Hochul to help.

Neither seems to care.

He says Biden hasn't answered his calls. Or letters.

He's also unimpressed with Hochul's response to him.

"I've spoken with the governor a number of times and haven't gotten too much consolation," he said on Saturday.

The next day the Daily Mail reported Hochul as having called for a 'historic humanitarian response'.

The migrant crisis

The US is seeing burgeoning migrant numbers everywhere - and NYC has become the migrant crisis epicentre.

Between the US Spring of 2022 and August 2023, over 100,000 new immigrants moved to NYC. Costs are projected to run up to $12 billion in the coming years. People will need housing and other basic services.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams says 10,000 migrants are now arriving every month in New York. They're overwhelming the already cramped city.

The Big Apple has long run out of space in hotels and homeless shelters. But it also has a legal obligation to provide a bed for anyone who asks for one.

"New York just can't handle them all, we know that," Dolan says.

"It's very unfair. This is [also] an American problem."

NYC mayor rallies religious leaders

Dolan is full of praise for Adams.

"He's been very good about rallying religious leaders, asking our help to advocate with the federal government which has done hardly anything, [and] with the state government which hasn't done much."

A few months ago, Adams publicly called for under-utilised buildings to be used to house migrants.

NYC Archdiocese — with nearly 300 parishes and 156 Catholic schools — heeded the call. They lent the city several former convents and schools.

"The mayor told us that he really needed some desk help in meeting the people and taking their records and helping to get them settled," he says, pointing to the work of the archdiocese's Catholic Charities.

The Church is helping find migrants housing, schooling, clothing, healthcare and legal assistance, Dolan says.

"Every day hundreds come in" Dolan says.

"We look them in the eyes, get their names and we love them and say, ‘You're part of us now. You're not a number.'"

But the task is overwhelming.

"We make sure that the priests are there, that the people feel welcome for mass and the sacraments," Dolan said.

What now?

Dolan feels the current system is "terribly wrecked" and needs "dramatic immigration reform."

"For us, it's not so much about politics and policy . . . we have to leave that to others.

"Our sacred responsibility is to help them. We hate to see these people suffer."

Source

• New York Post
• Daily Mail

He is raising questions about the ethical implications of the Catholic President's move.

Malloy, in a statement issued by the Peace Committee, highlighted the fact that numerous countries, including the Holy See, have ratified the International Convention on Cluster Munitions.

This convention explicitly prohibits using, producing, transferring and stockpiling these armaments.

"More than 100 countries, including the Holy See, have signed the 2010 Convention on Cluster Munitions which bans their use due to their indiscriminate nature and the risks they pose to civilian populations long after the cessation of hostilities," writes Malloy.

He also noted that the United States and Russia have not signed the agreement, highlighting the urgent need for participation.

Malloy and his predecessors have consistently called on the US government to endorse both the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Mine Ban Treaty.

Last week, the Defense Department made an announcement regarding the provision of "additional security assistance" to address Ukraine's critical security and defence requirements.

The assistance includes the shipment of cluster bombs which are designed to explode above a target and release smaller submunitions that can cause substantial damage to personnel and military equipment.

Critics argue that these bombs pose significant risks to civilian populations due to their wide coverage area.

Additionally, there is concern about the potential for unexploded ordnance remaining on battlefields, posing ongoing threats to civilians long after conflicts have ended.

President Biden's decision to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions faced bipartisan opposition in Congress this week.

Several dozen Democrats joined Republicans in voting to amend the National Defense Authorisation Act to block these munitions' shipment.

However, the amendment ultimately failed to pass.

Bishop Malloy highlighted that Pope Francis has addressed the issue of antipersonnel mines and cluster munitions, urging all countries to commit to these conventions in order to prevent further harm to individuals.

While recognising Ukraine's right to self-defence, Malloy highlighted the importance of continued prayers for dialogue and peace.

Malloy expressed his support for and shared Pope Francis' moral concerns and aspirations regarding this matter.

Sources

• US Catholic Bishops
• CNA

The poll, conducted September 12-19, shows Biden continues to face challenges in garnering support among Catholic voters in the run-up to Election Day on November 8. In particular, the poll indicates waning support for the president among Hispanic Catholic voters, traditionally a strong source of support for the Democratic Party.

Among other highlights of the poll, Catholic voters rank inflation and the economy as the most critical issues facing the country. Most say they are very concerned about the state of education, especially after the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read More

"This is a choice," he said before signing the order on July 8. "A moment to restore the rights that have been taken away from us, and the moment to protect our nation from an extremist agenda that is antithetical to everything we believe as Americans."

He repeatedly referred to abortion as "health care" and called abortion drugs "medication".

In the order, Biden states his administration's policy to support "women's right to choose" as "essential to justice, equality and our health, safety and progress as a Nation." Continue reading

Various governors backed pro-abortion amendments to state constitutions, state funding for abortion, and using federal facilities and supportive Native American lands as possible venues for providing abortions.

Biden himself called the 6-3 Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organisation decision a "terrible, extreme decision" and a "tragic reversal" of Roe v Wade. It would upend lives and impact "the health and safety of millions of women," he said to the portion of a July 1 videoconference open to the press.

"I share the public outrage that this extremist court is committed to moving America backwards, with fewer rights, less autonomy and politicians invading the most personal decisions not only of women but, you'll find, if they expand on this decision, men as well." said Biden. "This is not over." Continue reading

Numerous points of view are on offer. Some focus on love. Others are angry. Social media's having a field day.

Catholics, Catholicism and the Judiciary are targets for protesters. They all have their story.

Yet - provided nobody is violent, Catholic President Joe Biden is all but silent.

Abortion survivors' stories

Abortion survivors have appeared on television offering hope to women facing unplanned pregnancies. Their testimonies speak of alternatives and lives filled with love:

"If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy right now, I would say I hope that our stories bring you hope."

"There's hope and there's life sustaining options."

"I was adopted and placed in a loving home where my mom didn't have hope that she would ever have a family."

"As we've survived those procedures, I hope ... as our story was reclaimed, that yours and your child's can be reclaimed too."

Pro-choice response

One pro-choice group protesting against the leaked opinion is seeking support for rolling protests throughout this week.

Called Ruth Sent Us after the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg (pro abortion former Supreme Court Justice), the group is urging people to go on strike.

Using social media contacts, they are gauging support by asking signatories to complete a tick sheet about what they'll be doing to support the cause.

Some of the options include going on strike - eg from work, school or unpaid work - and offering to help spread the word via social media contacts.

Protests are being called for.

A Twitter user, who offered to pray for the Ruth Sent Us group after they called for protests at Catholic churches and the homes of the judiciary on Mother's Day, met strong opposition.

"Stuff your rosaries and your weaponised prayer. We will remain outraged after this weekend, so keep praying. We'll be burning the Eucharist to show our disgust for the abuse Catholic Churches have condoned for centuries," Ruth Sent Us tweeted.

"We rise up against a corrupt and illegitimate Supreme Court."

The President's position

The White House says Biden does not have an opinion on the use of protests to influence Supreme Court opinions.

"The President believes in peaceful protest.

"He believes that's part of our democracy and part of the history of the United States and this country.

"But he also respects and understands the independence of the third branch of government, and — I mean, obviously, the Justice Department — but also the role of the Supreme Court and what they play."

So long as people are peaceful in their approach, Biden's not about to interfere. He hasn't seen any violence yet, it seems.

Not everyone sees the world with his eyes, however.

"Promises to ‘burn the Eucharist'? Fighting words. This is NOT a peaceful protest,"says NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham.

Source

• Fox News
• Twitter
• Ruth Sent Us
• Fox News
• Fox Mews
• Fox News
• Image: WTVY

The Catholic Church catechism teaches abortion is a grave evil that destroys a human person with inherent dignity and worth.

Biden doesn't accept that view. In a statement about a leaked document suggesting the Supreme Court will vote to strike down Roe v. Wade abortion ruling, he says:

• "I believe that a woman's right to choose is fundamental, Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned.
• "I directed my Gender Policy Council and White House Counsel's Office to prepare options for an Administration response to the continued attack on abortion and reproductive rights. We will be ready when any ruling is issued.
• "If the Court does overturn Roe, it will fall on ... elected officials ... to protect a woman's right to choose ... elect pro-choice officials this November... we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law.

He argues no "mainstream" religion claims to know when human life begins. His own views seem somewhat fluid.

In a 2012 vice presidential debate he was certain life began at conception. "That's the Church's judgment. I accept it in my personal life..." he said.

This week, he says: "Roe says what all basic mainstream religions have historically concluded, that the existence of a human life and being is a question.

"Is it at the moment of conception? Is it six months? Is it six weeks? Is it quickening, like Aquinas argued?"

A poll last week found a majority of Americans say the Supreme Court should uphold Roe v. Wade. They include majorities of non-Evangelical Protestant Christians, Catholics and those who identify with no religion.

Support for overturning the decision is strongest among Evangelical Christians (45%), while 68% of Evangelicals say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.

US faith leaders are reacting to the leaked document, each according to his or her faith's views.

Some are outraged at the leak and focus on that. Many want better support for mothers and children.

• "A grave injustice will be corrected. Prayers answered. Now, the church must go over-and-above to care for mothers & their children."
• "Abortion bans are a violation of religious freedom. As well as a violation of dignity, autonomy, basic human rights."
• "I tell people of faith all the time ... this debate is ... about whether the government should have the power to dictate a woman's health choices ... this should be of great concern."
• "States will act to protect unborn babies or abortion rights... we must better support women with unexpected pregnancies."
• "Abortion justice is an economic issue, a racial justice issue ... in Judaism abortion is not just allowed it is also mandated to preserve a pregnant person's life and well-being. We will fight for abortion rights with all of our strength."

Source

• Whitehouse
• RNS
• CNA
• CNA
• Image: YouTube

In fact, that animosity has become even more virulent and graphic.

One American bishop (a Catholic bishop!) even called Francis a "serpent", a slur reminiscent of 16th-century anti-Catholic tropes against the papacy and the Jesuits.

The assimilation to animals as a way to disparage the pope is a bizarre reception of Francis' encyclical Laudato si'.

But it's the only reception there is in some places. (The bishop in question later deleted the offensive tweet and apologized, but he kept tweeting polemically about the pope's meeting with Biden.)

Many wonder what would have happened, under Francis' predecessors, if Catholic bishops had publicly insulted and showed contempt for the pope — something that the Code of Canon Law (can.1373) counts among the "crimes against ecclesiastical authorities and the freedom of the Church".

But the phenomenon has become too big to be treated from a canonical point of view alone. This phenomenon is a scandal but is no longer limited to isolated cases.

It has now become a fixture in the relationship between the most influential leaders of the American Catholic right and the current pope.

This animosity of the Catholic right and alt-right began, not with the 2020 election of Biden as president, but more than seven years earlier with the election of Francis as Bishop of Rome.

Disregard for tradition by those who profess to defend it

It's the rabid reaction against the fact that the trajectory of Catholicism - both in the US and globally - is not following the plans of those who envisioned not just a naturally conservative Catholicism, but conservative in the ways of conservative Catholicism in the United States.

Going back to the 2004 presidential run of John Kerry, another Roman Catholic, the Catholic right in the US has forcefully demanded that the Eucharist be denied to politicians who favour keeping abortion legal.

They invoke the Code of Canon Law. But they fail to mention that the teaching on communion as being "the medicine for sinners" is the doctrine of the Church and not an innovation of the current pope.

The Council of Trent (Session XXII) stated clearly that, in the Eucharist, the Lord "pardons wrongdoings and sins, even grave ones" — crimina et peccata etiam ingentia dimittit (cf. Denzinger, 1743).

This disregard for tradition on the part of those Catholics who would like to sanction Biden to advance a pro-life agenda (and a genuine pro-life culture is tragically urgent in the United States) is not due only to intentional or ideological ignorance. Often it is the result of real ignorance.

What we have seen in the debates among US Catholics - both in intra-ecclesial settings and in the public square - is a collapse of the sense of the tradition.

It has been replaced by a notion or idea of religious tradition that is politically expedient, but not genuinely Catholic.

This is one of the consequences of the crisis of the intellectual and theological reception of Vatican II and its doctrine on the Church.

An ecclesial crisis on the "sensus Ecclesiae"

There is obviously a scant knowledge of Church institutions.

In the case of the relations between the US presidency and the papacy, we have seen a total lack of understanding, even among some bishops, of the distinctions that exist between the Bishop of Rome, the Vatican, the Holy See, the universal Church, and the functions and roles of each of these.

In the small, yet vast world we call "Rome" or "the Vatican," certain things have become more complex from the time of Saint Peter, Julius II and Pius IX.

It is now a state government and a Church government with a diplomatic service. Inside its small territory, there is a cluster of churches, a monastery, a bureaucracy, a bank, a tourist site, a museum, a post office, a fire department, even a jail and so much more.

This is something both Francis and Biden know well. Some of the ideologues on the Catholic right also know that, but they choose to keep it hidden from their followers and sponsors.

This is not a theological crisis about the traditional teachings on abortion and the Eucharist, which are not in question.

It is a theological crisis on the sensus Ecclesiae, an ecclesiological crisis on the "sense of the Church", which risks being bent — even by the episcopal leaders of the Church itself — to the immediate needs of ecclesial and party politics.

Just "slightly Catholic"

The losers of the Civil War in Ireland took power in 1932.

One of the leaders was a man called Sean Francis Lemass. He had been asked a few years earlier if his political party, Fianna Fáil, was completely committed to the democratic ideals. He replied that his party was "slightly constitutional".

We might use the analogy for influential circles in US Catholicism.

In terms of their ecclesiology and their communion with a Church universal, they have shown and continue to show a level of contempt for the Bishop of Rome that would rightly lead us to say they are now just "slightly Catholic".

The issue is not Pope Francis. It has to do with a much larger problem.

In the same way that social and political concerns have shaped contemporary theology to the point that every field of theology has become, in one way or another, political theology, now in the US context Catholic ecclesiology has taken the shape of a political ecclesiology that has sectarian, and therefore, non-Catholic traits.

Within that particular Catholic culture, the political momentum will pass at some point, but the religious movement will last a little or much longer, also because the American "culture wars" have gone global.

Reactions against Francis' pontificate have demonstrated that we are past the moment when American Catholic neo-conservatism and neo-traditionalism could be liquidated as a passing fever, something that will have a life as short as the political season that generated it.

Basic criteria for remaining Catholic

It's something different. It is a religious movement within the Catholic Church and needs to be treated as such, by reminding them about some basic criteria of Catholic ecclesiology for remaining in the Catholic Church.

Here are three, just to start.

The first is that there must be a coherence between the goals, methods and behaviours in order to show a unity between one's life and the faith that is professed. Catholicism is not served well by the protection of political leaders whose private life is a manifest of wholesale contempt for Christian values and human decency.

The second is that there must be an acknowledgement and acceptance of the legitimate plurality of ways to live Catholicism.

Third, is that there must be a sense of visible communion with the bishops and the Bishop of Rome, the pope.

As the constitution of the Church of Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, states, the college of bishops and individual bishops have no authority unless they are in communion with the Roman Pontiff, the Successor of Peter.

The systemic crisis of the institutional Church has weakened our "sense of the Church".

But there is a danger of creating a false equivalence here.

Liberal-progressive Catholic dissent has never shown such contempt for the basic criteria of communion in the Catholic Church.

The controversy over Joe Biden and Eucharistic communion is important. But not because it's about the US president.

It's important because it is the story of non-conservative, non-traditional bullying by so-called conservatives and traditionalists who keep calling conservative and traditional that which actually is not.

• Massimo Faggioli is a Church historian, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University (Philadelphia) and a much-published author and commentator. He is a visiting professor in Europe and Australia.
• First published in La-Croix International. Republished with permission.

President Biden announced a "whole-of-government effort" to find ways to overcome the Texas measure.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) denounced the Supreme Court's refusal as a "cowardly, dark-of-night decision to uphold a flagrantly unconstitutional assault on women's rights and health," and promised new legal action: "This ban necessitates codifying Roe v. Wade" in federal law.

As a faith leader in the Catholic community, I find it especially disturbing that so many of the politicians on the wrong side of the preeminent human rights issue of our time are self-professed Catholics.

This is a perennial challenge for bishops in the United States: This summer, we provoked an uproar by discussing whether public officials who support abortion should receive the sacrament of the Eucharist.

We were accused of inappropriately injecting religion into politics, of butting in where we didn't belong.

I see matters differently.

When considering what duties Catholic bishops have with respect to prominent laymen in public life who openly oppose church teachings on abortion, I look to this country's last great human rights movement — still within my living memory — for inspiration on how we should respond.

The example of New Orleans Archbishop Joseph Rummel, who courageously confronted the evils of racism, is one that I especially admire.

Rummel did not "stay in his lane."

Unlike several other bishops throughout this country's history, he did not prioritize keeping parishioners and the public happy above advancing racial justice.

Instead, he began a long, patient campaign of moral suasion to change the opinions of pro-segregation White Catholics.

In 1948, he admitted two Black students to New Orleans's Notre Dame Seminary.

In 1951, he ordered the removal of "white" and "coloured" signs from Catholic churches in the archdiocese.

In a 1953 pastoral letter, he ordered an end to segregation throughout the archdiocese of New Orleans, telling White Catholics that, because their "Colored Catholic brethren share … the same spiritual life and destiny," there could be "no further discrimination or segregation in the pews, at the Communion rail, at the confessional and in parish meetings."

In 1955, Rummel closed a church for refusing to accept a Black priest.

In a 1956 pastoral letter, he declared: "Racial segregation as such is morally wrong and sinful because it is a denial of the unity and solidarity of the human race as conceived by God in the creation of Adam and Eve."

On March 27, 1962, Rummel formally announced the end of segregation in the New Orleans Catholic schools.

Many White Catholics were furious at this disruption of the long-entrenched segregationist status quo.

They staged protests and boycotts. Rummel patiently sent letters urging a conversion of heart, but he was also willing to threaten opponents of desegregation with ex-communication.

On April 16, 1962, he followed through, excommunicating a former judge, a well-known writer and a segregationist community organizer. Two of the three later repented and died Catholics in good standing.

Was that wrong?

Was that weaponizing the Eucharist?

No.

Rummel recognized that prominent, high-profile public advocacy for racism was scandalous: It violated core Catholic teachings and basic principles of justice, and also led others to sin.

In our own time, what could be a more egregious "denial of the unity and solidarity of the human race" than abortion?

Abortion kills a unique, irreplaceable human being growing in his or her mother's womb.

Everyone who advocates for abortion, in public or private life, who funds it or who presents it as a legitimate choice participates in a great moral evil.

Since the Roe decision, more than 60 million lives have been lost to abortion.

Many millions more have been scarred by this experience, wounded victims whom society ignores.

Abortion is therefore the most pressing human rights challenge of our time. Continue reading

• Salvatore Joseph Cordileone is an American Catholic bishop and is the archbishop of San Francisco, California.

Discussing a new Texas law that bans abortions after six weeks, Biden recently said he did not agree that life begins at conception.

"I respect those who believe life begins in the moment of conception — I respect that... (I) don't agree, but I respect that," Biden said.

Biden's new comments on September 3 represent a departure from his previous statements on the matter and follow those made by Jen Psaki, Biden's White House press secretary on September 2.

The New York Post reports Psaki snapped at a EWTN male reporter who asked: "Why does the president support abortion when his own Catholic faith teaches abortion is morally wrong?"

The press secretary then said Biden believes "it's a woman's right, it's a woman's body and it's her choice".

Reporter Owen Jensen followed up: "Who does he believe, then, should look out for the unborn child?"

"He believes that it's up to a woman to make those decisions, and up to a woman to make those decisions with her doctor," Psaki shot back.

"I know you've never faced those choices nor have you ever been pregnant, but for women out there who have faced those choices, this is an incredibly difficult thing. The president believes that right should be respected."

As a presidential candidate, Biden said he was "prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception," but added that to impose that belief upon others through the application of the law would be "inappropriate in a pluralistic society."

"The Catholic Church teaches and has taught that life, human life, begins at conception," Gregory said, according to the Washington Times.

"So the president is not demonstrating Catholic teaching."

"Our Church has not changed its position on the morality of abortion. And I don't see how we could, because we believe that every human life is sacred," he later added.

While stating that the church teaches human life begins at conception, Gregory noted that he served as an auxiliary bishop with the late Chicago Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, who emphasised the "consistent ethic of life, which says that life issues are linked."

Gregory then also criticized the death penalty, saying: "We've discovered over time, it's not always equally applied.

"The poor, people of colour, immigrants are more susceptible to having death penalty sentences handed down than the wealthy affluent who can afford the best legal defence available."

In June, US Catholic bishops voted 168-55 for the drafting of a "teaching document" that many of them hope will rebuke Catholic politicians, including Biden, for receiving Communion despite their support for abortion rights.

Gregory did not hint at any ecclesiastical consequences for Biden on Wednesday.

Previously Gregory said he planned to approach the President on areas of agreement and disagreement in a respectful way.

"He's not going to be on speed dial, and I hope I'm not on his speed dial," Gregory told Al Roker of the Today Show in February.

"But there will be moments when I will be able to speak to him about faith, about the works that he is trying to accomplish that we can be supportive of, but also areas where we're not going to agree. But I'm going to always try to do it in a respectful way."

In Biden's 36 years in the Senate and eight years as Vice President to President Barack Obama, Biden has reversed himself a number of times on the issue of abortion.

Sources

• New York Post
• NCR
• Crux
• CathNews NZ
• CathNews NZ

The chances are slim.

The origins of the document go back to the bishops' fight with pro-choice Catholic politicians, such as John Kerry, over the legalization of abortion.

Some bishops, like Cardinal Raymond Burke, wanted to punish pro-choice Catholic politicians by denying them Communion. Other bishops, such as the late Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, disagreed. George said he did not want his priests playing cop at the Communion rail.

The U.S. bishops' conference did what it normally does when bishops disagree: nothing. It left to each individual bishop to do what he thought best in his diocese.

After the election of President Joe Biden, a pro-choice Catholic, conservative bishops pushed for a document denying Communion to such politicians.

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, who heads the bishops' conference, responded to pressure from conservative bishops by appointing a committee to deal with the matter. He was publicly rebuked by other bishops for not following proper procedures, and eventually, the task was handed to the conference committee on doctrine.

The Vatican, meanwhile, made clear that canon law leaves the matter to local bishops. As a result, what started as a document on Communion and politicians morphed into a more general document on the Eucharist that the bishops will consider at the November 15-18 meeting.

Many bishops were upset by a Pew Research Center poll showing that only 31% of Catholics believe the church's teaching on transubstantiation, that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. Sixty-one per cent believe that bread and wine are symbols.

So, what should the bishops say in their document on the Eucharist?

First, they should emphasize who should go to Communion, not who should not.

Francis speaks of the church as a field hospital where the sick and wounded are nourished and cared for. Jesus gave Communion to Judas. St. John Paul II gave Communion to Protestants and pro-choice politicians.

The bishops should presume goodwill on the part of anyone who comes to the Lord's table. If they want to be united with Christ and his community, they should be welcomed.

Second, the document should not use the word "transubstantiation," which is a theological concept based on Aristotelian philosophy, not the Scriptures. I believe that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, but I do not believe in the Aristotelian metaphysics of prime matter, substantial forms, substance and accidents.

Transubstantiation was a nice way of explaining the Eucharist to Aristotelians, but it makes absolutely no sense to people in the 21st century. Better to admit that the transformation is a mystery beyond our comprehension. If a person can say "Amen" when the minister says, "The body of Christ," they should be able to receive the Eucharist.

Third, the document should emphasize that the purpose of the Eucharist is not to bring Christ down on the altar so that we can worship him. If you want to worship Jesus, go to Benediction. The Eucharist is about worshipping the Father, not Jesus. Jesus never asked his disciples to worship him. His message was all about the Father, not himself.

The ultimate purpose of the Eucharist is not to change the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ but to transform those at the Eucharist into the body of Christ so that they can continue his mission in the world.

Fourth, the document should remind Catholics of origins of the Mass in two Jewish practices: the synagogue service and the Passover meal. The Catholic Mass' Liturgy of the Word is at its heart a synagogue service — Scripture readings, prayers, psalms, songs and preaching — with the addition of New Testament readings. The Liturgy of the Eucharist is the paschal meal as transformed by the experience of the risen Christ.

Originally, the Jewish followers of Jesus went to the synagogue on Saturday, then gathered on Sunday for the breaking of the bread. After they were kicked out of the synagogue, they simply performed a modified synagogue service before the breaking of the bread.

The Eucharist's roots in the paschal meal are harder for Catholics to understand because of our ignorance of the Jewish practice. Yes, we know that the Last Supper was a Passover celebration, but what does that mean?

For the Jews, the paschal meal is a memorial, remembering what God once did, what he does now and what he will do again.

It is a thanksgiving meal, thanking God for his action through history. It is a sacrificial meal, by which those participating are united with God.

It is a covenant meal where the covenant between God and his people is renewed. And it is a communal meal, done with others, not alone.

All of this should help us understand the Christian Eucharist.

At the heart of the paschal meal is the Barakah, or blessing, said by the father of the family at the meal.

The term "blessing" can be confusing to Christians because it is not the food that is blessed but God, as in "blessed be God forever." It is a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.

The Jewish Passover prayer is also the model for the Christian Eucharistic prayer. My fifth recommendation is that the bishops' document focus on explaining Eucharistic prayer as the prayer, not just of the priest, but of everyone in the church.

The Eucharistic prayer, like the Passover prayer, remembers and gives thanks to God for his actions through history, with Christians adding the sending of Jesus and his institution of the new covenant and the Eucharist at the Last Supper.

This is followed by uniting with Christ in his sacrificial offering to the Father. In Eucharistic Prayer 4, we pray, "We offer you his body and blood, the acceptable sacrifice which brings salvation to the whole world."

Next, we pray that the Spirit will transform us into the body of Christ. Thus, in Eucharistic Prayer 3, we pray, "Grant that we, who are nourished by his body and blood, may be filled with his Holy Spirit, and become one body, one spirit in Christ."

Theologians use Greek words to speak of the Eucharistic prayer as having a four-part structure: We remember/proclaim (anamnesis); We give thanks (eucharistia) and praise; We offer (anaphora); We ask for the Spirit (epiclesis).

Sadly, most priests only use Eucharistic Prayer 2, the shortest, written by the anti-pope Hippolytus.

The bishops should encourage priests to use all 13 approved Eucharistic prayers over the course of the church year.

They should also encourage priests to say the prayer slowly and in a way that makes clear this is not the private prayer of the priest but the essential prayer of the entire community.

That is why he uses "we" not "I" when he prays.

Sadly, too many Catholics only pay attention to the "words of consecration," not the entire prayer.

Finally, the bishops should have a chapter encouraging people to abandon the traditional Latin Mass for the Eucharist as reformed by Vatican II in order to encourage, as the Second Vatican Council said, the "full and active participation by all the people" in the liturgy.

If the bishops wrote such a document, Catholics would come to a better understanding of the Eucharist.

I will not hold my breath.

• Thomas Reese SJ is a senior analyst at Religion News Service, and a former columnist at National Catholic Reporter, and a former editor-in-chief of the weekly Catholic magazine America. First published in RNS. Republished with permission.

As a result of this move, Biden's stance on the beginning of life is being questioned.

Recently President Biden is reported to have said that he does not believe life begins at conception.

This contradicts previous statements on when life begins.

Biden answered a reporter's question on abortion on Friday. "I respect those who believe life begins at the moment of conception," Biden said. "I don't agree, but I respect that. I'm not going to impose that on people."

The response is contrary to what he has stated in the past.

In a 2012 vice presidential debate, Biden stated that he believed life began at conception.

"Life begins at conception. That's the Church's judgment. I accept it in my personal life," he said. "But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews. I just refuse to impose that on others."

Biden said at the time that he does "not believe that we have a right to tell other people that, women can't control their body. It's a decision between them and their doctor, in my view, and the Supreme Court. I'm not going to interfere with that."

Focus on his comments came as the "Texas Heartbeat Act" became effective on Sep 1.

The Texas Heartbeat Act prohibits abortions in the state after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. It can be enforced by private lawsuits. The law went into effect after the Supreme Court did not act on a petition to block it.

The Supreme Court majority ruled that the petitioners in the Texas case - the abortion providers requesting the "heartbeat" law be blocked - had not made a sufficient case for relief.

Biden denounced the decision as "an unprecedented assault on a woman's constitutional rights" to abortion.

Biden said he was directing his White House Gender Policy Council, as well as the White House counsel, "to launch a whole-of-government effort to respond to this decision".

The groups will review "what legal tools we have to insulate women and providers from the impact of Texas' bizarre scheme of outsourced enforcement to private parties."

The pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List praised the court decision.

"The Supreme Court's ruling allows Texas to protect unborn babies with beating hearts while litigation continues," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List.

"The Texas legislature, acting on the will of the people, debated and passed this law with the very simple goal of protecting unborn children with beating hearts from death in the womb. This is how democracy works."

Sources

Catholic News Agency

Catholic News Agency