Why Communion Won't Be Withheld

Dr. Jeffrey A. Mirus, Founder and President of Catholic Culture, has posted an interesting and timely article here.

In this week's Highlights article, Dr. Mirus discusses the reasons why pro-abortion politicians won't be refused communion in the United States.
This riveting article shows why communion should be withheld, but also why the prevailing culture won't permit it to happen.

I happen to believe that he is tight on target in his analysis - here are some excerpted highlights:

Although I am in favor of denying Communion to pro-abortion politicians, I am sadly convinced this issue's day has not yet come. Considerations of culture, spiritual discernment, prudence, fidelity, feasibility, jurisdiction, law and courage all enter the discussion. Let’s take a look at a few of the difficulties.

Reluctance to Discipline
Consider how much this reluctance to discipline is reflected in the life of the Church. The 1983 revision of the Code of Canon Law dramatically reduced the number of disciplinary canons and, according to a recent report from the St. Joseph Foundation, the Roman Rota decided just three penal cases over the fifteen-year period following the revision. The Foundation’s analysis suggests that the Church is “overdosing on the medicine of mercy”.

A Worldview at Stake
None of this is surprising. Modern Western culture is characterized by both a reflexive distrust of authority and a reflexive insistence that religious authority is irrelevant to affairs outside Church walls—so irrelevant, in fact, that most people would be astonished to see an ecclesiastical leader even attempt to exercise authority beyond the corporate structure of the Church.

The Match and the Fuse
These aren’t arguments; they are cultural facts. You may say that all it takes is sufficient courage to strike the match and light the fuse, and you may be right. But now we come across another cultural fact. The kind of men who are made bishops, for better or worse, are not generally dogmatic isolationists.

Canon Law and Ratzinger
Still, if you want greater discipline, you are in very good company. Canon Law, despite the fact that its remaining disciplinary provisions have been unused for nearly a generation, is on your side. Canon 915 still provides that persons who “obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”

Authority and Escape
One might well have wished for a stronger statement [from the USCCB], but we do well to remember that USCCB statements are themselves problematic. The Conference of Catholic Bishops has no magisterial authority.

Alternatives?
If the bishops were to decide unanimously to withhold Communion from pro-abortion politicians, one is still left to wonder whether the decree could be enforced among the lesser clergy. Refer to the discussion of reluctance to discipline, above. There are so many leaks in this boat that we are left begging for alternatives.

In the long run, it is also extremely important for all bishops and even the Holy See to clarify Catholic social teaching. Cardinal Ratzinger’s distinctions concerning abortion and euthanasia on the one hand, and capital punishment and war on the other, need to become the centerpiece of effective social catechesis. It must become increasingly impossible to make the argument that if I oppose capital punishment and favor abortion I am just as Catholic (and just as pro-life) as someone who opposes abortion and favors capital punishment—or any other argument of this kind. Sorry, but having a particular position on health insurance isn’t enough.

Alone Again, Naturally
Of course, since not all bishops accept Cardinal Ratzinger’s distinctions about what constitutes certain Catholic teaching (as no few have shown by repeated comments on capital punishment, war and even this particular issue), it is clear that we won’t have a chorus of statements “singling out” pro-abortion politicians. All we have gained this year, then, is a slight raising of consciousness.

Incredible as it may seem, the time is still not ripe. Therefore, Catholic Americans will have to fight the battle for the Presidency without significant moral support from their bishops.

Again.

The bottom line is that most Catholics can expect little leadership from their bishops. Some of us are more fortunate than others in being so blessed to have Archbishop Burke as our shepherd. Because he will teach the truth amid cries of rebellion and dissent, he will need our prayers and support as will other bishops and priests who stand firm for the truth.

Full Article here.