‘The Church Cannot Remain Silent’: US Catholic Bishops Receive Instructions on When to Deny Communion to Pro-Abortion Politicians

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Daily Signal

Tens of thousands of clergy members will soon receive a copy of Cardinal Raymond Burke’s firm but clear instructions to Catholic priests and bishops on when to deny someone Holy Communion.

“The Church cannot remain silent and indifferent to a public offense against the Body and Blood of Christ,” a book with the instructions says.

Catholic Action for Faith and Family, a group devoted to defending the principles of the Catholic faith, published Burke’s instructions in book form in “Deny Holy Communion?” The organization’s founder and president, Thomas McKenna, told The Daily Signal that he is mailing a copy to every Catholic clergy member as part of a campaign to inform American bishops, priests, and deacons on the biblical and theological basis of church teaching.

“There is a great misunderstanding and many misconceptions about the issue,” McKenna said. “It is presented by some clergy, including members of the hierarchy, that there really is never a situation where Holy Communion should be denied to a public and unrepentant sinner who professes to be Catholic.”

 

“Most clergy have not studied the issue in a formal canonical way and only know what is presented in discussions and the media,” he added. “Cardinal Burke wrote this study to better explain the church’s history and wisdom in having canon law that addresses the issue. This is not a position of Cardinal Burke followed by others of the same bent, so to say. But this is a position that the church has upheld for 2,000 years. Cardinal Burke bases the book on formal teachings and doctrine, not on an opinion.”