Clouds swirl over bishops
Abortion issue threatens to overshadow proposed guidance on Eucharist for Catholics
Catholic bishops are moving forward with a new teaching document that some prelates and others called a partisan attempt to admonish Catholic politicians, especially President Joe Biden, for supporting abortion rights.
While bishops at a recent virtual conference argued the document would clarify Eucharist teachings in the wake of political stances by Catholic public officials, others called it a weaponization of the Eucharist.
“Almost daily I speak with people, Catholics ... who are confused by the fact that we have a president who professes devout Catholicism and yet advances the most radical pro-abortion agenda in our history,” said Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, who supported drafting the document.
Hying served as bishop of the Diocese of Gary from 2014 to 2019. The Most Rev. Robert J. McClory succeeded Hying in 2020.
McClory also supported the drafting of the teaching document that passed by a vote of 168 in favor and 55 against on June 17.
“The bishops approved the initiation of the process which will lead to the drafting of a document, and not any definitive text or statement. The process will include prayer, discernment and consultation,” McClory said in a statement.
Yet, just one day after the vote, 60 Catholic Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives issued a statement on the matter.
“I believe that every woman has a right
to choose their own health care, and as a federal legislator, I will promote policies that support the rights of women to make decisions that are in the best interest of herself and her family,” Mrvan said in a statement.
“I am a practicing Catholic who believes in the separation of church and state. The religious teachings I have received from my original parish and elementary school, St. Catherine of Sienna, have undoubtedly helped shape every aspect of my life.
“However, I f i r ml y believe the government should not use religion as an excuse to treat women inferior and exercise power over their personal medical decisions. It is most unfortunate that the U.S. Catholic Bishops are choosing this approach.”
Abortion rights didn’t surface as an issue during last year’s primary and general election won by Mrvan to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Peter Visclosky, D-Gary.
Mrvan’s chief primary opponent Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., echoed Mrvan’s sentiments.
“This blatant attempt to deny a sacrament politicizes the most precious part of every Catholic Mass, the Eucharist,” said McDermott.
“I agree with Pope Francis and the Vatican that taking this position will only achieve discord instead of unity in the Church and that we should all be reminded that as the Pope stated, Communion ‘is not the reward of saints, but the bread of sinners.’ ”
The Catholic bishops’ Eucharist document, expected to be voted on in November, needs the approval of Pope Francis.
It comes at a time as U.S.
Catholic Church membership has dropped nearly 20% in the past two decades, according to a Gallup poll in March.
Sexual abuse scandals involving priests have roiled the church while members have become divided on social issues such as samesex unions and abortion rights.
State Rep. Michael Aylesworth, R-Hebron, said religious views are closely held and personal. “And how you choose to express them should be up to you and your maker.”
Aylesworth, a practicing Catholic, said a position on Communion could lead to more fractures.
“I would say it further deepens the schisms between what the church thinks is right and society thinks is right. Its serves no purpose other than to keep the divide going.”
Dan Dernulc, chairman of the Lake County Republican Party, doesn’t feel like the bishops’ vote represented a partisan action.
“The tenets of our faith are that life starts at conception,” he said. “That’s what I believe. What the bishops are trying to do is say if you believe that, you should follow it and not take the most holy part of Mass, the Eucharist, into you.”
Dernulc s a i d h e ’s unabashedly anti-abortion, but respects others who differ.
“When it comes to faith, it’s just that.”
Fort Wayne-South Bend Bishop Kevin Rhoades, chairman of the committee drafting the new doctrine, said decisions haven’t been made on the final version. He said bishops not on the committee will have chances to offer input before the final draft is considered in November.