San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Lawmakers, bishops at odds over Communion
Colorado politicians accuse church leaders of ‘weaponizing’ the sacrament
Catholic lawmakers in Colorado who have been asked by their bishops to voluntarily refrain from Communion say the church leaders are “weaponizing” the Eucharist to punish the legislators for their votes for an abortion rights bill.
The bishops’ request, made in an open letter sent to Catholic lawmakers June 6, called voting for Colorado’s Reproductive Health Equity Act in April a “gravely sinful action” that puts legislators at risk of committing a “mortal sin,” defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as one that brings “eternal death” if the sinner doesn’t seek repentance.
But Rep. David Ortiz, one of the Catholic lawmakers in question, said the bishops were confusing spirituality and politics. “Writing this open letter is a very political statement,” said Ortiz. “It is not stewarding people’s souls, it’s being a politician. If they want to be politicians, they should run for office.”
Some of the lawmakers say they will comply and stay away from the Communion rail, while others say the letter, signed by four Catholic bishops, including the Rev. Samuel J. Aquila, the archbishop of Denver, will not deter them from receiving the sacrament.
The Reproductive Health Equity Act protects a person’s right to continue a pregnancy, have an abortion and to use or refuse contraception without interference from state and local public entities. “A fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative rights under the laws of this state,” the act says. It does not place limits on when a person may choose to get an abortion.
Rep. Monica Duran, who is Catholic, said she supported the legislation because lack of access to abortion care disproportionately impacts vulnerable communities and people of color. She rejected the bishops’ letter, saying “it sends the wrong message” to practicing Catholics.
“When you say ‘Because you supported this piece of legislation you should not be able to partake in something so personal and private between you and your God,’ I take issue with that,” said Duran. “Jesus brought everybody to the table.”
State Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, who was raised Catholic but no longer considers herself a member of the church, told Religion News Service she was shocked to hear of the bishops’ letter, especially in light of the Vatican’s instruction to U.S.
bishops to tread carefully when they considered withholding Communion from President Joe Biden over his support for abortion rights last fall.
Pope Francis told reporters at the time that “every time the bishops have not managed a problem as pastors, they have taken a political stance on a political problem.”
In an email to RNS, Brittany Vessely, executive director of the Colorado Catholic Conference, said the bishops’
letter is not transgressing the boundaries between church and state because “the Catholic Church believes that there should be coherence between a person’s beliefs and their actions,” and that coherence is protected in the Constitution.
Nor does the bishops’ request misuse the Eucharist for political ends, Vessely said, because their letter was pastoral in nature.
Gonzales said her stand on abortion takes
into account the views of her constituents, Catholics and non-Catholics.
“The vast majority of Colorado Catholics access contraceptives and are pro-choice. So I see the legislation that I was proud to be the sponsor of as in line with what Colorado Catholics are asking for, and I feel that bishops are out of line with their parishioners on this one,” said Gonzales.
According to March 2022 polling data from the Public Religion Research Institute, 59 percent of white Catholics and 57 percent of Hispanic Catholics in the U.S. believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
“Catholic leaders have to start listening to their people,” said Jamie Manson, president of Catholics for Choice. “They have to start believing in the wisdom of the laity.”
Ortiz said he personally will refrain from Communion because that is what the bishops are asking. “If they think that this will get me closer to God, we will see. I will obey at request, and we will see if you are truly bringing the grace, love and compassion of God to me through that act.”