Senator Joe Cervantes of New Mexico publicly announced that he was denied holy communion by his parish priest due to his political views. According to a news report:
In a tweet on Saturday, July 17, New Mexico state Sen. Joe Cervantes (D) wrote he “was denied communion last night by the Catholic bishop here in Las Cruces and based on my political office.”
“My new parish priest has indicated he will do the same after the last was run off,” Cervantes added. “Please pray for church authorities as Catholicism transitions under Pope Francis.” The senator represents New Mexico's 31st district, around Las Cruces.
What the Senator said was false. He was not denied holy communion because he is a Democrat. He was denied holy communion due to his support for abortion. Bishop Peter Baldacchino, the new bishop of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and the parish priest of Cervantes' had tried several times to contact the senator, but he never returned their calls. Bishop Baldacchino's formation was guided by the Neocatechumenal Way, and he was the first graduate of a Redemptoris Mater seminary to serve as a diocesan bishop in a mainland U.S. diocese. According to that news report:
He explained that both Cervantes’ pastor and local ordinary tried to contact him several times previously regarding his support for an abortion bill, warning him he should not receive Communion. “It did not happen on the spur of the moment,” Velasquez said of the denial of Communion.
“In terms of the diocese, we regret the decision of Senator Cervantes to politicize this issue,” Velasquez said.
He noted that both Cervantes’ pastor and Bishop Peter Baldacchino reached out to Cervantes privately, in regards to his support for a pro-abortion bill that was signed into law earlier this year.
“Bishop Baldacchino did not receive a response from the senator,” Velasquez said, adding, “He [Cervantes] was contacted multiple times prior, letting him know that if he voted for Senate Bill 10, he should not present himself for communion.”
Because it was made public that the senator supported abortion, both the bishop and parish priest tried numerous times to contact the senator privately to inform him not to receive Holy Communion. Of all the seven sacraments, Holy Communion is the most central and important to Catholics. While it is true that God loves all sinners, it is the REPENTANT sinners whom God, the angels, and all of Heaven will rejoice in.
Unfortunately, there are bishops and priests who will not deny holy communion to those who support abortion. Archbishop Wilton Gregory, the Archbishop of Washington DC, for example, has publicly announced that he will not deny President Biden holy communion. Perhaps, the USSCB should first work in getting all bishops and priests united or on the same page regarding the sanctity of life rather than targeting politicians who support abortion. When bishops and priests make no distinction between unrepentant sinners and repentant sinners, then in the minds of Catholics and onlookers, there cannot be but little distinction between error and truth, between sin and holiness, and between vice and virtue. In short, it will create moral confusion.
Absolutely. - And these same bishops created confusion in permitting morally tainted vaccines. No one should be shocked if 1/3 of the stars fall from Heaven. God himself has warned us ahead of time.
ReplyDeleteDear Anthony,
DeleteRegarding the vaccine, we have already been down this road.
Hi Diana,
ReplyDeleteThe USCCB is supposed to be working on a document regarding the Eucharist. I think the problem lies in the area of catechesis in what the Eucharist actually is. After all a majority of Catholics don't even believe it's really Jesus Christ. If they knew, perhaps they would approach life and Him differently. That's why I think the bishops are working on the document versus figuring out ways to outright deny Him to public figures.
Dear Anonymous at 8:39 am,
DeleteI agree. Some of the Catholic faithful think that what they are receiving in Holy Communion is symbolic. Proper catechesis is needed to educate these Catholics that we are eating the true body of Christ, and it is not symbolic.
However, not all bishops are in agreement with regarding Holy Communion. The Bishop in Washington DC has stated that he will give Joe Biden Holy Communion while the Bishop in Delaware denied the President Holy Communion. The problem that I see with what the USCCB is doing is that they are targeting politicians when they should first come to an agreement. These bishops also have to be careful in using the Eucharist as a weapon against politicians because the Eucharist is not supposed to be used in such a way. Bishop Peter Baldaccino and the parish priest did the right thing by privately calling the Senator who supported abortion. Phone calls were made to the Senator so they can tell him that he would be denied Holy Communion if he were to approach the priest. Unfortunately, it was the Senator who chose to go public.
"The problem that I see with what the USCCB is doing is that they are targeting politicians when they should first come to an agreement."
DeleteI don't see it as targeting politicians but rather focusing on the scandal they create when their public views conflict with the magisterium. Scandal is a grave matter and should be dealt with. The problem is that the media is politicizing the issue and making matters worse by spreading confusion.
The bishops seem to be in conflict over this because of the very public nature any stance they take against such figures. Do they deny communion and prevent scandal regarding the Eucharist while opening themselves up to politicizing their position as liberal vs conservative or do they not deny communion and create scandal regarding official church teaching on both the Eucharist and abortion. Either way they are stuck in a position that has huge ramifications.
I take the position that there needs to be better catechesis versus denial of the Eucharist. After all, there is only so much you can do to educate someone who willingly chooses to persist in their ways. At least if there is more effort at catechesis there will be more people spreading the truth to those who are confused versus the bishops and priests taking this on by themselves. Ideally, they could do both, but there needs to be better poll numbers in regards to what self-identified Catholics believe in order for it to be effective.
Anyway, all we can do is pray and do the best we can to spread the Truth in the world to help solve the problem.