I have seen a lot of outrage surrounding the fact that Catholic “yes” voters to the Irish Referendum regarding abortion are being told to not receive Communion. I know this is a difficult topic, and I hope that I can present my argument charitably, but please forgive me if anything I say lacks charity.
What Priests and Bishops Said
I’ve heard mixed reports on what different priests and bishops have been saying.
One article mentioned that before the vote, priests were saying that voting “yes” is a sin.
Other reports say that a priest told his congregation they had “no business approaching the altar if they voted YES in the abortion referendum.”
Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran said that if a Catholic “voted Yes, knowing and intending that abortion would be the outcome, then you should consider coming to confession, where you would be received with the same compassion that is shown to any other penitent”.
The Bishop Doran quote is the only one I trust fully because it names the person who said it and isn’t a he-said-she said report. However, I still think we need to take consider the general sentiment: voting “yes” for abortion is sinful.
Receiving Worthily
The Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Accordingly, it is deserving of immense reverence. Though we will never be truly worthy, we should prepare ourselves by fasting and being in a state of grace. This is a great explanation for general guidelines; even though it is from the USCCB, it is applicable to Catholics around the world. This is an excellent document on receiving worthily with specific reference to support of abortion; it was written by Cardinal Ratzinger (who we now know as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI).
So let’s go back to the priest who allegedly said “yes” voters had “no business approaching the altar.” What this hypothetical priest meant (I hope) wasn’t that those Catholic “yes” voters can never receive the Eucharist again but that they first need to repent and receive forgiveness through the sacrament of Reconciliation.
This “rule,” for lack of a better word, isn’t about shaming people; it is about glorifying the Body of Christ.
This also isn’t anything new. Saint Paul said the following to the Early Christians “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”- 1 Corinthians 11:26-30
Ultimately, of course we want everyone to participate in Holy Communion, but that doesn’t mean one should receive the Eucharist unworthily.
Mortal Sin
Some people argue that the “no business” priest had no way of knowing if the parishioners met two of the three conditions for mortal sin, and I think that is a fair point. In reality, only God and that individual know for certain.
We cannot say for certain whether anyone but ourselves has committed a mortal sin, but we absolutely should warn people. People’s immortal souls are literally at stake.
In this situation, I think it is probable (though I certainly cannot say this positively), that most Catholic “yes” voters met the conditions.
(Side note: I highly recommend this article from Jimmy Akin on assessing mortal sin.)
Serious Matter
There is no way around it: abortion is sinful. Catholics cannot receive an abortion, help someone obtain an abortion, or support policies that promote access to abortion. This is the one condition of mortal sin in which we can be certain.
Knowledge
It is no secret that abortion is evil, and intentionally avoiding this teaching isn’t an excuse for not having the knowledge. I would hope that if a priest is telling his congregation after the vote that voting “yes” is sinful that he also preached it before.
To be fair, until I started college, I didn’t hear priests talk about abortion much. Now, I am incredibly blessed to attend a parish where the deacon preaches about abortion regularly. So it is plausible that they hadn’t heard it preached before.
However, I would be willing to bet that most Catholics are aware of what the Church teaches about abortion, even if they don’t agree with it. Disagreeing with a Church teaching doesn’t mean you get a free pass on the knowledge front.
Consent
I find it hard to believe that the average voter isn’t able to consent. Though I absolutely recognize there are exceptions, I would imagine the majority of voters thought about their vote before, weren’t under the influence of drugs, weren’t just waking up and still groggy, and weren’t under psychological distress when voting.
Ireland
Those things being said, I also recognize that the situation in Ireland was rough.
First, the authority of the Church has been called into question due to the sexual abuse scandals and the terrible mistreatment of unwed mothers. Though I would hope that people would recognize that these people do not represent Christ’s Church, I also understand why it may make them uncertain about what the Church teaches. They still have an obligation to dig deeper into why the Church teaches what she does, but I can understand why there is confusion and uncertainty.
Second, from what I’ve heard, pro-life voices were stifled during this process, and the pro-life movement as a whole was villainized. Additionally, the pro-choice said tried to present misinformation like claiming it was only for extreme cases or that women died because of this. As Catholics, we have a responsibility to seek the truth, but I am also aware there were other issues at play here.
But They’re Being Uncharitable
Though some people will concede that voting yes was sinful, they still believe that telling “yes” voters to not receive the Eucharist is rude or unfair.
First, I think we need to remember that admonishing the sinner is an act of mercy. Telling people that they are wrong and sinned against God is a loving action. I know there are people who may be correcting sinners with bad intentions or may be doing it uncharitably (I’ll get to that in a bit), but ultimately, warning the congregation that they might have committed a sinful act is a responsibility of the pastor.
Second, receiving the Eucharist while in a state of mortal sin is actually worse for the recipient because it is adding another serious sin to their soul.
Third, the hope is that not receiving the Eucharist will stir something within the person to make themselves right with God. When you love Christ in the Eucharist, not receiving Him brings to light how desperately you need Him.
We Need a Pastoral Approach
All that being said, we need to be loving when we proclaim these truths; we cannot separate the truth from love.
As lay people, it isn’t our responsibility to police who receives the Eucharist, but it is certainly possible we will run into conversations on this topic. And if we do, we need to focus on the reality that Christ loves them and wants to be in perfect union with them. We should remind them that these “rules” are done out of love – both for Christ and that person. We should encourage them to go to Confession and remind them of Christ’s immense mercy. And we should listen to them. We need to be willing to walk with people through their struggles and work through their doubts. We should seek to understand where they are coming from even though we disagree.
Really, it’s just the classic Catholic both/and approach: we show people we love them and we show love for Christ present in the Eucharist.
Thank you so much for this clear, well founded and well meant, I would say saintly answer, such as are badly needed.
I think the problem is not so much the separation from God *after* a mortal sin, as the separation from God *before* the sin. If the faithful were really in communion with the Spirit, they would make of doing the will of God their basic ‘food’, thereby making “not my will, but your will be done” a reality, and they would not find themselves in a conflicting position, in the first place.
I can’t help feeling bad, very bad, when I see the way faith, belonging to the Church is turned into a human business, with all the meanness and spurious complications of human business. It seems like they are not receiving the vital sap from the vine—aka grace—and are drying out, living on their own rotten, misguided resources. In particular, I wonder if what really matters in the minds and hearts of those favoring communion-no-matter-what is the interests of Jesus and his Church, or their own fulfillment. And again, I said I wonder: I’m not affirming or judging.
I think this is one of the biggest challenges for Christians: dying to self. It is a daily decision and one that I often fail myself. I think as you pointed out, we tend to apply our human understanding of justice rather than recognizing that true justice -that from God – may be different.
Very well done. Especially the last paragraph. In a talk i gave to teens on Catholic sexual ethics, i led them to realize how often the media uses false dichotomies to villainize the Church: you either celebrate gay sex or you’re a hater; you either embrace abortion or you sentence women to death by childbirth; etc. But there’s always more to it than that: a third option, a way the Church actually embraces everyone. I like what you say here. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for the kind words, Teresa. I agree: the false dichotomies aren’t really what the Church is about. I think when we understand that everything comes from love, it makes a huge difference in how we understand what the Church teaches.