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Sixty Catholic Democrats issued a “statement of principles” regarding top officials being allowed to receive Holy Communion even though their actions do not parallel the beliefs of Catholicism, according to The Daily Wire.
NEW: 60 Catholic Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives issued a "Statement of Principles" with a message to U.S. bishops that "the weaponization of the Eucharist to Democratic lawmakers for their support of a woman’s safe and legal access to abortion is contradictory". pic.twitter.com/IeR3gSbzDJ
— Catherine Hadro (@CatSzeltner) June 18, 2021
“We solemnly urge you to not move forward and deny this most holy of all sacraments, the source and the summit of the whole work of the gospel over one issue,” the statement said.
“To pursue a blanket denial of the Holy Eucharist to certain elected officials would indeed grieve the Holy Spirit and deny the evolution of that individual, a Christian person who is never perfect, but living in the struggle to get there. … as such, we have a claim on the Church’s bearing as it does on ours.”
From The Daily Wire:
https://www.dailywire.com/news/catholic-democrats-issue-statement-of-principles-demanding-bishops-allow-abortion-supporters-to-receive-communion
They then ask the Church for the ability to follow their “consciences” and argue that by supporting comprehensive government programs, “helping the poor, disadvantaged, and the oppressed, protecting the least among them” that they are qualified to receive the Eucharist despite being in open dissent from Church teachings. They quote Pope Francis on the importance of receiving Communion and then cite the “separation of Church and State,” though the Catholic Church is a separate entity that can create and enforce its own rules on adherents of the Catholic religion.
To close the letter, the group suggests that other politicians who support policies they believe to be in opposition to Catholic social teachings have not been similarly punished, noting that “no elected officials have been threatened with being denied the Eucharist as they support and have supported policies contrary to the Church teachings, including supporting the death penalty, separating migrant children from their parents, denying asylum to those seeking safety in the United States, limiting assistance for the hungry and food insecure, and denying rights and dignity to immigrants.”
