Pope Benedict's Advice to the American Bishops on Consistency UPDATED!

No, neither B16 nor his aides have leaked his thoughts on Eucharistic Consistency controversy. Rather he spoke about it to the American Bishops at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, 16 April 2008

Celebration of Vespers and Address to the American Bishops

The money quote (thanks to Rocco)

It is in this fertile soil, nourished from so many different sources, that all of you, Brother Bishops, are called to sow the seeds of the Gospel today. This leads me to ask how, in the twenty-first century, a bishop can best fulfill the call to “make all things new in Christ, our hope”? How can he lead his people to “an encounter with the living God”, the source of that life-transforming hope of which the Gospel speaks (cf. Spe Salvi, 4)? 

Perhaps he needs to begin by clearing away some of the barriers to such an encounter. While it is true that this country is marked by a genuinely religious spirit, the subtle influence of secularism can nevertheless color the way people allow their faith to influence their behavior. 

Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday, and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs? Is it consistent for practicing Catholics to ignore or exploit the poor and the marginalized, to promote sexual behavior contrary to Catholic moral teaching, or to adopt positions that contradict the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death? 

Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted. Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel.

According to Rocco, no one has called attention to this yet.

Now I don't think that bishops should issue anything on Eucharist consistency. The most likely result of that will be that many people who have done virtual liturgy for the past  year will use it as an excuse not to come to Church for communion. Maybe Communion is for Republicans? The virtual Mass is for Democrats.

However since the train has left the station and they need to avoid a train wreck, Benedict has created them a nice model. The last paragraph above  is a good introduction to consistency. The previous paragraph is a well rounded model of Christian life.

From Cardinal Sean blog (again credit to Rocco

I have unlined in color what I see as three separate but interrelated issues.

Our prolife witness as Catholics: how to best do this

The decline in awe of the Eucharist and its relationship to confession/

Political and ecclesial polarization and dialogue

I’d like to share with you some of my reflections that offered the seminarians during our retreat:

In my mind, the two greatest evils in American history are slavery and abortion. I will always be ashamed that instead of strongly opposing slavery and racism, too often in our history, American Catholics tended to be assimilated into the dominant culture that justified slavery, maybe even as a necessary evil, but necessary. Religious communities and Catholics were slaveowners; bishops defended the institution of slavery. This was fueled in part by a Catholic inferiority complex that impelled us to be ever trying to prove how American we were and, hence, very pliable under societal pressure. There were Catholic abolitionists, but the Church in the United States failed miserably to be a prophetic voice by not condemning the cruel institution of slavery. Other religious groups like the Quakers were much more faithful to the Gospel values and defending the human rights of the enslaved. The Catholic Church’s historical complicity with slavery causes much pain and shame today, particularly among our Black Catholics.

The Catholic Church’s history with abortion in the United States is different. We were not co-opted by the secular culture; we were not assimilated into the pro-abortion mentality of political correctness. The Catholic Church in the United States — the hierarchy of the United States —has never retreated from the fight against abortion. And before other groups ever raised a finger, the Catholic bishops were loud in our opposition to the culture of death. I do not know of any other hierarchy in the world that has fought harder to stop abortion and to promote the Gospel of Life.

As a young priest, I was working with Nellie Gray, organizing the first March for Life in Washington, eating the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches she would serve me in her living room. Nellie Gray was a lawyer working in the Labor Department at the time of Roe vs. Wade. She immediately gave up her job and dedicated her life to making the world safer for unborn babies. The pundits were all saying that these groups of pro-life people will all die off, and the future will be ours — for the people of choice.

Well, 50 years later, the pro-life movement has not died off, and, in great part, it is because the Catholic Church is here.

In my lifetime, our Church has not done a great job in teaching people about preparedness for the Eucharist. I grew up in a world where many people were afraid to come to Communion. If you swallowed even a sip of water while brushing your teeth, you might be afraid to draw near the Communion rail for fear of committing a sacrilege. As a young priest, I spent hours in the confessional with people tortured by scruples. No Catholic ever wants to commit a sacrilege. That fear often made people hesitate to receive the sacrament.

At the same time, I saw many people were motivated to leave behind a life of sin and vice because of their hunger to receive the Eucharist. Mauriac speaks of how people’s hunger for the Eucharist brings about conversion in their lives. Some people have resisted temptation, overcome feelings of jealousy and revenge, abandoned infidelities and lies, all because of their desire to be able to receive the Body and Blood of Christ worthily.

After the Second Vatican Council, we had many liturgical changes that came quickly. Many of these changes were very helpful, but often there was little explanation or catechesis about why things were changing. When I was a young lad, to receive Communion, we fasted from midnight, even from water. Only the priests could touch the host. We received Communion kneeling down. We all went to confession almost every Saturday. Women covered their heads in Church, if not with a hat, with a piece of Kleenex or a glove. All of this changed practically overnight. There was never any anthropological consideration of how changing the symbols can change the meaning for people.

One of the things that changed was the connection between confession and Communion. Suddenly, the impression was often given that everyone was invited to come forward to receive, regardless of their preparedness or lack of it.

I would welcome a good catechesis about how we must prepare to receive the Eucharist worthily, but I fear that the discussion that is simply about denying Communion to politicians has already become the focus of the conversation, resulting in a lot of finger-pointing and finger waving. The serious examination that we need to make as Catholics is being subsumed into the political polarization of our country.

Our Catholics, whether conservative liberal or middle-of-the-road, have been through a lot. I always say that being a Catholic in Boston is a contact sport. The secularization of our culture, the loss of a commonly held Christian anthropology, and now the fallout of the sex abuse crisis have left Catholics shaken in their faith, angry at the bishops and mistrustful of leadership in the Church.

The controversy about the denying of Communion to politicians fuels anger on both sides. If we bishops get caught up in this fight, we can easily give the impression that we are divided in our opposition to abortion, and I do not believe that.

We need to show a united stance on behalf of the Gospel of life and all of its ramifications. If we are divided, we will be weakening the Church, and our ability to promote the Gospel of Life will be compromised. Denial of Communion to politicians will be interpreted by most Americans and Catholics as partisan politics that has nothing to do with reverence or piety.

I understand how Catholics can be angry and saddened when our elected officials try to dismiss the Gospel of Life as some optional sectarian issue rather than the sacred duty to defend human rights. It has nothing to do about imposing our Catholic faith on anyone. It is a human rights issue.

We need to recommit ourselves to working tirelessly to overcome abortion by changing hearts, by serving women in difficult pregnancies and by changing the conditions of injustice that push people to the tragic choice of destroying their own children.

So often, when I am speaking to our priests and deacons about their great responsibility to teach the truths of the Catholic faith, I try to make the point that people will give us a hearing if they see that we are authentic in living our life of discipleship and if they are convinced that we care about them.

The Holy Father calls on us to dialogue with those who do not agree with our convictions. We must try to engage in a way that will bring more light and less heat to the conversation. Otherwise, the sad divisions that plague our country and our Church will only grow deeper and more intractable.

Today, we are living a very challenging time for the pro-life cause, as became evident at our Spring General Assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Though each bishop may have a different opinion on the best way to promote the defense of life in the current context, there is no doubt in my mind that they are all pro-life and want to do what is in their power to protect innocent human life and communicate the Church’s social teaching to our Catholic people.

It’s hard to imagine anyone in the United States who does not know of the Catholic Church’s unfailing opposition to abortion. This will never change.

The present debate about Communion for Catholic politicians supporting abortion exhibits a deep divide among the bishops on this topic, but not on abortion.

Unfortunately, when these kinds of divisions become too evident, it hinders our ability to be able to teach the Gospel and draw our communities closer to Christ and one another.

The Eucharist is the center of our life as a Church, and I hope that, as the drafting of the document progresses, we will find a way to reconcile the different perspectives on how to take a pastoral approach with our Catholic politicians without undermining the centrality and importance of the Eucharist.

The Holy Father is urging us to find paths to heal divisions and announce the good news boldly and joyfully.

My Comments

Our prolife witness as Catholics: how to best do this 

I liked the comparison to slavery; the life of the unborn is a civil rights issue. Life beginning at conception is a Catholic belief. I fully endorse the following quote

We need to recommit ourselves to working tirelessly to overcome abortion by changing hearts, by serving women in difficult pregnancies and by changing the conditions of injustice that push people to the tragic choice of destroying their own children.

The decline in awe of the Eucharist and its relationship to confession/

If the bishops just focus on giving a better model of these Eucharist and Confession  I would be very happy. 

In my lifetime, our Church has not done a great job in teaching people about preparedness for the Eucharist. I grew up in a world where many people were afraid to come to Communion.

One of the things that changed was the connection between confession and Communion  I would welcome a good catechesis about how we must prepare to receive the Eucharist worthily, 

Political and ecclesial polarization and dialogue

THE CENTRAL PROBLEM IS HOW TO PRODUCED A BADLY NEEDED DOCUMENT ON PREPARATION FOR THE EUCHARIST IN THE CONTEXT OF A MORE INCLUSIVE PROLIFE APPROACH THAT DECREASES RATHER THAN INCREASES POLARIZATION IN CHURCH AND SOCIETY. LOL!  THE TRAIN HAS LEFT THE STATION.  I SEE CARDINAL SEAN APPROACH AS ALSO BEING HELPFUL IN PREVENTING A TRAIN WRECK!

Denial of Communion to politicians will be interpreted by most Americans and Catholics as partisan politics that has nothing to do with reverence or piety.

The Holy Father calls on us to dialogue with those who do not agree with our convictions. We must try to engage in a way that will bring more light and less heat to the conversation. Otherwise, the sad divisions that plague our country and our Church will only grow deeper and more intractable.