DEACON FOR LIFE

Were there to be no support in the whole history of ethical and moral thought, were there no acknowledged confirmation from medical science, were the history of legal opinion to the contrary, we would still have to conclude on the basis of God's Holy Word that the unborn child is a person in the sight of God. He is protected by the sanctity of life graciously given to each individual by the Creator, Who alone places His image upon man and grants them any right to life which they have.

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

California Catholic Daily - 3 reasons why Archbishop Cordileone is right

San Diego attorney Charles Limandri : "It is difficult to understand the rationale of Bishop McElroy"

May 11th, 2021

Image from LifeSiteNews)

The debate about whether Catholic bishops should allow obstinately pro-abortion politicians, like President Joe Biden, to receive Holy Communion, has recently been resurrected. This week, major news outlets have brought to light the divergent views on the subject of two prominent California bishops: Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco and Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego. For the three reasons discussed below, Archbishop Cordileone is clearly correct in stating that pro-abortion politicians should not receive Holy Communion, and Bishop McElroy is clearly wrong in holding the contrary view.

First, what may ostensibly be seen as an act of compassion by allowing a reprobate like Joe Biden to receive Holy Communion, is actually an act leading to his condemnation. Moreover, his sacrilegious reception of the Holy Eucharist causes grave scandal to those who are truly faithful and, according to St. Paul, is a great offense against our Lord who is defiled in the process.

Second, Bishop McElroy is going against what Pope Francis, who appointed him Bishop of San Diego, said on this very subject when, as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he was serving as the ordinary of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, Argentina: “We must adhere to ‘eucharistic coherence,’ that is, be conscious that [legislators and heads of government] cannot receive Holy Communion and at the same time act with deeds or words against the commandments, particularly when abortion, euthanasia, and other grave crimes against life and family are encouraged.

Third, the serious sin of abortion is by no means on par with other sins, as it violates the Fifth Commandment: “Thou Shall Not Kill.” It also represents the murder of the innocents which, according to Genesis 4:10, cries out to heaven for vengeance. Since abortion was legalized in the United States in 1973, over 60 million innocent babies have been slaughtered in their mothers’ wombs.

Therefore, it is difficult to understand the rationale of Bishop McElroy comparing this sin to the sin of “racism.” In his statement, Bishop McElroy asks: “Why hasn’t racism been included in the call for eucharistic sanctions against political leaders? … As to whether racism is a sin that threatens human life, anyone with doubts should talk with the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Trayvon Martin.”

It is ironic that Bishop McElroy would compare racism to abortion when it is abortion that is the leading cause of death in the African American community, tantamount even to genocide: “Abortion is not just a woman’s issue. It’s a human rights issue. Abortion is the number one killer of black lives in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, abortion kills more black people than HIV, homicide, diabetes, accident, cancer, and heart disease … combined. In 2016, black women had 38% of all abortions in the U.S., despite African-Americans comprising only 13.4% of the total population.”

Charles LiMandri is Special Counsel for the Thomas More Society. LiMandri has led the fight in several cases involving religious freedom. In Februrary 2021, his firm, LiMandri & Jonna, successfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the State of California’s unconstitutional COVID-19 restrictions which were keeping churches closed in California.

Full story at LifeSiteNews.

LIFE IS SACRED

An example of the traditional magisterial teaching which indicates that it is never morally licit to intentionally kill a child through abortion in order to “save the life of its mother” comes from the teaching of Pope Pius XII:

“Every human being, even the infant in the mother's womb, has the right to life immediately from God, not from the parent or any human society or authority. Therefore, there is no man, no human authority, no science, no medical, eugenic, social, economic or moral ‘indication’ that can show or give valid juridical title for direct deliberate disposition concerning an innocent human life-which is to say, a disposition that aims at its destruction either as an end in itself or as the means of attaining another end that is perhaps in no way illicit itself. Thus, for example, to save the life of the mother is a most noble end, but the direct killing of the child as a means to this end is not licit.”