Analysis: The Communion Controversy Could be Far Greater Than Just Pro-Abortion Politicians

National Catholic Register ^ | February 10, 2021 | Matt Hadro

[Marchmain]

Since the Cross.

[lightman]

Yes, I and quite a few other Orthodox Christians whom I know are scandalized by biden saying how “Catholic” he is!!

Part of the scandal is because we Orthodox Christians remember with fondness and yearning the first 1054 years of our common faith...years which gave the whole undivided Church such gifted mouthpieces as Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom.

To this day we remember those who were the Latin (Roman) Patriarch as "Pope of Rome"...among those Hippolytus who was just Commemorated a fortnight ago. And every year during Great Lent when the PreSanctified Divine Liturgy is served at its conclusion we remember "Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome".

So even though nearly a millenium has passed we know that to some degree what concerns Rome concerns us as well.

[BillyBoy]

>> Nicole Malliotakis is “mainly” pro-life <<

Interesting. I stand corrected on Malliotakis. I assumed she was pro-abortion because most NYC Republicans are, even self-described "conservative" ones. Rudy Giuliani is a pretty pro-abortion "Catholic" for example.

I think one of the reasons the Catholic bishops are so reluctant to publicly refuse communion to politicians is issue of abortion falls largely along party lines, and they want to avoid being seen as having any sort of "partisan" bias like the plague. Of course, the handful of Republicans who hold the same callous view of human life should be held to the same standards their Democrat counterparts are. I do think there was an example of that in California, when pro-abortion "Catholic" Arnold Schwarzenegger was denied communion by some Catholic priest.

>> It’s not just his position on abortion, but his general disregard for human life and culture, and his totalitarian approach to the “presidency”!! <<

Good point, the real sin is not simply their support for the murder of the unborn (although that is a grave sin by itself), but the overall bigger problem that their worldview is totally against respect for human life and dignity in general, and thus totally opposed to the Catholic viewpoint of the human person. It confuses the public's perspective of Catholic teaching on those matters when these politicians claim to be good, faithful Catholics, and the media presents that narrative as 100% accurate. I think the Catholics bishops have really failed in trying to articulate that major problem.

>> Yes, I and quite a few other Orthodox Christians whom I know are scandalized by biden saying how “Catholic” he is!!! To this day we remember those who were the Latin (Roman) Patriarch as "Pope of Rome"...among those Hippolytus who was just Commemorated a fortnight ago. And every year during Great Lent when the PreSanctified Divine Liturgy is served at its conclusion we remember "Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome". So even though nearly a millenium has passed we know that to some degree what concerns Rome concerns us as well. <<

Excellent point. There's some vast cultural differences between the Catholic and Orthodox churches today, but given that they are both apostolic churches who hold the same theological truths about the sacraments, I can imagine Biden claiming to be a "devout Catholic" and the media hailing him as such would cause many Orthodox Christians to wince, too.

Interesting fact, our first "Catholic" President, John F. Kennedy, usually attended protestant services while in Washington DC, and publicly opposed the Catholic Church's teachings on artificial birth control, so he wasn't very "devout", either.

I think Melania Trump may ironically be more "Catholic" than either of our "Catholic" presidents, and I say ironically because I'm well aware that she is much more of a "cultural Catholic" (raised in a Catholic enviroment due to her Slovenian ethnicity), rather than being any of sort of religious, practicing Catholic. But she certainly seems to respect two millennia of Catholic teaching much more than these politicians do!

>> Does he go to Confession? What would a faithful Confessor ask him to do for repentance, if he mentioned the above sins? I think we all know, and we also know that it isn’t going to happen!!!! <<

Excellent question, and one I'd love to see the media ask Joe Biden to his face (of course, they won't, because if he doesn't, it goes against their narrative of what a good, practicing Catholic he is). Regular confession would especially important at his age, given how the guy is nearly 80 and none of us know how much time we have left on earth. I hope Biden's pastor of whatever Catholic church he "regularly attends" in Delaware has at least impressed that much on him. We can only hope and pray for him. I actually pray for him every Sunday, but admittedly its because a "President Kamala Harris" would be even WORSE!