Archbishop [of Santa Fe] Asked to Deny Lujan Grisham Sacrament of Communion Over Abortion Stance

Sanya Fe New Mexican ^ | 6/30/22 | Daniel J. Chacon

[marshmallow]

When U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a pro-abortion rights Catholic, received Communion at the Vatican on Wednesday despite her stance, it became national news.

In New Mexico, a similar story was quietly unfolding.

John Block, the Republican nominee for House District 51, asked Archbishop John C. Wester to take “swift disciplinary action” against Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, including denying her Communion, over her staunch support of abortion rights.

The request came in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn the landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade that established abortion rights in the U.S. and amid an ongoing debate over whether the Church should withhold Communion from politicians who support abortion rights.

“Our faith is the only thing we have left,” Block, editor of the Piñon Post, a conservative news website, wrote Tuesday in an email to Wester.

“It is what has carried the Church through centuries of persecution and toil, and it is what will carry us through today. If the Church refuses to stand firm now on this bedrock principle to save the most vulnerable, then our faith is lost,” he wrote.

In response, Wester said he wouldn’t deny the governor the Eucharist “due to the actions she has taken regarding abortion” in the state.

“While I do not know you, I presume your request is made for sincerely held religious beliefs and not for punitive or political reasons. In any case, I will not deny the governor Holy Communion,” wrote Wester, who cited “three compelling reasons for not withholding Communion to Catholic pro-choice politicians” as outlined by Cardinal-designate Robert W. McElroy.

Among them: It is “perilous” for Wester to withhold Holy Communion by making a judgment on a communicant’s worthiness.

“All of us who approach the Sacrament of the Eucharist are unworthy,” the archbishop wrote.

[know.your.why]

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe in New Mexico should be burned to the ground: New Mexico Archdiocese to Settle Sex Abuse Claims for $121.5 Million.

archdiocese-santa-fe-bankruptcy-settlement

[CedarDave]

Link to Piñon Post

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