He cannot do anything, officially. But if the person in question comes to that very bishop to receive communion, he may refuse him, as ANY priest may, if he’s certain it would be a sacrilege to give him the sacrament. That’s a separate issue from the bishop’s role. But in terms of pastoral or disciplinary measures, every single Catholic in the world has a bishop and is subject to that bishop, whether or not they recognize it. In the situation you’re describing, the bishop has no authority, but he certainly could in confidence communicate with his brother bishop who has the jurisdiction over the person in question and let him know what he observed.
baa39, you are ‘probly a heckuva lot smarter than me when it comes to this stuff. But it seems to me that a Bishop should teach when he sees some wonky crap going down. There was a lot of eyes watching these pro-baby butcherers recieve Communion who don’t know that these folks are putting themselves in grave danger. And now this instance can be used as a weapon for the cause of baby butchery.
Freegards
“He cannot do anything, officially.”
I disagree.
A bishop may not instruct a Catholic attached to another diocese what he may or may not do in dioceses outside of the bishop's diocese.
But a bishop may certainly determine what are sacramental practices within his own diocese, and could easily ban Catholics from other dioceses from the reception of the Blessed Sacrament within his own diocese.
As an example, in 2004, Archbishop Burke of St. Louis stated publicly that John Kerry would be forbidden to receive the Blessed Sacrament in any Catholic church in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. John Kerry was not then a Catholic attached to the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
In that Archbishop Burke is considered the foremost expert on Canon Law among the bishops, I'll consider his actions dispositive until a higher authority says differently.
Every bishop could ban any pro-abort Catholic politician from receiving the Blessed Sacrament within his own diocese.
And every bishop should act thusly.
The bishops who take no action in this regard disgrace themselves.
sitetest