Beal said the letter from Ladaria hints that the Vatican isn’t keen on the proposals made by some bishops in the United States, noting Ladaria referenced the 1998 apostolic letter by Saint Pope John Paul II, which states that if the bishops’ conference doesn’t reach a unanimous decision, then a two-thirds majority is needed for their proposal to be vetted by the Holy See.
“And I get the impression from the letter that they shouldn’t count on that being an automatic recognition,” he added.
When Kerry lost his bid for the presidency, media attention to the question of the Communion ban dwindled and lost relevance, but, according to Beal, “it never actually disappeared.” Today, with Biden’s very public faith on display, Beal said that “the issue hasn’t changed much; it’s just the profile has changed.”
It’s difficult to find many historical precedents for the discussions taking place among U.S. bishops. In the past, the pope has relied on excommunications to ban high-profile Catholics from receiving the Eucharist, for theological — and at times, political — offenses.
In his letter, Ratzinger quoted the document issued by the Vatican Department for Legislative Texts in 2000, which barred Catholics who are divorced and civilly remarried from receiving the Eucharist. Proponents of the Communion ban have appealed to Canon 915 of Canon Law, which states individuals “obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”
Beal explained the canon in question expands on the previous Code of Canon Law of 1917, which recommended people who publicly live in conflict with Catholic beliefs be barred from receiving the sacrament, though the document listed prostitutes and fortune tellers as examples.
Pope Francis, in his 2016 Apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (the Joy of the Gospel), cautiously opened the door for divorced and remarried Catholics to receive the Eucharist with the accompaniment and guidance of their pastor. Only for mafiosi, meaning members of organized crime, has the pontiff suggested a Communion ban and even excommunication.
“The issue of abortion is not unique to the United States,” Beal said. “It’s been an issue even in traditionally Catholic countries like Italy and Ireland,” he added, where bishops haven’t opted for punitive measures. Ladaria urged U.S. bishops in his letter to dialogue with other episcopal conferences in an effort to display unity and find a common approach.
“It is not a uniquely American issue, abortion, but the political approach to it is, in some ways, uniquely American,” Beal said.
According to Bishop Michael John Sheridan, of the diocese of Colorado Springs, who was among the bishops advocating a Communion ban in 2004, a position he still holds today, the question raised when Kerry ran for president is the same as the one faced by bishops today.
“I think in some ways, it’s maybe even more critical now, when we have, really, two very high-profile Catholics in government,” he said, referring to both Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, in an interview with RNS, adding that, given recent legislative and social developments, “it’s more acute and it’s more public and it’s more radical now than ever.”
This story originally appeared here.
