The John-Henry Westen Show - July 27, 2021


Biden and Holy Communion： Why it matters


Summary

Pro-abortion politicians like Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi have been denied Holy Communion since the early days of the church, and even Pope Benedict XVI himself has said they should be denied Communion. But what does the Bible say about this? And why does it matter?


Transcript

00:00:00.200 This past Saturday, Joe Biden received communion sacrilegiously.
00:00:05.080 We have a photo of Joe Biden receiving communion this past Saturday, July 24th,
00:00:10.840 at the 4 p.m. Mass at the St. Joseph's on the Brandywine in Wilmington, Delaware.
00:00:17.520 Check it out.
00:00:18.680 The big debate among the U.S. bishops they just had over communion for abortion politicians
00:00:24.860 like Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi is not actually new.
00:00:29.080 It's not even a debate.
00:00:30.660 It's been settled for a long time.
00:00:32.880 We know the truth.
00:00:33.820 We have the goods.
00:00:35.100 And I'm going to show you the proof.
00:00:37.120 So many of those bishops who just stood up to argue that Biden should be given Holy Communion,
00:00:43.340 which obviously he is being, are the same ones pushing the LGBT agenda in the church.
00:00:50.280 I'm going to show you who the key players are on both sides and also give you some of the teaching tools
00:00:55.540 you need to learn the truth of our faith on this, to defend it, and to teach it to others.
00:01:00.140 One of the big need-to-know items here is that Pope Benedict XVI himself insisted
00:01:06.040 that pro-abortion politicians be denied Holy Communion.
00:01:09.680 Stay tuned.
00:01:29.720 Let's begin, as we always do, with the sign of the cross.
00:01:32.480 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
00:01:38.440 Amen.
00:01:41.140 Well, to start, let's get the basics covered first.
00:01:45.000 Holy Communion, or the Holy Eucharist, is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ,
00:01:51.120 the second person of the Most Holy Trinity.
00:01:54.000 God.
00:01:54.440 Jesus promised to be with us until the end of time.
00:01:58.260 He promised he would give us his flesh to eat, and he did that.
00:02:02.080 First of all, at the Last Supper, asking his apostles to carry on the sacrifice of the Holy Mass.
00:02:08.560 And that's why, right from the very beginning of the church,
00:02:12.220 Holy Communion was taken so seriously by the apostles and the early Christians.
00:02:17.360 St. Paul, writing in Corinthians, in fact, he already answered our question over 2,000 years ago.
00:02:24.440 And sadly, some feel it still has to be debated today.
00:02:30.440 From the earliest days of the church, receiving Holy Communion unworthily has been forbidden.
00:02:36.560 But get this, it is forbidden out of concern for those who would make such unworthy communions.
00:02:44.880 St. Paul, in the 11th chapter of 1 Corinthians, wrote this, and I quote,
00:02:49.420 Therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily
00:02:55.780 shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord.
00:03:00.180 He continued, this is St. Paul,
00:03:02.760 But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the chalice.
00:03:08.760 For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks condemnation to himself,
00:03:16.680 not discerning the body of the Lord.
00:03:19.820 That's 1 Corinthians 11, 27 to 29.
00:03:23.920 So that should have been it, the end of the so-called debate.
00:03:28.600 The problem is, what is supposed to be done is hard.
00:03:34.860 It's not politically correct.
00:03:36.860 It makes you unpopular.
00:03:38.340 It doesn't get you invited to hobnob with the rich and famous.
00:03:41.820 It gets you cast out of popular culture, to be seen as backward or a simpleton.
00:03:47.680 But it's the only way to truly follow Christ and his church.
00:03:51.760 It is, as always, the way of the cross.
00:03:55.240 This spiritual perspective, the love of souls,
00:04:00.120 which seeks to save the wayward Catholic despite the political incorrectness,
00:04:04.640 the loss of human respect perhaps, and societal awkwardness,
00:04:09.480 is the answer to some of the most divisive debates in the hierarchy today.
00:04:16.380 The recognition of the eternal consequences of actions
00:04:20.700 would actually definitively end the vast disagreement among bishops
00:04:25.220 over the reception of Holy Communion for pro-abortion politicians.
00:04:29.380 Oh, but that would mean, you know,
00:04:31.880 believing that Jesus was serious in warning about hell over and over again,
00:04:37.020 as he did in the recorded scriptures.
00:04:40.520 He's the one who said,
00:04:41.940 broad is the road that leads to destruction,
00:04:43.980 and many there are that go therein.
00:04:46.960 But you know, that's another story for another time.
00:04:49.420 Throughout most of North America and Europe,
00:04:52.980 it's actually only a small minority of bishops
00:04:55.780 who have ever agreed to follow this teaching of the church,
00:04:59.540 despite the fact that it has been obvious from the beginning
00:05:02.740 and continually reinforced in church teaching until Pope Francis.
00:05:08.620 Let me give you the smoking gun first.
00:05:11.840 Pope Benedict XVI, a most gentle and lenient pope,
00:05:15.660 some would say overly lenient,
00:05:17.020 insisted that pro-abortion politicians be denied Holy Communion.
00:05:21.520 We'll get to that in a moment.
00:05:23.160 But even more consequential,
00:05:25.400 Pope Benedict actually backed the excommunication
00:05:28.180 of pro-abortion politicians as well.
00:05:30.860 For those of you who don't know,
00:05:32.280 excommunication is a penalty beyond denial of Holy Communion,
00:05:35.420 where the excommunicated party
00:05:37.380 can't even go back to communion with a simple confession to a priest,
00:05:41.020 but he must apply to the bishop,
00:05:42.460 or in some cases, even the Vatican for the excommunication to be lifted
00:05:46.200 before he's admitted back to Holy Communion.
00:05:48.620 So the issue came up with Pope Benedict on May 9th, 2007,
00:05:54.180 when on a papal flight to Brazil,
00:05:56.100 he was asked by a reporter, and I quote,
00:05:57.860 do you agree with the excommunication of the deputies,
00:06:00.900 that's of the local politicians,
00:06:02.280 of Mexico City on the use of abortion?
00:06:04.960 And the Pope replied, and I quote,
00:06:09.020 yes, this excommunication is not something arbitrary,
00:06:12.900 but it's part of the code,
00:06:14.740 and speaking of the code of canon law,
00:06:16.800 it's based, continued the Pope, by the way,
00:06:19.100 this is the Pope's quote,
00:06:20.380 it's based simply on the principle
00:06:22.440 that the killing of an innocent human child
00:06:24.840 is incompatible with going in communion
00:06:29.240 with the body of Christ.
00:06:32.080 Thus, and he was speaking of the bishops,
00:06:34.960 thus they didn't do anything new,
00:06:38.840 anything surprising or arbitrary,
00:06:40.860 in that they simply announced publicly
00:06:43.080 what is contained in the law of the church,
00:06:45.580 and the law of the church is based on the doctrine
00:06:48.340 and the faith of the church,
00:06:50.760 which expresses our appreciation for life,
00:06:53.160 that human individuality, human personality
00:06:55.080 is present from the first moment of life.
00:06:57.760 Those were the words of Pope Benedict
00:06:59.500 agreeing with the bishops in Mexico
00:07:02.600 about the excommunication of pro-abortion politicians
00:07:05.940 in Mexico when asked in 2007.
00:07:08.380 So, Pope Benedict referenced canon law,
00:07:11.680 canon 915 of the church's code of canon law,
00:07:14.280 that states that those who are, and I quote,
00:07:16.640 obstinately preserving and manifest grave sin
00:07:19.220 are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, end quote.
00:07:22.060 And guess who was the church's top canonist at the time?
00:07:27.960 Guess who sat at the head of the church's highest court
00:07:31.260 called the Apostolic Signatura,
00:07:33.540 appointed there by Pope Benedict himself?
00:07:35.960 None other than Cardinal Raymond Burke,
00:07:39.100 who said he would refuse to allow
00:07:42.160 then Vice President John Kerry to receive Holy Communion.
00:07:45.840 Shortly after his appointment
00:07:47.920 to that highest court in the church,
00:07:50.900 Lifesight spoke with Cardinal Burke about the matter,
00:07:54.060 and he told Lifesight at the time,
00:07:56.440 and I quote,
00:07:57.200 I don't understand the continual debate
00:07:59.740 that goes on about it.
00:08:01.260 There's not a question
00:08:02.980 that a Catholic who publicly and after admonition
00:08:05.840 supports pro-abortion legislation
00:08:07.640 is not to receive Holy Communion
00:08:09.360 and is not to be given Holy Communion.
00:08:11.880 The church's law is very clear, end quote.
00:08:15.200 He explained to us at the time,
00:08:16.880 the Holy Eucharist,
00:08:18.560 the most sacred reality of our life in the church,
00:08:21.280 has to be protected against sacrilege.
00:08:23.860 At the same time, he said,
00:08:25.460 individuals who have to be protected
00:08:28.340 for their own sake,
00:08:30.420 for the sake of their own salvation,
00:08:32.520 from committing one of the gravest sins,
00:08:35.360 namely to receive Holy Communion unworthily, end quote.
00:08:39.420 But you know the pressure
00:08:41.340 to deny this clear teaching of the church
00:08:44.440 by other powerful bishops
00:08:46.600 was so extreme
00:08:48.520 that even Cardinal Burke
00:08:50.540 thought about the idea of giving up the fight.
00:08:55.440 Have a look.
00:08:56.300 A study from John Kerry to Nancy Pelosi
00:09:00.640 to Rudy Giuliani,
00:09:01.640 these are public figures
00:09:02.760 who are by and large pro-choice
00:09:04.960 in their public pronouncements
00:09:06.440 and manifestly so.
00:09:08.320 You've said they shouldn't receive the sacrament.
00:09:11.320 Now, over the years,
00:09:12.980 you have received such scorn
00:09:15.020 for that clear teaching.
00:09:18.240 Do you ever stop and say,
00:09:21.480 maybe I should back off a little bit?
00:09:24.740 Well, I've thought about it
00:09:26.160 because I've received very severe criticism,
00:09:28.860 both at the time that I was insisting
00:09:31.960 on applying the discipline
00:09:33.400 and also in my writing
00:09:36.320 and in other situations.
00:09:38.540 But I have to say that
00:09:40.160 I think about, again,
00:09:44.140 the discipline itself,
00:09:45.500 and it's a consistent discipline
00:09:47.540 from the time of St. Paul,
00:09:49.140 from the very first years of the church.
00:09:52.020 And it makes perfect sense.
00:09:54.660 In fact, it makes such fundamental sense
00:09:56.800 that I can't feel badly about it
00:09:59.220 or question.
00:10:00.800 The question in my mind is,
00:10:02.380 why don't more people understand this?
00:10:05.280 Because I don't consider it to be rocket science
00:10:08.100 or some kind of very unusual insight.
00:10:11.120 It's something that's just natural to our faith
00:10:14.380 that the Holy Eucharist
00:10:16.020 is the most sacred reality.
00:10:17.440 It is the body, blood, soul,
00:10:18.800 and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:10:20.980 And I simply wouldn't approach
00:10:23.760 to receive Holy Communion
00:10:25.040 if I was in the state of sin.
00:10:26.540 And neither would I give Holy Communion
00:10:28.200 to someone who I knew
00:10:29.680 was in the state of sin.
00:10:33.780 This debate in the USA
00:10:35.980 has been going on in earnest
00:10:38.960 since 2004.
00:10:40.560 And you know the poster child
00:10:43.400 for the side of allowing
00:10:45.000 pro-abortion politicians
00:10:46.320 to receive Holy Communion
00:10:47.420 is none other than
00:10:49.600 pedophile ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.
00:10:54.080 During the 2004 deliberation
00:10:56.100 among U.S. bishops,
00:10:57.660 then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger,
00:11:00.620 who is the head of the Congregation
00:11:01.940 for the Doctrine of the Faith,
00:11:03.280 of course, who later became Pope Benedict,
00:11:05.100 sent a letter to the U.S. bishops
00:11:07.120 to use as a guide.
00:11:09.260 The letter pointed out
00:11:10.920 that obstinately pro-abortion
00:11:12.940 Catholic politicians,
00:11:13.960 after being duly instructed
00:11:15.020 and warned,
00:11:16.080 must be denied Holy Communion.
00:11:19.760 In his 12-page address, however,
00:11:24.400 on the topic in 2004,
00:11:26.720 McCarrick didn't even provide
00:11:29.440 the gist of Cardinal Ratzinger's letter,
00:11:31.560 which outlined in six successive points
00:11:34.400 why Communion must be denied
00:11:36.820 in specified cases.
00:11:39.540 It's unbelievable.
00:11:40.760 McCarrick, though,
00:11:41.460 he did speak about
00:11:42.860 a bracketed afterthought
00:11:45.280 at the bottom of Cardinal Ratzinger's letter,
00:11:47.480 which spoke of
00:11:48.420 the reception of Communion
00:11:50.320 for Catholics who vote
00:11:51.600 for pro-abortion politicians.
00:11:52.860 So the failure to mention
00:11:55.300 the central contents
00:11:56.960 of that Ratzinger letter,
00:11:58.820 which was called, by the way,
00:12:00.120 Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion
00:12:01.720 General Principles,
00:12:02.640 is seemingly habitual
00:12:06.060 for Cardinal McCarrick.
00:12:07.600 Although it was sent
00:12:08.560 to the U.S. bishops
00:12:09.380 via Cardinal McCarrick
00:12:10.640 by Cardinal Ratzinger,
00:12:12.180 the document was not even revealed
00:12:14.140 to the U.S. bishops,
00:12:15.540 even those who sat
00:12:16.460 on the committee with him
00:12:17.360 to decide about this issue in 2004.
00:12:20.200 Rather, McCarrick gave the impression
00:12:21.960 that Cardinal Ratzinger's letter
00:12:23.360 indicated Rome was ambiguous
00:12:25.120 about the matter.
00:12:26.460 And speaking of Cardinal Ratzinger's letter
00:12:28.780 in a June 15, 2004 statement
00:12:30.720 to the U.S. bishops,
00:12:31.540 McCarrick actually said,
00:12:33.780 and I quote,
00:12:34.820 the Cardinal recognizes,
00:12:36.780 and he's speaking
00:12:37.300 Cardinal Ratzinger,
00:12:38.320 the Cardinal recognizes
00:12:39.740 that there are circumstances
00:12:41.000 in which Holy Communion
00:12:42.780 may be denied, end quote.
00:12:45.160 So a couple of weeks
00:12:47.120 after Cardinal McCarrick's speech,
00:12:49.560 the letter from Cardinal Ratzinger
00:12:51.780 was leaked to well-known
00:12:53.700 Vatican reporter,
00:12:54.700 Sandra Magister.
00:12:56.060 We published it at LifeSite as well.
00:12:58.180 He published the document in full,
00:12:59.940 and then, you know,
00:13:02.040 people were starting to say,
00:13:03.120 oh, that's a fake letter
00:13:04.000 and whatnot.
00:13:04.800 Well, in a surprising move,
00:13:06.220 Cardinal Ratzinger's office
00:13:07.260 confirmed that the leaked document
00:13:08.840 was indeed authentic.
00:13:11.020 So rather than a permissibility
00:13:13.220 to deny communion,
00:13:14.500 Ratzinger's letter spoke
00:13:15.920 of cases where,
00:13:17.220 and I quote,
00:13:18.000 the Minister of Holy Communion
00:13:19.480 may find himself
00:13:20.400 in the situation
00:13:21.080 where he must refuse
00:13:23.440 to distribute Holy Communion
00:13:25.180 to someone.
00:13:25.660 It went on to explain
00:13:27.880 that an obstinately
00:13:29.120 pro-abortion Catholic politician
00:13:30.480 who has been warned
00:13:31.600 and instructed,
00:13:32.940 if, quote,
00:13:33.940 the person in question
00:13:35.220 with obstinate persistence
00:13:37.220 still presents himself
00:13:38.380 to receive the Holy Eucharist,
00:13:39.900 the Minister of Holy Communion
00:13:41.080 must refuse
00:13:43.220 to distribute it,
00:13:45.360 end quote.
00:13:46.660 So then our Archbishop
00:13:49.520 at the time of St. Louis,
00:13:51.100 who was later
00:13:52.640 Cardinal Raymond Burke,
00:13:53.540 he was on that committee
00:13:55.720 of bishops in 2004
00:13:56.880 and he told Catholic reporter
00:13:59.140 Barbara Kralis at the time
00:14:00.680 that he was disappointed
00:14:02.600 in not receiving the letter
00:14:03.880 from McCarrick.
00:14:06.080 Kralis asked him,
00:14:07.020 and I quote,
00:14:08.080 were the contents
00:14:08.760 of the memo
00:14:09.260 made known to you
00:14:10.260 and the other bishops
00:14:11.440 at the Denver meeting,
00:14:12.840 end quote.
00:14:13.800 Bishop,
00:14:14.520 then Archbishop,
00:14:15.580 Burke replied,
00:14:16.440 and I quote,
00:14:17.620 it certainly was not
00:14:18.960 made known to me
00:14:20.340 and I do not believe
00:14:21.660 that it was given
00:14:22.360 to the other bishops.
00:14:23.680 Cardinal McCarrick
00:14:24.360 referred to the memorandum.
00:14:26.240 We were told
00:14:26.900 that according to
00:14:27.960 Cardinal Ratzinger,
00:14:29.020 the application
00:14:29.620 of Canon 915
00:14:30.540 was up to
00:14:31.220 the prudent judgment
00:14:32.860 of each bishop.
00:14:34.360 The text
00:14:35.360 of the memorandum
00:14:36.600 would have been
00:14:37.680 very helpful
00:14:38.720 at the meeting
00:14:39.360 in Denver.
00:14:40.860 Knowing now
00:14:41.780 about the memo,
00:14:43.100 I am disappointed
00:14:44.120 it was not given
00:14:44.980 to us
00:14:45.440 at the meeting
00:14:46.120 of the bishops'
00:14:47.200 conference,
00:14:47.980 end quote.
00:14:49.480 Well,
00:14:50.420 now that you know
00:14:51.620 the roots
00:14:52.380 of this deceptive
00:14:54.280 and counter-church
00:14:55.780 scandal being
00:14:56.840 in the scandalous
00:14:57.900 Cardinal McCarrick,
00:14:59.160 let's see
00:14:59.880 which U.S. bishops
00:15:01.440 continue to defy
00:15:03.660 this constant teaching
00:15:05.080 of the church
00:15:05.640 and who among them
00:15:07.680 is standing up
00:15:08.720 for the truth
00:15:09.300 of Christ.
00:15:10.260 So,
00:15:10.920 as I've said previously,
00:15:12.620 one of the best things
00:15:13.840 about Pope Francis' reign
00:15:15.100 is that the wolves
00:15:16.440 among the bishops
00:15:17.300 are outing themselves.
00:15:18.680 We saw that
00:15:19.980 with a list
00:15:20.540 of U.S. bishops
00:15:21.320 who publicly
00:15:22.080 signed on
00:15:22.760 to a document
00:15:23.340 encouraging LGBT
00:15:24.600 identity for youth.
00:15:26.780 But with this
00:15:27.620 communion issue,
00:15:29.100 68 U.S. bishops
00:15:31.200 signed a letter
00:15:32.620 which was leaked
00:15:33.820 to the press
00:15:34.440 asking the U.S. bishops
00:15:36.180 not to even
00:15:37.400 discuss the matter
00:15:38.580 at the U.S. bishops
00:15:39.740 conference meeting.
00:15:41.060 And that's the most
00:15:41.800 recent one now.
00:15:42.860 For the full list,
00:15:44.500 please go to
00:15:45.000 lifesitenews.com
00:15:46.000 and on my blog
00:15:47.660 there on this matter
00:15:48.480 you'll find that link
00:15:49.400 to that full story
00:15:50.720 with the full list
00:15:51.520 of names.
00:15:52.520 And while there may be
00:15:53.760 some on that list
00:15:54.740 who objected
00:15:55.800 for reasons
00:15:56.540 of collegiality
00:15:57.520 or not wanting
00:15:58.100 to rock the boat
00:15:58.920 politically
00:15:59.840 or perhaps
00:16:00.620 other reasons,
00:16:01.620 there are some
00:16:02.640 who are known
00:16:03.840 opponents of the church's
00:16:05.160 constant teaching
00:16:05.960 to deny communion
00:16:07.020 to obstinate
00:16:08.040 public sinners.
00:16:10.340 So,
00:16:11.400 leading the pack
00:16:12.360 are several cardinals.
00:16:14.160 Shouldn't be a surprise
00:16:15.060 but I'll name them
00:16:15.760 Chicago's
00:16:16.660 Blaise Cupich,
00:16:18.380 Washington D.C.'s
00:16:19.580 Wilton Gregory,
00:16:20.900 Newark's
00:16:21.400 Joseph Tobin.
00:16:22.920 Now,
00:16:23.300 most of you
00:16:23.780 are familiar
00:16:24.220 with those names
00:16:24.940 and know those men
00:16:26.640 to be unfaithful
00:16:27.840 to church teaching
00:16:28.820 on a whole host
00:16:30.120 of issues.
00:16:31.560 Well,
00:16:31.980 in addition,
00:16:33.060 there's Boston Cardinal
00:16:34.200 Sean O'Malley
00:16:35.060 on that list.
00:16:36.200 There was New York's
00:16:37.260 Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
00:16:39.060 And beyond those cardinals,
00:16:40.960 these five archbishops
00:16:42.780 were signatories
00:16:43.580 to the letter.
00:16:44.260 Archbishop
00:16:45.500 Andrew Bellisario,
00:16:48.120 he's of Anchorage,
00:16:49.540 Juneau.
00:16:50.540 Archbishop
00:16:51.220 Paul Etienne
00:16:52.360 of Seattle.
00:16:53.500 Archbishop
00:16:54.000 Gustavo Garcia Siller
00:16:55.700 from San Antonio.
00:16:57.800 And Archbishop
00:16:58.760 Mitchell Rosansky
00:17:00.840 of St. Louis.
00:17:02.140 There's also
00:17:02.740 Archbishop
00:17:03.300 Dennis Schnur
00:17:04.580 of Cincinnati.
00:17:06.440 As to the bishops
00:17:07.680 on that list
00:17:08.680 of 68
00:17:09.460 fighting the church's
00:17:10.840 constant teaching
00:17:11.600 were Bishop
00:17:12.660 Joseph Tyson
00:17:13.840 of Yakima,
00:17:14.840 Washington.
00:17:15.760 He was the first bishop
00:17:16.840 to object
00:17:17.720 even to having
00:17:18.740 the document
00:17:19.420 about the matter
00:17:20.800 discussed at the
00:17:21.640 USCCB meeting
00:17:22.560 in June.
00:17:23.460 And he was joined
00:17:24.720 in his dissent
00:17:25.640 by Bishop
00:17:26.760 William Medley
00:17:27.960 of Owensboro,
00:17:30.140 Kentucky.
00:17:30.520 You know,
00:17:32.000 there's too many
00:17:32.640 bishops
00:17:33.040 on the list
00:17:34.520 to mention here,
00:17:35.420 but I wanted to
00:17:36.240 draw your attention
00:17:37.180 to a number
00:17:38.000 of them
00:17:38.380 who also
00:17:39.920 publicly
00:17:41.040 outed themselves
00:17:42.040 as pro-LGBT.
00:17:44.640 Interestingly,
00:17:45.580 almost all
00:17:46.540 of the prelates
00:17:47.180 who signed on
00:17:48.060 to that pro-LGBT
00:17:49.460 letter
00:17:49.860 that I mentioned
00:17:50.920 earlier
00:17:51.280 also signed
00:17:52.240 this letter
00:17:52.760 to scuttle
00:17:53.620 even debating
00:17:54.740 the denial
00:17:55.780 of communion
00:17:56.280 to pro-abortion
00:17:56.860 politicians.
00:17:57.740 And again,
00:17:58.420 it's important
00:17:59.020 to remember
00:17:59.480 these names.
00:18:01.200 Cardinal Joseph
00:18:02.260 Tobin,
00:18:02.860 Archbishop
00:18:03.200 of Newark.
00:18:04.660 Archbishop
00:18:05.300 John Wester,
00:18:07.360 Archbishop
00:18:07.900 of Santa Fe,
00:18:09.880 New Mexico.
00:18:11.220 Bishop Stephen
00:18:12.440 Beigler,
00:18:13.200 Bishop of Cheyenne,
00:18:14.160 Wyoming.
00:18:14.900 Bishop Robert
00:18:15.620 McElroy,
00:18:16.420 Bishop of San Diego.
00:18:18.220 Bishop John
00:18:19.460 P. Dolan,
00:18:20.280 Auxiliary
00:18:20.660 Bishop of San Diego.
00:18:22.620 Bishop Joseph
00:18:23.580 R. Copaz,
00:18:25.260 Bishop of
00:18:25.800 Jackson,
00:18:26.460 Mississippi.
00:18:27.460 Bishop John
00:18:28.440 Stowe,
00:18:29.900 Bishop of
00:18:30.460 Lexington,
00:18:31.160 Kentucky.
00:18:32.120 Bishop Anthony
00:18:33.020 B. Taylor,
00:18:34.360 Bishop of
00:18:34.860 Little Rock,
00:18:35.640 Arkansas.
00:18:37.440 You know,
00:18:38.240 in the end,
00:18:39.480 the USCCB
00:18:40.320 meeting voted
00:18:41.160 in favor
00:18:41.900 of drafting
00:18:42.780 a document
00:18:43.420 on the issue
00:18:44.500 with a vote
00:18:45.300 of 168
00:18:46.300 in favor,
00:18:46.900 55 opposed
00:18:47.880 with six abstentions.
00:18:49.780 Now,
00:18:50.060 those leading
00:18:50.840 the bishops
00:18:51.320 to stick
00:18:52.240 with the church's
00:18:52.900 teaching
00:18:53.240 on the need
00:18:54.040 to deny
00:18:54.460 communion
00:18:54.840 to pro-abortion
00:18:55.420 politicians
00:18:55.900 included
00:18:56.540 Bishop Joseph
00:18:57.860 Strickland
00:18:58.340 of Tyler,
00:18:59.340 Texas.
00:18:59.740 That comes
00:19:00.140 as no surprise.
00:19:01.080 But there was
00:19:01.440 also Archbishop
00:19:02.340 Joseph Naumann,
00:19:03.200 the chair
00:19:03.660 of the USCCB's
00:19:04.800 pro-life committee
00:19:05.480 and Archbishop
00:19:06.880 Salvatore
00:19:07.540 Corleone.
00:19:08.920 Also,
00:19:09.720 there was
00:19:09.960 Archbishop
00:19:10.440 Joseph Kurtz
00:19:11.620 of Louisville,
00:19:13.020 Archbishop
00:19:15.060 Paul Coakley
00:19:15.800 of Oklahoma City
00:19:16.780 and Bishops
00:19:17.720 Conley of Lincoln
00:19:18.660 and Donald
00:19:20.200 DeGrood
00:19:20.880 of Sioux Falls.
00:19:22.560 But,
00:19:23.140 you know,
00:19:23.440 the takeaway
00:19:24.040 we all need
00:19:25.140 to remember
00:19:25.580 here is that
00:19:26.600 the denial
00:19:27.420 of a
00:19:28.120 Chiaulie communion
00:19:28.700 to pro-abortion
00:19:29.340 politicians
00:19:29.880 is Catholic
00:19:31.000 teaching from
00:19:31.520 the beginning.
00:19:32.440 It's not rocket
00:19:33.540 science.
00:19:34.140 You don't need
00:19:34.720 a degree
00:19:35.140 in theology.
00:19:37.580 You know,
00:19:38.000 this is best
00:19:38.780 explained by
00:19:39.640 Cardinal Francis
00:19:40.520 Arince.
00:19:41.340 Under Pope
00:19:42.020 John Paul II,
00:19:42.620 he was in charge
00:19:43.500 of the Vatican
00:19:44.000 Department
00:19:44.500 dealing with
00:19:45.360 the sacraments,
00:19:46.260 the Congregation
00:19:47.100 for Divine
00:19:47.740 Worship
00:19:48.020 and Discipline
00:19:48.620 of the Sacraments,
00:19:49.240 it was called.
00:19:50.480 Watch him explain it.
00:19:51.880 Take a look.
00:19:54.460 So the matter
00:19:55.400 is very clear.
00:19:57.140 Once people
00:19:57.820 ask me
00:19:58.560 if a person
00:19:59.900 votes for abortion,
00:20:01.640 can the person
00:20:02.480 receive Holy Communion?
00:20:04.680 My reply was,
00:20:06.700 do you really
00:20:07.620 need a Cardinal
00:20:08.880 from the Vatican
00:20:09.960 to answer that?
00:20:12.360 Get the children
00:20:13.600 for First Communion.
00:20:17.100 and say to them,
00:20:18.520 somebody votes
00:20:19.560 for the killing
00:20:20.500 of unborn babies
00:20:22.000 and says,
00:20:23.640 I voted for that.
00:20:25.120 I will vote
00:20:26.060 for that
00:20:26.660 every time.
00:20:29.580 And these babies
00:20:30.880 are killed,
00:20:31.340 not one or two,
00:20:32.380 but in millions.
00:20:34.660 And that person
00:20:35.360 says,
00:20:35.760 I am a practicing
00:20:36.660 Catholic.
00:20:38.780 Should that person
00:20:39.800 receive communion
00:20:40.660 next Sunday?
00:20:43.400 The children
00:20:44.300 for First Communion
00:20:45.100 will answer you
00:20:45.860 that at the
00:20:47.000 drop of a hat.
00:20:51.120 You don't need
00:20:52.260 a Cardinal
00:20:52.820 to answer that.
00:20:56.540 And finally,
00:20:57.860 those who refuse
00:20:59.220 to discipline
00:21:00.300 their wayward
00:21:01.260 spiritual children
00:21:02.180 by denying them
00:21:02.940 communion
00:21:03.340 are actually
00:21:04.280 lacking in love.
00:21:05.460 They're lacking
00:21:05.940 in pastoral care.
00:21:07.580 And you know,
00:21:08.420 we've known this
00:21:09.680 since the beginning
00:21:10.600 of the church.
00:21:12.340 St. Ambrose
00:21:13.200 was the Bishop
00:21:13.820 of Milan.
00:21:15.240 He lived
00:21:15.840 in the 300s.
00:21:17.840 He actually
00:21:18.260 refused communion.
00:21:19.220 He even
00:21:19.560 excommunicated
00:21:20.700 Emperor Theodosius
00:21:22.320 at the time.
00:21:23.020 He could have been
00:21:23.680 killed for his act,
00:21:24.360 of course.
00:21:25.200 But it was because
00:21:26.280 the emperor
00:21:26.620 had actually killed
00:21:27.380 7,000 civilians.
00:21:29.340 So the emperor,
00:21:31.080 after being
00:21:31.740 excommunicated,
00:21:32.660 he actually repented
00:21:33.660 of his sin.
00:21:34.940 And he turned around
00:21:35.940 and he came back
00:21:36.420 to the church
00:21:36.860 because of the courage
00:21:38.660 of St. Ambrose
00:21:40.240 to excommunicate him.
00:21:42.460 And according
00:21:43.240 to St. Augustine,
00:21:45.040 the emperor
00:21:45.660 responded
00:21:46.680 to this chastisement
00:21:48.420 with humility
00:21:49.200 and did penance
00:21:50.000 for his sins.
00:21:50.760 St. Ambrose himself
00:21:52.120 spoke movingly
00:21:54.160 at the emperor's funeral,
00:21:55.760 this is according
00:21:56.260 to St. Augustine,
00:21:57.180 of the emperor's
00:21:58.480 contrition for his sin
00:21:59.580 and fortitude
00:22:00.300 in offering
00:22:02.100 public penance.
00:22:03.120 He did public
00:22:03.900 penance for this.
00:22:04.820 And this is,
00:22:07.500 of course,
00:22:08.480 you know,
00:22:09.280 the purpose
00:22:10.020 or the essential purpose
00:22:11.480 of ecclesiastical censures
00:22:13.820 or punishments,
00:22:14.520 if you will,
00:22:15.020 to prevent the sinner
00:22:16.140 from inducing others
00:22:18.760 to sin
00:22:19.240 and also to encourage
00:22:20.480 him to repent.
00:22:22.040 St. Ambrose
00:22:22.860 told the emperor
00:22:23.800 that he did
00:22:25.460 this punishment
00:22:26.240 out of love
00:22:27.460 and care
00:22:28.180 for the soul
00:22:28.860 of the emperor himself
00:22:29.740 to call him back
00:22:30.940 to the faith.
00:22:31.640 And this is a quote.
00:22:32.340 He said,
00:22:32.600 This I do chiefly
00:22:34.420 from love
00:22:35.280 and regard
00:22:36.500 to you
00:22:37.360 and from a wish
00:22:39.000 to preserve
00:22:39.700 your well-being.
00:22:41.260 End quote.
00:22:42.940 That is what
00:22:43.980 this issue is all about.
00:22:45.560 There is no debate.
00:22:47.360 It's about loving
00:22:48.480 wayward Catholics
00:22:49.280 enough to do
00:22:50.020 the hard
00:22:50.540 and socially awkward
00:22:51.500 thing of denying
00:22:52.520 them Holy Communion
00:22:53.440 so that they
00:22:54.560 wake up enough
00:22:55.540 to straighten out
00:22:56.480 their lives.
00:22:57.480 And if they don't
00:22:58.420 do that,
00:22:58.980 at least you stop
00:22:59.960 the rest of Catholics
00:23:00.960 from thinking
00:23:01.740 that being pro-abortion
00:23:02.900 is no big deal
00:23:04.320 for the faith.
00:23:05.960 For LifeSite News,
00:23:07.060 this is John Henry Weston.
00:23:08.580 May God bless you.
00:23:12.320 Hi, this is John Henry Weston,
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00:25:53.440 Cheers.
00:26:00.500 Bye.
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