Triple Option

On the distribution of Holy Communion to those in mortal sin and for politicians who support policies contrary to the Gospel

Introduction

1.  Looking objectively at the state of the Roman Catholic Church in 2021, one cannot conclude sincerely that the Catholic Church institutionally has lived up to its mission of directing souls toward Heaven.  While the Catholic Church has historically proven to be a gracious teacher for the times, the present church faces great challenges in atoning for extreme corruption and manipulation and for failing to deter the spread of deeply erroneous teachings.  At the heart of the matter is the fractured trust felt by many alienated Catholics and the profound confusion among Catholics who seek the truth yet fail to receive answers.

2.  At the Macro level, the church does not face problems of participation.  Churches are well populated yet littered with impiety and shallow worship.  Young children are baptized and receive the sacraments yet are not encouraged to continue to do so as they mature.  In the American Catholic culture, church is viewed primarily as an obligation—not merely by children who find the mass boring and not their toys or television, but by adults who see mass attendance and the law of God as mere rules meant to be formulaically obeyed where if we go to mass and are a decent person, we go to Heaven.  While it is easy to blame the culture of death, which seeks to marginalize religion and keep deeper philosophical considerations out of the discussion, the reality is that the Church institutionally is a culprit as well, allowing for the spread of heresy and failing to address confusion and hold itself accountable.

3.  Yet hearing all this, I still go to the most Catholic school in the country where 98% of students are practicing Catholics and we need five masses during the week to satisfy the liturgical demand. Churches are everywhere in America, and devout, faithful Catholics are abundant in small pockets, and the presence of these wonderful communities must not be overshadowed by the church’s problems, as these communities form the basis of how Catholicism is to be “reformed.” To ask the loaded question of “how can you remain Catholic,” the most simple and faithful answer is because of the Eucharist, which will be analyzed intensely.  That Christ not only came down from Heaven to redeem our sins and show us the true path to Heaven, but also made himself physically accessible so we can receive him and become more like Him, is an exceptional mystery that sits at the heart of the Catholic faith.

4.  While this argument about who can and cannot receive communion, we must remind ourselves that yes, the Popes, Cardinals, and Bishops are the ones promulgating the teachings of the church and overseeing the church on earth, but they are servants of Christ and all their authority comes from the son of God.  As is the sitting President of the United States, who presents himself as a faithful and model Catholic.  If we want to institute top-down change and better leaders in the church, that starts with the people and having the ordinary joes like myself living out the call from Christ to live our true vocation and spread the good news to the world.  Perhaps Catholics feel hopeless because we try to blame the church’s problems on those with authority, but the data shows that the laity is not holding up its end of the bargain.  Essentially, any discussion of religious debates must be entered into answered by all Catholics having answered prayerfully the question: “Am I truly living my life as God desires me to?” 

5.  To state clearly the problem at hand clearly, the Catholic Church faces a deeply rooted problem of politicians who claim to be practicing Catholics and use their religion as a political crutch and supporting issues contrary to the Gospel, yet still receiving communion.  The simple reason for why Catholics are divided on this issue is that Catholics are divided on every issue, reflecting the deep confusion that the church desperately needs to address.

6.  It also must be considered that the events in the matter do the opposite of what I intend to do in this article.  The CNN headline reads “Biden says Pope told him he’s a good Catholic and should continue receiving communion.”  The contents of this report will be evaluated further, but for now we see this statement in the context of the church doing a great job making it incredibly difficult for people to understand its true teachings.  To bring about an outcome as I suggest requires a communal effort from Catholics in prayer and in catechesis and also by sharing the richness of Catholic social doctrine.  Also, I intend to limit the political motivation in this article, so the fact that Biden is used has more to do with the fact he is the President of the United States and subject to the highest scrutiny, but this method of evaluation the criteria for public officials to receive Holy Communion is not exclusive to Democrats because there are certainly Republicans receiving communion who should not be.

The Eucharist

7.  As I just said I do not want to be political, the main reason this issue is met with such controversy is because we tend to make it a political argument instead of a theological one.  All the issues of abortion, same-sex marriage, freedom of markets, and basically any other issue the church has commented on are all subservient to the teaching on the Eucharist.  I am not arguing if it is moral to have a position contrary to the church in those issues, but rather if those who hold a contrary belief are licit to participate in this religious profession.  Therefore, the first step in developing the pro/anti Biden receiving communion is to visit the Eucharist itself, and establish why it is such a profound symbol of communion for Catholics in addition to being a requirement for true communion with God.

8.  The Pew Research Data that highlights the number of Catholics who do not believe core truths of the faith is well-known, especially in the study about transubstantiation.  To clarify the church’s position, the church has always held true that when the priest invokes the words of Christ at the Last Supper in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the bread and keep their “accidents” or visual appearances, but the substance is transformed, and no longer is bread and wine but flesh and blood.  An alarming 69% of Catholics believe the bread and wine only to be symbols, and breaking that down further, 43% of Catholics believe the church teaches the Eucharist to be symbolic and 22% outright reject transubstantiation.  The only significant demographic difference comes from those who attend mass weekly, as the number increases to 63% who believe in transubstantiation—a majority, but still a tragedy that one out of every three people who attend mass consistently and would consider themselves devout Catholics are unaware of this great gift from God given to Catholics.

9.  Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel is the go-to scripture for answering questions about the legitimacy of the Eucharist.  After the miracles of the multiplication of loaves and walking on the water, we reach a climax where Jesus proclaims “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. (John 6:34).  The disciples are struck by this line, which seems to be a parable or symbolic teaching of Jesus, as he often does.  Unable to fully comprehend what Jesus has just spoken, they ask for confirmation, to which he confirms “I am the living bread that came down from Heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6:51).  Now, Jesus leaves no doubt he is speaking literally.  Confirming a third time, he clearly states “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” (John 6:55-56).  The multiplication of the loaves and the water into wine miracles show that quite literally, Jesus can transform one substance into another.

10.  This section where Jesus teaches and then confirms multiple times must have been included by John the Evangelist because he recognizes this teaching would not be easily embraced—the data supports the disbelieving disciples who complain: “This saying is hard, who can accept it?” (John 6:60).  He speaks implicitly to the Catholic Church, who for centuries encounter critics who claim turning bread into flesh and wine into blood is absurd.  Deeply conflicted and able to accept the graces needed to accept this belief, they turn away, leaving Jesus with only his closest eleven (Judas has turned at this point, and Jesus is aware at this moment that he does not believe but does not yet depart from the group).

11.  I would assume that Jesus wanted to avoid the interpretation of his words as encouraging cannibalism, so the best way he could teach this divine reality was that we must physically consume him through bread and wine, fully achieved in his sacrifice and literal giving up of his body and blood, which makes the Last Supper scene theologically significant.  At the conclusion of the discourse when most of the disciples have left, Jesus asks if they will stay, to which St. Peter replies “Master, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). To those eleven apostles who believed even when it was unpopular to, he fully reveals what he has been building towards, offering at a meal “Take and eat, this is my body…[and] this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 6:27-29).  In the Apostolic nature of the church (which is professed in the Creed), these distinguished men are given their inclusive authority from God, which involves them being present to this teaching so they can share it with the rest of the world, and then pass on the tradition through the mass to share with all the faithful.  Perhaps another way to think of this apostolic approach is that the Last Supper needed to be exclusive because they were the only ones who believed.  Through the apostolic tradition, the ability to participate in the transubstantial power of Jesus is reserved for the priests, whose lineage is directly linked to the apostles who were directly linked to Christ.

12.  The reason for this in-depth explanation and argument for the Eucharist stems right from the data that Catholics are not enlightened to the matter.  For those struggling to accept this teaching, it helps to acknowledge that God desires all His beloved children to come home to Him, and the biggest component of faith is accepting the mystery of God.  When Jesus says, “no one can come to me unless it is granted to him by my Father” (John 6:65), this statement is not meant to be an elitist statement of predestination, but rather a statement of truth that we do not find God by ourselves and his providence is active as He brings us closer to Heaven.  Praying with the words of St. Peter, when we realize that Jesus is the best option, were best off just listening to Jesus.  However, like any invitation, if we do not feel graced or like God is active in our life, a simple prayer is to ask him to for these graces where we can believe in the power of the Eucharist reveal, and can persevere even in persecution of ideology.

13.  Moving full circle to address the larger topic of discussion, another Pew Research study evaluates whether President Biden’s views on abortion should make him subject to excommunication.  67% of the population believes he should be allowed to receive—almost identical to the 69% that do not believe in the true presence.  We cannot conclude definitively a causal relationship, but there certainly appears to be a correlation where the Catholics who believe the Eucharist to be purely symbolic concluding that it is no big deal for Him to receive.  Without an understanding of the true sacredness and piety owed to the Eucharist, it seems harsh and irrational, and even political, to exclude one from participating for any reason.

14.  Yet to make this claim that all those in favor of Biden receiving communion purely because they do not believe in the true presence would be an weak assessment of the many faithful Catholics who reconcile that the true presence is all the more reason for widespread inclusion of the faithful.  The next building block features the inclusion of sin, and how the Church considers the sacramental grace with the realty of sin.  

Restrictions on receiving the Eucharist

15.  Once an understanding is reached about the significance of the Eucharist as the summit and source of the Catholic faith, the discussion can be extended to who can and cannot receive communion.  First, a disclaimer, that while it is widely taught that only Catholics are permitted to receive communion, this debate is separate from this issue, so for now we can operate under the assumption that we speak only of those who are Catholic and their ability to receive communion.

16.  The most controversial aspect around this issue of Biden receiving communion deals with how we unpack the inconsistency of us being sinners not worthy of receiving our Lord, yet greatly in need of it, pleaded by the Roman Centurion: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed” (Matthew 8:8).  The Catechism summarizes in paragraph 1415, which is in the section about the Eucharist, how a person in mortal sin is not allowed to receive communion.

“Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace.  Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without first having received absolution in the sacrament of penance. 

At thispoint a very important teaching about the sacraments is needed.  A common argument to made asserts that if Christ is truly present, we are healed by receiving Him.  Yes and no; back to the Catechism, which now distinguishes in the fruits of communion mortal and venial sin.  Paragraphs 1393-95 outline two major fruits of the Eucharist: It wipes away venial sins and preserves us from future mortal sin.  Both are temporary graces, which is why frequent reception is required.  Man is a sinner, who must constantly seek forgiveness, giving light to the sacrament of Confession.

17.  Nowhere in Paragraph 1415 nor the entire Catechism does the church allows the reception of Communion in mortal sin (an exception can be made in a drastic scenario where Confession is not possible, which this is not).  To be in mortal sin is to be living in a state contrary to the Gospel, where we consciously set ourselves against the good.  The church designates a greater importance on avoiding mortal sin, which kills the love of God within us, compared to venial sin which wounds the love of God with in us.  Venial sins must be confessed because if they pile up, the path to mortal sin becomes more and more appealing.  Abortion is used in this debate of excommunicating politicians as it is very easy to pick out for a politician as clearly opposing the fifth commandment and the church’s definitive teaching on abortion.

18.  Factors of vincible and invincible ignorance bring allow for uncertainty, as many Catholics can claim state of grace without making a true examination of conscience or sincerely not know a mortal sin is a sin.  Masturbation and watching pornography are the most common examples of a person not being fully aware of being in mortal sin.  The church teaches masturbation to be a mortal sin, as it warps our understanding of sexuality and ability to love, which a lot of Catholics (especially younger ones) are not aware of the church’s teachings.  So yes, any Catholic who has committed this act must not receive communion without going to Confession beforehand.  Two situations arise:  In one case, anyone who confesses this sin after its occurrence and desires to be in a state of grace is aware of an addiction, and confession acts as a therapy to discourage this sinful action.  In the other case, the person receives despite consciously setting themselves against the law of God, and not seeking to purify their will, and thus commits a mortal sin.  Relating to the issue, it is possible for Biden or a politician to not be guilty of any mortal sin because they sincerely have never been catechized on the matter, but that does not give them permission to live in the dark about the truth. 

19.  It must further be articulated that receiving communion is not a “right” per say of all Catholics.  Recalling John 6:65, we need a certain permission from God to receive Him, in that we must be graced in order to receive and partake in this incredible event that unites us to our Creator and Redeemer.  The main takeaway is that Confession is a necessary prerequisite, and that an active habit of receiving Confession will not be compatible with mortal sin.  At this point, it is easy to judge those who are public in their mortal sin, yet it is impossible to truly know the extent of every communicant and to see the state of their soul as God does.  Perhaps the hardest part of this whole discussion comes with for the priest or extraordinary minister who distributes communion and has the impossible task of assessing the states of grace of the communicants.  The church in teaching restricts reception in mortal sin, but it never explicitly prohibits recipients, which would violate their human freedom (which is a big premise of allowing Biden to receive).  A Catholic may spitefully go to the altar and extend their hands or stick out their tongue knowing full-heartedly what they are doing is wrong, and they are subject to the rule of God, who is fully aware of their intentions.  But for the most part, because priests and extraordinary ministers are not vested with the omnificent powers of God, they have no choice but to assume the communicants have reviewed the necessary considerations beforehand.  

20.  However, when the President of the United States goes up for Communion, he is naturally held to a different standard by society.  If President Biden passes a bill that supports abortion or any other intrinsic evil, he is formally cooperating with evil, which means there is mortal guilt on his hands.  If he confesses such, he must either resolve to amend his ways, and if he does not, he has not made a true confession and is therefore not in a state of grace.  The public knowledge of this information means that if he goes and receives communion in this state of mortal sin, mass confusion arises.  People now have the impression that they can support abortion or even have an abortion themselves, and still be able to receive communion.  Now the door is open for anyone in mortal sin to believe themselves worthy to receive, as the mortal sin is compounded in attempt to take advantage of God and His precious sacrament.  And it was defined earlier how the Eucharist is the defining, unique component of Catholicism.  Well, if the sacrament loses its value, we lose Catholicism, and looking at the state of the church we are definitely on that path.  This issue is incredibly urgent because Catholics worldwide are confused and need proper guidance from authority to steer the church on the right path.

Conclusion

21.  In light of the recent meeting of President Biden with Pope Francis, it cannot be emphasized enough how horrible of an outcome this was.  For Biden to share the context of a private meaning without an official Vatican statement is to throw gas on the fire of confusion.  If the Pope actually told Biden that he should continue to receive communion despite his support of abortion, he is almost directly telling Catholics that it is okay for them to support abortion.  In this case actions speak much larger than words, as the Pope must remember he represents both Christ and all of Catholics for the world, so any statements condemning abortion he makes are weak because he his works contradict his words.

22.  A great fear among those who support Biden receiving communion is fear about the weaponization of the Eucharist, which now becomes a political tool.  I have made a strong effort to keep politics out of the matter, so I am comfortable saying confidently that refusing communion (excommunication) to those in authority who support policies contrary to the Gospel is not affiliating the church with a political party nor violating any rights or privileges due to Catholics.  The Church, as St. Leo XIII described, yields two swords, both temporal and spiritual.  The church’s spiritual authority trumps all temporal authority, including that of nation states, and there is no greater spiritual element in the world than in what has become the Blessed Sacrament.  The stewards of this holy and precious gift from God must remember the remarkable sacredness of the Eucharist, so inevitably, as part of their duty to participate with our Lord in transubstantiation and to distribute it to the faithful, an important spiritual responsibility is for those in clerical offices to discern who is and is in communion with the church. 

23.  Furthermore, we can fully observe why the premise, “Biden can’t receive communion because he is a Democrat,” is shallow rhetoric because it reduces the Eucharist to a temporal good and not a spiritual good.  Excommunication should never be a temporal means to disregard someone from the sacraments because of a difference of opinion.  However, a Catholic who has broken his baptismal promises to the Lord and has turned away from God must be shielded from corrupting the dignity of the Eucharist.  When he in mortal sin receives, Satan walks up our crucified Lord and spits on Him.  Knowing this truth, we cannot help but feel bad for President Biden because he is being guided on a path that certainly leads to Hell, but it is the natural outcome due for living a life of sin.  By signing into place laws which allow for widespread abortions to occur is to sentence millions of children to death, and to be in any way involved is not exactly doing himself any favors when he goes to meet God.  Therefore, excommunication serves him as a form of punishment which emphasizes the need for rehabilitation and a return to justice with God. 

24.  I say the events that happened are terrible because Biden has promoted the idea that he can have his own beliefs that contradict church teaching, yet still be considered a good Catholic, so if that is how the church plans to approach matters in its evangelization efforts than I do not know how there is any hope of solving any of our issues.  The church holds its value in its catholic and universal tradition, which does not discourage diversity of thought or curiosity driven questioning, as long as man is directed towards what is ultimately true and good.  Again, we must be cautious in pinning responsibility directly on Pope Francis for what he allegedly told President Biden, yet if he told him “he is a good Catholic and should continue to receive communion,” Francis has acted out of a desire to satisfy the temporal desires of the church and neglected the spiritual responsibility his office holds (obviously if he did not say this than Biden lied to the press which is a mortal sin, so the argument holds true).

25.  Here is how the excommunication scenario plays out:  The Pope in accordance with the U.S. Bishops declares that Mr. Biden supports policies which are contrary to church teaching, and definitively re-state for the Catholic people that a public official who is Catholic and supports such evils that are contrary to the Gospel (abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, polygamy, etc.) is in mortal sin and must be refused communion until they go to Confession and amend their evil policies.  Again, politics are not a determinant because both Democrats and Republicans are held to the same standards as they serve for their country, which serves the church, and politicians are no longer allowed to use their religion as a political tool when they do not adhere to what the religion actually teaches us. 

26.  After such a declaration, Biden, and by transmission any official in public office who is guilty of the same conflict with the church, must choose one of two paths.  He can live in denial and seek parishes and priests that will disobey the papal commands and smuggle him communion, as he refuses to cooperate with the truth about himself, or outright reject Catholicism and no longer use the image of the faithful, devout Catholic man in office, which would show his true treasure lies in the policies of the evil one.  The more hopeful option is that he is forced to have a profound conversion and make a good confession, and resolve to work with the church, pro-life activists, and those who seek to incorporate catholic social doctrine into American democracy, and as the one who takes action against the abortion epidemic, he probably ends up canonized as a saint for his true and noble conversion.  In doing such, he sacrifices the temporal unpopularity he will encounter by those in his party and throughout the culture of death, but for a much greater good, as he turns himself around towards salvation. 

27.  This declaration would put a significant pressure on the priests and extraordinary ministers who know must use fortitude to uphold the teachings of the church, so Bishops commit to supporting their parishes in defending the dignity of the church.  At the family and community level, parents and catechists must continue to joyfully proclaim the Gospel to their children and students so that they may incline their will to reject the evils of the world and seek out what is truly good for them.  The same goes for priests and deacons, who must tirelessly preach on the importance of the Eucharist and the constant necessity for Confession.

28.  There are several sub-questions about church teachings that could arise from this article, and I encourage those questions to be asked, restating that to be curious or confused is not a sin, so as long as the process is directed by the Holy Spirit and to our ultimate flourishing.  This article has defended the church’s solemn doctrines on the Eucharist and on mortal sin and presented a plausible policy for the church as a means of reform and a way to use its spiritual sword to defend the faithful from the fires of Hell.  We call upon the intercession of our Blessed Mother and her spouse, St. Joseph, and all the saints in Heaven, to guide the church, the faithful spouse of Christ, to bring about the healing of Catholics everywhere, and call upon the Holy Spirit to console and comfort the hearts of all the afflicted and establish Christ’s place is true king of the universe, for all of man and for all of time.

References

New American Bible for scriptural texts

Catechism of the Catholic Church, revised edition

Pew Research Center: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/03/30/u-s-catholics-divided-

by-party-on-whether-biden-should-be-denied-communion-over-his-abortion-stance/

CNN “Biden says Pope told him he’s a good Catholic and should continue receiving

Communion,”  by Kevin Liptak https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/29/politics/good-catholic-joe-biden-pope-francis/index.html