Catholic

There is so much going on in our church these days. I have so much on my mind and not enough time to write it all. But I will mention one concern, easily the most important concern.

It’s a well-known fact that the Catholic church is against abortion. Period. There is no negotiating on that stance. I don’t care who you are, what your race or gender. If you’re Catholic, you’re against abortion. As such, all Catholic institutions are against abortion. For those who know me, you know I work at St. Norbert College, a Catholic college. So yes, this means St. Norbert College is against abortion, as are all Catholic colleges. My local Catholic parish is against abortion. All Catholic priests are against abortion. I think you get the point.

We are all also sinners. But our God is a merciful God, and as Catholics, we are able to repent of our sins and receive the sacraments. However, and here’s the important part, if we don’t repent, if we are not sorry for our sins, then we should not present ourselves to receive the sacraments. For example, if I were to publicly state that abortions are okay, or if I were an elected official and I use my office to protect the right to kill unborn children, or if I’m simply a private citizen and I promote the killing of unborn children, then I would not be allowed to receive Holy Eucharist. Furthermore, if a political candidate makes the ability to kill people part of his platform, then everyone who votes for him is guilty of a mortal sin. There is no other issue, political, religious, or otherwise, that is more important than life.

Like me, Catholics everywhere are offering what seems like “opinions” on this. So, it’s important to note where this comes from. Here’s the text of Canon 915:

Can. 915 Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.

Code of Canon Law of the Catholic church, Article 2, Canon 915.

I copied and pasted the above text from the Vatican website. So, I suppose the next question is simply this, “is abortion an example of grave sin?” Well, life is indeed the most important gift we have. Without life, no other right, privilege, law, rule, etc matters. So, it’s quite obvious to me. Yes, taking a life (by abortion, murder, etc) is indeed the most grave of sins.

It is for this reason that when Fr. James Altman asked, “how many Catholics voted for Joe Biden for President,” the answer is simple. None. Because if you do so, you’re not Catholic. This is our faith. This is the faith of our church.