Guest Post: The grim realities behind barring Nancy Pelosi from Communion Part II

By Robert Marshall

Editor's Note: See Part I here. Yesterday I published the first half of Bob's article. This continues the list of "grim realities" that Nancy Pelosi has inflicted on our country, especially babies in the womb. She is a Catholic by baptism, but an apostate by action. Please pray for her that she will not experience the worst "grim reality" possible on Judgment Day. My comments in red.

Nancy Pelosi—Abolishing Catholic-Christian Health Care

The Charlotte Lozier Institute notes that private Christian health care is especially undermined under the Women’s Health Care Protection Act from 2019, H. R. 2975. Law Professor and religious freedom expert Mark Rienzi points out that “virtually every state in the country has some sort of statute protecting individuals and, in many cases, entities who refuse to provide abortions and ‘[s]ome states expressly limit this protection to the practice of abortion, which is treated specially.’” Moreover:

Archbishop Cordileone Speaks on Abortion and on Nancy Pelosi. God Bless Him!

Let's all say thank you for Archbishop Corileone's clear presentation of the Catholic faith.

First on Abortion:

And on the Nancy Pelosi letter banning Nancy from Holy Communion in the Archdiocese of San Francisco:

Will the USCCB Encourage their Members to Bar Pro-abortion Catholic Politicians from Communion at their June Meeting?

Is Nancy Narnia's white witch?

Nancy Pelosi says she's pleased by the Vatican's statement to the U.S. bishops about reception of Holy Communion. According to Catholic Vote, "The document Pelosi was referring to told the U.S. bishops to discuss the matter among themselves, to avoid public controversy and division, and ultimately to leave the question between politicians and their local Catholic authorities." It also referred to past teaching on the issue and told the bishops that any statement shouldn't single out a specific group, but be in the context of worthiness for Communion in general. (See Canon 915)

While You're Thanking God today, remember these Clerics!

Lesbian judge Sara Smolenski 

Recently two priests, with the support of their bishops refused Communion to Catholics committing grave public scandal. Their actions defended Jesus Christ from abuse and the individuals they refused from committing mortal sins of sacrilege and scandal. They acted with the heart of the Good Shepherd whom they serve in persona Christi.
Here's what Canon 915 says:

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.

Guest Post: "When the Bad Are Punished, Others Become Better."

Governor Andrew Cuomo celebrates killing
children even at birth with two thumbs up.

Communion and Catholic Pro-Abortion Politicians

by Robert G. Marshall

Evangelical Christian, Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the famed Rev. Billy Graham, in three “tweets” in two minutes captured the hopes and sentiments of many Catholics by urging N.Y. Cardinal Dolan to excommunicate “Catholic” N.Y. Governor Cuomo for bizarrely celebrating and signing a third trimester abortion law. Since the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision Catholic bishops have been in a position to question “Catholic” politicians who openly vote for abortion and who still claim to be Catholics in good standing.

From the Good Grief File: With "Friends" like the Catholic Bishops, Who Needs Enemies?

Didn't you know: Minnie Mouse is transgender?

Disney's new Mickey Ears celebrate "Gay Pride." One more reason for Walt to roll over in his grave!

If Disney celebrating sodomy in the secular culture isn't bad enough, the World Meeting of Families being held in Ireland in August features Fr. James Martin, S.J. as one of its keynote speakers. And the pope will be there giving a great photo op for the homosexual message.

How Much Evil Comes about Through Sacrilegious Communions?

Catherine of Siena, Saint of
the Eucharist, pray for us.

That's a good question and I don't know the answer, but how can this grave sin not bring destruction on the one who commits it and on those around him and the community? Think of the destruction that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah. Will sacrilege against Jesus Christ Himself not bring about moral destruction?

In 2011, Fr. Tom Collins sent two letters to Archbishop Timothy Dolan while he was head of the USCCB (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) raising some important issues about the Holy Eucharist. They remain relevant, and, in fact, are even more important considering that sacrilegious Communions are actively encouraged since the publication of Amoris Laetitia.  And so, I offer excerpts from Father's letters while encouraging Catholics to meditate on Jesus' Real Presence in the Eucharist.  

Do we approach Communion in fear and trembling? We certainly should!

Here are Father's thoughts from his letter of August, 2011:   

Follow the Law of the Church Amoris Laetitia Notwithstanding!

detail from Rodin's Gates of Hell

It's clear. It's unequivocal. Those divorced and remarried without annulment are ineligible for Communion. Not Pope Francis, the Argentine bishops, nor any other cleric has the right to abrogate the clear teachings of the Church to implement their faux mercy. 

Check out canon lawyer Ed Peters' article, On the Buenos Aires Directive.

compromising the well-established interpretation of Canon 915 in the case of divorced-and-remarried Catholics necessarily calls into question the law’s applicability to cases of, say, ‘loving’ couples cohabitating outside of marriage, the ‘compassionate’ promotion of abortion or euthanasia, ‘honest’ persons entering “same-sex marriages”, and so on.

Cardinal Dolan Won't "Go to the Mat" for the Babies

 ....maybe he'll change his tune when they start coming for the cardinals.

Cardinal Dolan: Debate on denying Communion to pro-abortion pols ‘in the past’

The Church’s Code of Canon Law states in Canon 915 that those “obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.” Leading Vatican officials, including Pope Benedict XVI himself, have said this canon ought to be applied in the case of pro-abortion Catholic politicians. However, prelates in the West have widely ignored it, and some have openly disagreed. 

John Allen, Jr. of the new website Crux, launched as a Catholic initiative under the auspices of the Boston Globe, asked New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan about the issue earlier this month.

Caiphas? No...Cardinal Dolan who Loves the Rich and Powerful

...and in Holy Week no less. "Boot-licking and lap-dogging" Dolan supporters will no doubt make excuses as they did when he honored Obama at the Al Smith dinner. How low can this prince of the Church go? When Jesus castigated the "hypocrites" and "whited sepulchres" he wasn't just talking about the pharisees of his day, he saw all the heretical and apostate clerics marching in lockstep down the centuries assisting the blood sacrifice of abortion and the perversion of sodomy. Maybe it's time for a GAP project outside St. Patrick's Cathedral.



"The most evident mark of God's anger, and the most terrible castigation He can inflict upon the world, is manifest when He permits His people to fall into the hands of a clergy who are more in name than in deed, priests who practice the cruelty of ravening wolves rather than the charity and affection of devoted shepherds. They abandon the things of God to devote themselves to the things of the world and, in their saintly calling of holiness, they spend their time in profane and worldly pursuits. When God permits such things, it is a very positive proof that He is thoroughly angry with His people and is visiting His most dreadful wrath upon them." Saint John Eudes

When Will Our Shepherds Enforce Canon 915...

...against pro-abortion "Catholic" politicians, refusing them sacrilegious reception of the Body and Blood of Christ? I fear Fr. Tom is right in his assessment of the situation of the Church in the United States. How many of our shepherds will do everything to escape persecution and keep government money rolling in?

Note John 3:19-21 and 12:37-43.

With a majority of our electorate and Catholics, by their lifestyles, votes and apathy, embracing a leader who has openly proclaimed the dominion of:

revenge over love,
resentment over resilience,
obfuscation over honesty,
parasitism over patriotism,
slander over respect,
power over human rights,
perversion over integrity, and
death over "inconvenient" life,

we are now going to be granted the "privilege" of  witnessing a tragic acceleration of the degradation of our morals and of the spirituality of the Catholic Church in America. There are going to be some interesting job opportunities at the USCCB (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) for theologians, who can develop a way to accommodate the HHS abortion mandate. After all, with a tsunami of progressive judges being appointed and firmly ensconced by the President and the Senate, any legislative efforts to protect conscience rights will be aborted by labeling them to be pathological obsessive-compulsive disorder. And it makes sense, since Church praxis in America over the past fifty years has been to ratify the legitimacy of the sin-seared consciences of those who affirm that the Eucharistic Christ Himself endorses their efforts to promote the brutal butchery of "inconvenient" pre-born children.
God save us!


In Christ,

Fr. Tom

From the "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words" Department

Too true and too sad. Two thumbs down for Cardinal Wuerl. Visit Catholic Cartoon Blog for more interesting graphic commentary on issues that interest Catholics.

Two Thumbs Up for V for Victory's Analysis of Fr. Guarnizo/Barbara Johnson Controversy

V for Victory blog has a spot on analysis of the Fr. Marcel Guarnizo/Barbara Johnson funeral flap. Two thumbs up. I particularly appreciate his response to canon lawyer Ed Peters. I respect Peters, but by his description his own analysis falls. Most of the people at that funeral were no doubt aware of the disordered relationship of Barbara and her lesbian partner. The women have, after all, been together for about twenty years. So at the very least the family members at the funeral and all the personal friends of Johnson and her partner knew about the scandalous relationship. If the funeral was typical, that had to be a substantial percentage of the participants. To deny Johnson Communion under those circumstances was an act of prudential judgment and, I believe, a judgment that was correct. Thanks, Anita, for your astute analysis. I particularly appreciate your picture illustrating the indelible mark imprinted on the priest's soul at ordination. It gives me much food for thought and a reminder to pray hard for priests especially for their courage when they experience target practice from their bishops.

God bless Bishop Aquila!

Of Homosexual Blackmail and Sacrilege

Dutch homosexuals call off disruptions as parish backs down on Communion

This article makes me want to weep. Catholics know that Jesus is really present in the Holy Eucharist under the appearances of bread of wine. He is crucified again when open and unrpentant sinners who commit public scandal approach for Communion. That they are allowed to blackmail a parish into submission is not only disgraceful, but shows the hardness of their hearts.

The priest's original decision was correct. We deny Communion to non-Catholics because they are not in union with us. Catholics who publicly flaunt their disunion with the Church through denial of doctrine (open sodomites, pro-abortion politicians, and other public sinners) commit scandal and also may not approach for Communion. Those who do show contempt for the faith they profess. They receive Communion, as St. Paul says, to their condemnation. Pray for these poor deluded souls who are in danger of eternal damnation and for the poor priest who either lost his nerve or was instructed to do wrong by his bishop.

I'm Speechless About Cardinal O'Malley

Cardinal O'Malley seems like a very nice man. He looks like St. Francis after all - except the pictures of St. Francis always show him thin. He wasn't as generous to "brother ass" as most brothers, priests, and bishops. But I'm truly speechless over Cardinal O'Malley's recent interview saying the Vatican needs to change canon law to give a clearer directive on denying Communion to pro-abortion politicians.

Is he serious?

Canon law 915 is very clear that those engaged in egregious, on-going scandal should be denied Communion. Does the Church really need a chapter called "specific sins that call for denial of Communion?" Does canon law have to say, "The hookers on the local street corner a block from the Cathedral may not be given Communion Sunday morning after doing tricks all night? No Communion for the local abortionist until he publicly repudiates his grizzly business, etc." Politicians like Kennedy caused far more abortions through his support for abortion than the poor frightened woman who kills her baby in a panic. But she's excommunicated and he gets a funeral fit for a king - King Herod, perhaps?

Cardinal Francis Arinze, Archbishop Raymond Burke, and the Pope himself when we called him Cardinal Ratzinger have all spoken out against giving Communion to publicly pro-abortion Catholics.

Maybe Cardinal O'Malley is waiting for a vision. Meanwhile, Catholics are waiting for bishops to defend the faith.

Bishop Tobin vs Kennedy with vapid commentary from Fr. Tom Reese

Bishop Thomas Tobin has instructed Patrick Kennedy to refrain from receiving Communion. While Kennedy says the bishop has instructed priests in the diocese not to give him the Sacrament, the chancery says the bishop has never addressed the issue with his priests. Other Catholic politicians privately instructed by their bishops have essentially thumbed their noses and continued to present themselves at the altar. Whether Kennedy will obey or flaunt the bishop's admonition, time will tell. It appears he is trying to make himself a martyr to gain sympathy from the secular world, a big mistake considering they have no vote on Judgment Day.

The controversy has put another figure in the limelight as well. An article from the Providence Journal quoted Fr. Tom Reese on the controversy:

“The vast majority of bishops don’t want people denied Communion” over the abortion issue, said Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit scholar at the Woodstock Theological Center in Washington. [The "vast majority" also covered up the priest sex abuse issue so what's your point?] “But the problem is, every time an individual bishop does it — especially if the public official has a high-profile name like Kennedy — it’s going to make headlines across the country and every bishop is going to suffer because of it,” Father Reese said. [Good bishops doing the right thing does tend to make the bad ones "suffer" -- like the bishops in Henry VIII's England who must have been very put out by Bishop John Fisher's martyrdom revealing their cowardly infidelity!]....
Scholar Reese said the bishops have debated in previous years the issue of whether they should step beyond such appeals to the individual Catholic’s conscience. The context for the debate was the 2004 presidential candidacy of Sen. John F. Kerry, a Catholic Democrat from Massachusetts who supports abortion rights. Father Reese said fewer than 20 bishops supported a policy of denying Communion to such officials.[Faithful disciples are almost always in the minority. Look at the apostles!]...

In 2004, a large majority of bishops “tried to persuade the minority not to do this — using Communion as a weapon,” Father Reese said, but the conference could not come to a consensus view on the issue. [It's not a "weapon" any more than the surgeon's scalpel. It's a medicinal treatment to call back a soul in serious danger of damnation.]
Father Reese stressed that withholding Communion is not as grave a penalty as excommunication, which separates a Catholic from all the sacraments. If a bishop denies Communion to a Catholic, he or she “is still a Catholic,” Father Reese said. Indeed, he said “it would take a canon lawyer” to say whether a Catholic denied Communion in his own diocese would be free to receive Communion elsewhere. [Excuse us, Fr. Reese, but the Canon Law already exists -- 915 which forbids Communion to those "who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin." A number of Vatican officials including Cardinal Francis Arinze, Archbishop Raymond Burke, and indeed, the pope himself when he was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, have called for the penalty to be imposed.]

Reese's position is not surprising. The former editor of the liberal Jesuit magazine America (He resigned under Vatican pressure.) can always be counted on to put a heterodox spin on any story relating to the U.S. bishops' exercising their obligation under canon law to discipline "manifest public sinners." A fellow blogger described Fr. Reese as a "disingenuous, lying jerk" last May when Fr. Reese attacked the orthodox bishops who dared to criticize the reprehensible action of Notre Dame in honoring President Obama. While I prefer not to call names, I'd have to say that CMR has his adjectives absolutely right. Liars and disingenuous men in roman collars are the favorite commentators of the mainstream media. They can always be depended on when it comes to attacking the good bishops and holding up the wolves as models of christianit - just what the media is looking for.

Fr. Reese, you ought to notice that no one who really cares about the faith is listening to your vapid stupidity. You do, however, scandalize the many who are poorly catechized which is a millstone offense.

But Fr. Reese's behavior is worse than stupidity. Embracing the lie that allows the murder of millions of babies makes him a cooperator in a crime against humanity that has taken the lives of more innocents than all the atrocities of the 20th century combined. Like Joseph Goebbles, who cast Hitler's murders in a favorable light, Fr. Reese does the same for Barack Obama while he attacks the bishops who attempt to defend the innocent. God help you, Fr. Reese! You will answer for every innocent life murdered under the banner of Obama/Pelosi liberalism.

The USCCB Gestapo Strikes Again

We call our bishops shepherds because they have the responsibility to protect the flock from "the world, the flesh, and the devil." They are the primary teachers of the faith in their dioceses and, as a body, they reflect to the world the face of the Catholic Church in the United States. As such, one would expect them to revel in presenting themselves as Jesus did -- open and available to hear the cries of their people. Is that the experience most of us have of our bishops, particularly as a body, -- welcoming us with open arms like Jesus, never too tired to heal the sick and touch the outcasts? Unfortunately no.

In fact the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) leadership and staff go out of their way to protect the bishops from the flock. The June meeting that just took place in San Antonio gave us one more bizarre example. American Life League (ALL) ran an ad in USA Today the first day of the bishops' meeting urging the bishops (once again as in former years) to deny Communion to obstinate public sinners like pro-aborts Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden. ALL chose USA Today because the hotel delivers a complimentary copy to every room. Well, the hotel ordinarily delivers it to the rooms, but the bishops' staffers had instructed that the New York Times be delivered instead. When the on-site member from ALL contacted the desk, he offered to pay for USA Today to be delivered to the bishops' rooms. The clerk was agreeable but when the ALL member called back later the clerk referred him to the hotel contact person working with the USCCB which would not allow it. They had approved only the Times for the meeting. God forbid that the bishops should see the face of that little pre-born baby and be challenged by the words of St. Matthew: "Whatever you did not do for these least ones, you did not do for me." They must be protected at all costs from seeing and reading:

It is a duty in charity to warn not only pro-abortion Catholic politicians not to receive Communion, but to instruct priests and extraordinary ministers not to give such people Communion. We must, as St. Peter said, obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29)

If you won’t enforce Canon 915 for the sake of the least of these babies in the womb, do it for your politicians and friends who are “stumbling to the slaughter.”
(Proverbs 24:11)

The past is prologue to the future. The USCCB nonsense is nothing new. Two years ago, the Catholic Media Coalition had a hospitality suite during the bishops' November meeting in Baltimore. Twelve bishops visited and a few even stayed for prolonged conversations about diocesan touching programs and spreading devotion to Our Lady of America. No bishop was forced to come. They were welcomed with open arms. But in 2008 when we attempted to repeat what we thought was a very successful and positive effort with the bishops, we found that the USCCB staff had reserved ALL THE SUITES. (At a pretty cost, I can tell you. We spent close to two thousand dollars for a suite for two nights.) It was clear that the staffers and USCCB bosses wanted to make sure the sheep had no contact with their shepherds during the meeting that they could not control. There's more to the pathetic story, including a threat of arrest, which you can read in my article The Devil's Triple Play.

While USCCB staff successfully blocked us (and others who might be tempted to do the same thing) from having a hospitality suite, they couldn't prevent another effort. We joined with ALL to hold a prayer vigil outside the hotel on the Harbor concourse. We had about 50 people join us in prayer and song. Although we sent invitations to selected bishops before the meeting and made some personal calls none braved the chill to join us for the rosary and rally.

Despite the on-going hostility of the bishops' bureaucracy toward faithful, orthodox Catholics, we remain undaunted. The Catholic faithful, under Canon Law, have a right to express their concerns to their bishops, and our shepherd-fathers have an obligation to listen. Like the widow before the unjust judge we will continue to seek justice for the unborn and proclamation of authentic Catholic doctrine - always respectfully, always undergirded by prayer. Those bishops with ears to hear will listen. The others will answer for their dereliction of duty in the end. As for the bishops' bureaucracy, the old saying applies: "With friends like these, who needs enemies?"

Bishop Martino, Our (Super) Hero

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Bishop Martino warning pro-abortion Catholic politicians to defend truth, justice, and the American way -- well, Catholic truth and justice anyway; the American way these days is unfortunately X-rated.

The good bishop of Scranton increasingly is the hero of pro-life Catholics who have been calling for Church authorities to enforce Canon Law 915 (denying Communion to obstinate sinners). The purpose of 915 is threefold: to preserve the Eucharist from sacrilege, to limit scandal, and to be a medicine to those with sick souls who don't have the integrity to stop receiving Communion on their own.

Bishop Martino's directive is clear: "Those whose unworthiness to receive Holy Communion is known publicly to the Church must be refused Holy Communion in order to prevent sacrilege and to prevent the Catholic in question from committing further grave sin through unworthy reception." While the document didn't name anyone specifically there's no doubt of at least one intended politician. The same day the chancery released the directive on Communion (which is an instruction to ministers of Holy Communion), Bishop Martino sent a second letter of warning to Pennsyvania Governor Bob Casey. Bishop Martino's intention could not be more clear. The question is will Casey obey? Pro-abortion politicians generally believe they are above the law, both Church and state. But for once a pro-abortion Catholic politician is facing an adversary who's a man of steel.

Thank you, Bishop Martino, from the bottom of our hearts. We pray for you and for the obstinate public sinners you correct. May your strong medicine bring them to their senses and back to the Communion rail with repentant hearts.

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Bishop Martino accuses Sen. Bob Casey of “cooperating with … evil”

Biden risks refusal of Holy Communion

Clean up the Knights of Columbus before it self-destructs

As I've said before, just because the mouse is in the cookie jar doesn't make him a cookie.

A number of members of the Catholic men's organization, the Knights of Columbus, started a website, Knights for Obama after Supreme Knight Carl Anderson came out with an open letter taking fellow knight Joe Biden to task for his ignorant pontificating about abortion. Biden deserved the upbraiding and, in fact, should be ousted from the Knights which require their members to be upstanding Catholics. A Catholic who is publicly pro-abortion is a scandal who should be denied Communion under Canon Law 915 and stripped of any Catholic honors. Such action is for the good of Senator Biden's soul. Life is not a video game where those who score the most worldly points get into heaven. No, it is a struggle between good and evil with our salvation dependent on whether we serve God or Satan, who is a liar and murderer from the beginning. The abortion juggarnaut is built of lies and death.

Every man who joins Knights for Obama should be expelled from the Knights of Columbus. Just as Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz expelled members of Call to Action because their membership in the dissent group is inconsistent with Catholicism, so is the endorsement and support of a man who advocates, not only abortion, but infanticide and has made its support a litmus test for his administration. You cannot be Catholic and pro-abortion.

The Knights of Columbus have been pussyfooting around this scandalous situation for years. It's high time they took action to expel those who give public witness that it is okay to be pro-abortion and Catholic. They should start with all the pro-abortion politicians who use their membership in the Knights for political gain and move from there to those who have signed up for Knights for Obama. Catholics can't be Masons. Neither can they support child-killing. Their public scandal is mortally sinful and endangers their souls. It's high time someone had the courage to call their behavior exactly what it is.