Bishop Martino: "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."

That from this statement, issued yesterday by the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania. It also states:

However, there are instances when a Catholic’s unworthiness to receive Holy Communion will be determined by the Church because of a person’s public conduct. This determination does not depend upon the private examination of conscience but results rather from a Catholic’s public and persistent actions in opposition to the moral law as taught by the Church. In these cases, the Church forbids members to receive the sacrament. Canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law states:

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.

Catholic World Report notes that Bishop Martino has already publicly warned a leading Democrat from his state about his votes in support of expanded abortion provisions:

The official notice does not mention any individual by name. However it is impossible to overlook the fact that on the same day, February 26, the Scranton diocese also posted an open letter from Bishop Martino of Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey, in which the bishop-- for the second time-- reminded the Catholic lawmaker of his moral obligation "to oppose abortion and other clear evils." [See today's separate CWN headline storyon the bishop's letter.]

Earlier in the month, in a first rebuke to Senator Casey, Bishop Martino had warned that the senator's vote against an extension of the Mexico City policy-- which prohibited US taxpayer funding of abortion advocacy abroad-- was a violation of the legislator's moral obligation. “Your failure to reverse this vote will regrettably mean that you persist formally in cooperating with the evil brought about by this hideous and unnecessary policy,” the bishop wrote.

Bishop Martino also recently criticized the Diversity Institute (wha...?) at Misericordia University’s for hosting a homosexual activist. Some are blaming the Bishop's actions on the "nasty nexus of right-wing Catholics and their well-funded, powerfully placed political allies" who are intent on destroying the spirit of Vatican II through the use of "right-wing" converts under the influence of Opus Dei. Oooooh...I do like conspiracy theories! Of course, it could be that Bishop Martino is just trying to get Catholic institutions of higher learning to be, well, Catholic institutions of higher learning. Imagine that.

Comments

[Dan Deeny]

Carl, Thank you for this information. It looks like Bishop Martino is moving forward along the lines of Cardinal Ritter and Cardinal von Galen. Let us pray for the confused young people caught in our culture. Let us also pray for adult Catholics; we are often the ones who cause the confusion.
I don't understand why the bishops don't also oppose the abortion business because of its racist roots. Can someone comment on this?

[Ed Peters]

Gimme that Old Time Conspiracy Theory, Gimme that Old Time Conspiracy Theory, Gimme that Old Time Conspiracy Theory, it's good enough for me!

[Joe]

If the Spirit of Vatican II includes diluting objective truth and allowing personal liberty to a point where Catholic identity in terms of moral positions is non-recognizable, than yes, let's undermine that.

[Walt]

Thanks for posting this, Carl. Bp Martino is a humble and prayerful man. Local newspapers and radio talk shows are trashing him and our Church bigtime, fueled by the opinions based in ignorance of the CINO's in our diocese. He could use our support in prayer.

[Robert Miller]

I wish the conspiracy theorists were right. It would be a marvelous consolation out here among the bare, ruined institutions of the Church in the US.