Canon lawyer Dr. Ed Peters gives his opinion of Fr. John Beal’s article in America on the denial of the Eucharist to pro-abortion Catholic politicians. He carefully defines the concepts of “grave sin,” “manifest grave sin,” and “obstinacy” all contained in canon 915. He makes clear the distinctions between the conditions for canon 915, whereby people must be denied Communion, from canon 916, in which people voluntarily refrain from Communion, and thus exposes how most bishops are watering down the meaning of 915.
