I knew it was too good to be true. Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix disappoints after his recent good decisions on homosexuality, dissenting priests, and the Latin Mass. Now he’s saying that he won’t deny Communion to Catholic politicians who flout the Church’s teachings on fundamental culture of life issues. Instead he will try to educate and persuade them.
“My job is to get to know the key people in the state and appeal to their consciences,” he said.
Sorry, Your Excellency, but that really doesn’t cut it. It’s not like these people don’t know what the Church teaches. It’s also not like we’re talking about excommunication. Canon law holds that these people are under interdict because of their actions. By allowing them to continue to receive Communion, you are letting them compound grave sin upon sin. It is for their own good, on the one hand, to deny them Communion, but it’s also for the good of the rest of the flock to understand the gravity of promoting abortion, gay marriage, and other policies which trample upon the dignity of life.
I guess no one’s perfect. Too bad.
They don’t actually quote him saying anything like they claim. And if he said “I won’t deny communion” why wouldn’t they quote it.
I HOPE that after he “appeals to their consciences,” if they persist in error then he will take the next step and enforce the rules. May the Good Lord give them the grace for conversion on this through Bishop Olmsted’s sheparding.
I agree with Danb on this, Olmstead is new to the Diocese, and with the dissenting priests, he first wrote a private letter, then he publicly demanded that they remove their names from a pro-homosexual lifestyle statement. Give the good Bishop, who led marches against an abortion clinic (when was the last time you saw a bishop do that), a little time (and I agree it should be very little) to reach out privately to the politicians in the Diocese before expecting him to publicly deny them communion.
Ditto to that. I suspect he is probably privately communicating with the politicians first, just as Bp. Burke did.