Posted on 06/14/2019 4:51:14 PM PDT by ebb tide
BALTIMORE, June 14, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago defended giving Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians, saying, “I think it would be counterproductive to impose sanctions, simply because they don’t change anybody’s minds.”
Cardinal Cupich expressed his position in the wake of Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois barring pro-abortion legislators from receiving the sacrament of Holy Communion. Citing canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law, Bishop Paprocki ruled last week that state legislators working to pass Illinois’s new abortion bill may not present themselves for communion in his diocese and that priests are expressly forbidden from giving the Eucharist to both the Senate president and the speaker of the House.
On June 12, Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker, a non-Christian, signed the Illinois Reproductive Health Act (Senate Bill 25) into law, which recognizes abortion as a “fundamental right” while mandating that insurance companies cover abortions. Catholics serving in the Illinois legislature voted in favor of the measure.
While Cupich is opposed to abortion, he told CNA, “I think it would be counterproductive to impose sanctions, simply because they don’t change anybody’s minds, but it also takes away from the fact that an elected official has to deal with the judgment seat of God, not just the judgment seat of a bishop. I think that’s much more powerful.”
Learn more about Cardinal Cupich’s views and past actions by visiting FaithfulShepherds.com. Click here.
He went on to say, “I have always approached the issue saying that the bishop’s primary responsibility is to teach, and I will continue to do that.”
Bishop Paprocki told LifeSiteNews in a recent interview that he barred the pro-abortion Catholic politicians from receiving Communion because he was concerned about the “salvation of souls.”
“As a shepherd of the Church, I’m concerned for the salvation of their souls,” Paprocki said of the lawmakers, “as well as the salvation of souls who are watching their actions and are scandalized by this.”
“And if we as bishops don’t say anything about it,” he continued, “that just adds to the scandal of people thinking that, “Well, these politicians are doing things that are very immoral and very sinful, and the bishops aren’t saying anything about that. So you know that would make it make it even worse. I just felt an obligation or responsibility to respond to what was going on.”
Both Cupich and Paprocki indicated that they had tried to communicate or had communicated with Senate President John Cullerton and the Speaker of the House Michael Madigan about their problematic positions. “I have conversations with them, and those continue to take place. They have to,” Cupich said, while Paprocki said he spoke to Madigan and wrote to him and Cullerton in advance of the decree.
The streamline process should be WELCOMED.
Pope Francis: Most Catholic marriages are null, some ‘cohabitations’ are ‘real marriage’
Deal with it.
Are you joking? Or are you channeling Jorge Bergoglio?
Means be compassionate to those families in difficulties, that is all.
No kidding!
No annulment necessary for non-sacramental marriages.
That is why I am not a fan of him.
Here we go with the "mercy" crappola again.
"Mercy" is not a catch-all to violate Truth. "Mercy" is not a pass to commit mortal sin, i.e. adultery.
Have you ever heard of the term “defect of canonical form”?
Sounds like nothing more than a civil divorce, francis-style.
Yet Another Mitered Hertic.
Also the word truth can also be violated by those who are self-righteous.
Please be careful.
I’ve heard of it. And it’s misuse has been greatly abused to grant invalid annulments.
It can be a win-win to bring back fallen away Catholics.
Those anullments are legitimate and brings great peace of mind and soul.
It's not a question of legitimate annulments.
It's a question of whether a sacramental marriage ever existed.
No annulment can void a valid sacramental marriage, no matter how much you want to dance around it.
Granting Holy Communion to unrepentant adulterers, even without the paper "annulment", may give the sinners great peace of mind and soul. But it's a false peace and it's a mortal sin.
I call B.S. It's a sin-sin situation.
Like Amoris Laetitia?
Have you heard of the four cardinals' Dubia?
Yes.
Your attitude isn't unlike the attitude of the Catholics when Vatican II was forced upon them decades ago. Most fully capitulated....and here we are today....further down the slope of heresy.
I agree “if” it was a valid marriage. That is why you have the full process in certain cases.
If outside the Church, is just doing the paperwork needed. Also those who simply did not wait, there a practice called conflagration of the marriage.
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