The recent headlines addressing a meeting that pro-abortion president Joe Biden is scheduled to have with Pope Francis later this month did not come as a shock. After all, the pope apparently loved his meeting with Pelosi, and it appears that he is open to any sort of meeting that suits his agenda, so Biden fits right into that scenario.
But sadly, this is just another example of why Catholics no longer take their faith seriously. According to a Pew Research report, only 26 percent of Catholics under the age of 40 believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. In commenting on this, Steve Skojec wrote about his own experiences, reminding us that many Catholic priests, among others, frown on the Catholic truths we believe and perceive those who embrace them to be spewing “judgmental dogmatism.”
Recall that Pope Francis himself has said negative things about those— including EWTN, which he described as a “large Catholic television channel”—who disagree with some of his public statements. But Catholic commentator Phil Lawler accurately noted: “It should be possible to express disagreement with the words of a Roman Pontiff—especially one as talkative as Francis—without being charged with doing the work of the devil. There is a particular irony when that charge comes from a Pontiff who has said that he encourages free debate, who has encouraged young Catholics to hagan lio, who urges creative thought and the decentralization of authority.”
In other words, the lovable Pope Francis may feel more comfortable with those like Biden and Pelosi who agree with his call to change the Church than he does with those who embrace Catholic logic. Lest we forget, the agenda for the meeting between Biden and Pope Francis will address “working together on efforts grounded in respect for fundamental human dignity, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling the climate crisis, and caring for the poor.” But apparently not abortion because, we surmise, that might make the Bidens uncomfortable.
Similarly, there are far too many ordained priests and bishops who have spent at least 40 years working to confuse Catholic teaching with worldly popularity. In the process, the most fundamental of truths—such as the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist—have become debate points. Those who sew such seeds of confusion have clearly forgotten that we are called as Catholics to be in the world as evangelists, not of the world.
Remember what Christ teaches to His disciples (John 15:19): “If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you do not belong to the world, because my choice of you has drawn you out of the world, that is why the world hates you.”
We are at a tipping point in the Church today, especially as there are Catholic bishops who need to have a meeting to discuss what it means to have a coherent teaching on the Eucharist. According to Pillar Catholic: “Ever since Inauguration Day, the U.S. bishops and the Vatican have been in a tug-of-war over what to do about the world’s most famous Catholic layman, who also happens to be stridently in favor of the right to end innocent human life in the womb, and a weekly Mass goer.”
How can it be that eely Joe Biden has singlehandedly been the catalyst for the bishops, the pope, and others to dance with the devil instead of simply teaching truth, denying the Eucharist to the public sinner who is unrepentant, and teaching the faithful with doctrinal actions instead of mealy-mouthed words?
As pro-life people who work daily to save babies, we concur 100 percent with Dr. Monica Miller, who writes: “As a pro-life activist who has worked for decades to save the unborn scheduled for the killing rooms and to end the killing of the unborn, I take the issue of eucharistic coherence very personally. This is not just an abstract theological issue for me. Frankly, that Catholics who facilitate the killing of the unborn should be permitted to receive Our Lord’s Body and Blood is madness.”
Let us pray for them all.