By Judie Brown
Archbishop Joseph Naumann, chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, recently gave an exclusive interview to LifeSiteNews. In that interview, Naumann spoke about his capacity as the archbishop of Kansas City, Kansas.
He said bishops “have an obligation to clarify Church teaching on abortion, and to prevent confusion caused by those who claim the mantle of Catholicism, yet reject fundamental Church teaching.”
Naumann’s comments do invoke curiosity because we cannot understand how the bishops could possibly clarify Church teaching on abortion when the science and the Church concur that abortion results in a dead baby. Perhaps there is some sort of political nuance in the archbishop’s comment? We do not know, but at least the bishops are saying something about Biden. For that, we are grateful.
Now we pray that they will do something about this scandal that is undoubtedly creating confusion among Catholics. There is a cloud surrounding those who wonder why the Church teaches that abortion is a grave moral evil while the majority of bishops seem to be ignoring an alleged Catholic in the highest office of the land who embraces abortion in every circumstance.
When we think about Biden’s support for abortion, we are reminded of folks like abortionist Jen Gunter who tweeted that “the unborn are zombies.” In her ignorant arrogance, she further tweeted: “An embryo isn’t a human, it’s a human embryo. And don’t f***ing tell me what I know as a doctor.”
Seriously? And this woman is best buds with Biden’s friends at Planned Parenthood!
Surely the Catholic bishops are aware of what it means to be supportive of abortion, not to mention Biden’s memorandum that
“directs the Health and Human Services Department to immediately move to consider rescinding the Trump administration rule blocking health care providers in the federally funded Title X family planning program from referring patients for abortions.”
As members of the media press hard for Biden’s abortion agenda—including the repeal of laws that require parents to be notified if their minor child seeks to abort her baby—we find it nearly unbelievable that the bishops really need to clarify the obvious facts about abortion.
What is it actually going to take for not only bishops, but Catholics in general, to awaken to the sad reality of our time? Millions of children have died from this crime against humanity, and every Catholic bishop must know this.
Archbishop Samuel Aquila has said that abortion is not a political matter. That is a fact, not an opinion. Catholics should not disregard this any more than they should disregard the fact that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. And yet here we are confronting a totally pro-death president who claims he is Catholic and audaciously receives the Eucharist.
The bishops and the babies need our prayers. And as we pray for guidance and strength from the Lord, it serves us well to recall that Cardinal Robert Sarah once said that
“the Eucharist is not a right or a duty: it is a gift that we receive freely from God and that we must welcome with veneration and love.” He went on to say: “The devil strongly attacks the Eucharist because it is the heart of the life of the Church.”
St. John Paul II emphasized this point, writing:
“The mystery of the Eucharist—sacrifice, presence, banquet—does not allow for reduction or exploitation; it must be experienced and lived in its integrity, both in its celebration and in the intimate converse with Jesus which takes place after receiving communion or in a prayerful moment of Eucharistic adoration apart from Mass.”
For those who know and believe that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, these teachings make perfect sense. Of course, the devil is attacking not only the truth about the Eucharist but, in my opinion, the bishops who are obliged to defend Christ from sacrilege.
When we pray for the bishops to defend the Eucharist, we must also pray for them to defend the babies because both are under attack. Just as Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, so too the baby is truly present from the moment God creates him as a single cell embryo.
May the bishops defend them both without hesitation, without negotiation, and without apology.