I’ve been watching the movements of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as they’ve deliberated on a power grab in the form of a report on the Eucharist. As CNN/Politics reported last week:
By a vote of 168 to 55, with six abstentions, the bishops went forward with plans for a report on the meaning of the Eucharist in the church. The vote is part of a longer process, and a rebuke of Biden and other Catholic politicians who support abortion rights is not assured. The report will be developed over the summer and presented for amendments and approval in November.
I’ve been avoiding an instant opinion on this matter, opting to see how things turned out, not to mention suffering from a lack of time. So far as I can tell, this is really about worldly power.
After all, holding power is, for most power-seekers, controlling the behavior of people, and this is all about control of an American President, as well as the American people – 50% of whom believe we are better off with liberal abortion rights rather than restrictions.
To excuse the bishops for reason of religion, then, is an intellectual error. While Stephen Jay Gould may have advanced a magisterial realms theory to keep religion separate from the worldly in theory, it was doomed from the start because religion is quite often the horse on which the power-seeker rides, the solar chariot from which fire is loosed on their foes. In simple and historical reality, the other-worldly seeks dominion over the worldly.
For those readers who wonder, the bishops seem to have backed down:
Days after a vote that triggered a tsunami of Catholic debate about Communion and politics, leading U.S. Catholic bishops working on an upcoming document about the sacrament are now de-emphasizing direct confrontation with President Biden or other Catholic politicians who support abortion rights. …
“There will be no national policy on withholding Communion from politicians. The intent is to present a clear understanding of the Church’s teachings to bring heightened awareness among the faithful of how the Eucharist can transform our lives and bring us closer to our creator and the life he wants for us,” the Q&A said. [WaPo]
At least until the next bulgy eyed moment.
