Cleveland, Ohio, Jul 1, 2004 / 22:00 pm
In a long statement to the faithful of his diocese, Bishop Anthony M. Pilla of Cleveland announced that he would not deny Communion to pro-abortion Catholic politicians, stating that the altar is “not a place for confrontation.”
“The view of refusing Communion to politicians who support keeping abortion legal is not part of the pastoral tradition of the Church,” he wrote in his statement. “Given the longstanding practice of not making a public judgment about the state of the soul of those who present themselves for Communion, the pastoral tradition of the Church places the responsibility of such a judgment first on those presenting themselves for Holy Communion.”
The former president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that no one should misunderstand reservations about refusing Communion “as ignoring or excusing those who clearly contradict Catholic teaching in their public roles.”
Politicians and others, who act in opposition to fundamental Church teachings, “should not underestimate the seriousness of this situation,” said the bishop. “They must study Catholic teaching, recognize their grave responsibility to protect human life from conception to natural death, and adopt positions consistent with these principles.