St. Louis, Mo., Mar 1, 2023 / 14:45 pm
Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, on Tuesday published an essay in which he quotes the words of Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego as one of two “examples” of views contrary to a “truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith,” and thus heretical.
In the Feb. 28 essay published in First Things, Paprocki, a canon and civil lawyer, criticized the words of McElroy pertaining to worthiness to receive Holy Communion, and also obliquely referred to “a cardinal of the Catholic Church [stating] publicly that homosexual acts are not sinful and same-sex unions should be blessed by the Church.”
“Until recently, it would be hard to imagine any successor of the apostles making such heterodox statements. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon today to hear Catholic leaders affirm unorthodox views that, not too long ago, would have been espoused only by heretics,” wrote the bishop, who is chairman-elect of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance.
While Paprocki did not name McElroy directly, he quoted in his opening paragraph a recent essay McElroy authored in America magazine on the “radical inclusion” of those identifying as LGBT, women, and others in the Church.