So, if one priest mentions to another priest that he’s been molesting little boys, that must be kept secret; but if a politician doesn’t toe the line a priest can hold a press conference about it. :dubious:
I think this would all be easier to accept if it was the Church’s actual position. But the Church actually didn’t refuse communion for supporting slavery, and doesn’t now for supporting the death penalty or putting separating immigrant families and putting them in concentration camps. Most damningly, the church explicitly endorses treating LGBT people as ‘not people’ who don’t deserve equal protection under the law in multiple areas, and treating children molested by priests as not worthy of protection from sexual abuse under the law. The Catholic Church has a long history and current practice of deciding that ‘these beings are not people and are therefore not worthy of protection under the law’ for people that are indisputably people, not just small clusters of undeveloped cells with no consciousness, which makes the rhetoric ring more than a bit hollow.
When Jesus was questioned and criticized about eating with sinners, he replied by telling his critics that those were the people who needed him. Perhaps that priest should have read the Bible before deciding to deny Christ’s sacrament to anyone who is a believer.
One more time: This thread is NOT about the denial of Communion. This thread is about clergy releasing this information to the press.
As a Catholic, I can’t think of any positive reason to tell the world “Hey, I denied that guy Communion!” or benefit it provides to me as a member of the Church. It feels petty and small and begging for attention.
I second this.