A Catholic priest has made the news after he denied communion to former Vice President Joe Biden because of his support of the willful murder of the innocent.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential race, was denied Holy Communion on Sunday morning at a Florence church.
Father Robert E. Morey of Saint Anthony Catholic Church confirmed Monday afternoon that he had denied the presidential candidate Holy Communion because of his stance on abortion. Biden, a lifelong Catholic, had attended the church’s 9 a.m. Mass.
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“Sadly, this past Sunday, I had to refuse Holy Communion to former Vice President Joe Biden,” Morey told the Morning News via email. “Holy Communion signifies we are one with God, each other and the Church. Our actions should reflect that. Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of Church teaching.”
Morey said that as a priest, it is his responsibility to minister to those souls entrusted to his care and that he must do so in even the most difficult situations.
“I will keep Mr. Biden in my prayers,” Morey added.
The Biden campaign would not confirm he had attended the church but said if he did attend he did so in a private capacity. A spokesperson directed the conversation to a public appearance at 11 a.m. Sunday at Jerusalem Baptist Church in Hartsville. (source)
This is something that is long overdue. There have been many good priests who have done similar things, or bishops who have issued directives, but for an individual priest at an individual parish who, upon seeing such a public figure, recognizing his support of gravely sinful issues (to the credit of some priests, they may genuinely not recognize a certain person or know his positions), and goes to then deny him communion as a public act is a huge risk today. It is the moral requirement, and it is just doing one’s job, but at the same time it has become increasingly challenging to do one’s job faithfully.
There is much to be said that is critical about the priests in the Church today. However, the priests are not special- they come from the people, and if the priests are horrendous, what does that say about a society? It is similar to politicians, for while people love to blame politicians for the failures of society, it is the people who elect the politicians because they reflect themselves. Rather than blame these people- not to say that blame should not be correctly attributed where it is justly due -one should also consider what this says about the state of affairs of the general culture, as they are but mirrors to the self.
Likewise, when there is a priest who does something that is good and noteworthy, he should receive the just support from people for it.
Joe Biden calls himself “Catholic”, but this is but a title before it is his actual beliefs. The Catholic Faith is very clear and easy to understand, and that is another reason why it is so disliked, because while it provides for a great liberality and unlimited expression and actions of one for how to do good, it also holds a very straight line (in spite of what many would like to make it say) on issues of faith and morals, especially the sins that cry to heaven for vengeance, for while there are many evils among the people who claim the faith, they cannot change the teachings just as much as a law passed by any authority against the natural laws of physics cannot affect them in the slightest bit.
Biden is not Catholic. He is at best a severely misguided heretic who claims to be Catholic, and at worst an outright liar who does the “show” of religion for political leverage just as Trump claims associations with Christianity and pastors to get votes while “ministers” claims that those who do not vote for Trump will be punished by God just as some people made similar claims about Obama.
It is already hard and will become much harder to be Catholic in the future. It is going to be a labor, not an easy venture, and there are many struggles that await. If one things that the situation is bad now, one has not seen anything yet.
But take heart, there is much hope. There will be a mass disappearance of churches, the complete expropriation of church assets and properties, and laws that make it where a man will be forced to keep his faith silent, not because of a lack of zeal, but because of necessity for survival.
The evangelism of the future will not likely be with words and preaching, for this has already happened and it has been rejected. It seems increasingly that the evangelism will be one of silence, of bearing the heavy cross that Christ carried with Him, and walking silently among the abuse of those around to one’s eventual death. It is an evangelism of blood and pain, it does not cry out in the street, it does not earn money or is a way to support anything financially, and what does concern money involving it will not be income but expenses with no material returns at all.
But this will be the most effective evangelism, for if one does not convert others, then it will also, by the grace of God, lead to the conversion of the self, to mystical union with Christ through suffering, and eventually to complete happiness with Him.
The time of celebrity Christianity, talking heads, and business ventures, at the very least for this point in history, is drawing to a close. The winds of persecution are blowing, and they are blowing harder than ever before, and it is for man to anchor himself, as St. Don John Bosco saw in his vision, to the Eucharist and Mary, and having moored oneself firmly to these two pillars, to enter the ship cabin, to fasten oneself in, and to take hold of what is inside, that by fasting and prayer, one would ride out the storm with Christ and the saints of the Church triumphant to its eventual end, for if the storm is too strong for the ship to be withheld then God, for as He is always faithful, will see that the storm is stopped in its course.
In the meantime, it is important that Christians give support, even if silent, to those who do good as much as they are to chastise for the good of the faithful that which is sinful. This includes the clergy, where those who are faithful find themselves isolated and without support many times yet having demands made of them continually.