Archbishop Vigneron of Detroit has done a shocking thing. He has stated the obvious. Bishops should be doing a lot more obvious stating.
A Detroit professor and legal adviser to the Vatican says Catholics who promote gay marriage should not try to receive holy Communion, a key part of Catholic identity.
And the archbishop of Detroit, Allen Vigneron, said Sunday that Catholics who receive Communion while advocating gay marriage would “logically bring shame for a double-dealing that is not unlike perjury.”
And then of course they dig up this guy, whose only job seems to give comments like this to media.
Most American bishops do not favor denying either politicians or voters Communion because of their positions on controversial issues,” said Thomas Reese, a Catholic priest and senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. Reese said that Peters’ views are “in a minority among American canon lawyers.”
But, Reese added, “about 30 or so bishops have said that pro-choice or pro-gay-marriage Catholics should not present themselves for Communion.”
They are not controversial from a Catholic point of view, only from a dissenters point of view.
Good on ya Archbishop Vigneron. Now that they have been warned, it is time to follow through.
