Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022 | 2 a.m.
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As Catholics, we believe in the interconnectedness of all life issues, as articulated in the “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church”: “The principles of the church’s social doctrine must be appreciated in their unity, interrelatedness and articulation … these social principles clearly shows the reciprocity, complementarities and interconnectedness that is part of their structure.”
If the church asks politicians to not present themselves for Holy Communion, will we ask members of the military who control drones from Nevada targeting faraway nations to also not receive Communion because their acts fail to align with the church’s “Just War” theory?
Will Americans living consumerism lifestyles that contribute to environmental degradation and kill creation also be asked to remain in the pew, as they fail to live by the encyclical Laudato Si?
None of us is worthy to receive Communion by our actions, and many times by what we have failed to do in upholding the poor and vulnerable in numerous facets of our socioeconomic spectrum. That includes the unborn, but also immigrants, victims of human trafficking, and marginalized workers in our nation and beyond our borders.
At this time of the global synod process, when the Vatican invites us to listening and dialogue, we need all voices present at the table and not fracture unity in the body of Christ by creating additional classes of marginalized Catholics.
Maybe this is an opportunity for Bishop George Leo Thomas to have a synod listening session with Nevada Catholic politicians of all persuasions.
