An American archbishop has said a Catholic who publicly advocates same-sex marriage and then receives Communion is engaged in “a double-dealing that is not unlike perjury”.
Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit said that Catholic politicians who advocate legal recognition of same-sex marriage should not receive Communion.
The archbishop’s statement closely followed a similar opinion from a widely-read canon law commentator, Edward Peters, who is an adviser to the Apostolic Signatura, the top judicial authority in the Catholic Church.
Archbishop Vigneron said the Church wants to help Catholics “avoid this personal disaster”.
He said: “For a Catholic to receive holy Communion and still deny the revelation Christ entrusted to the Church is to try to say two contradictory things at once: ‘I believe the Church offers the saving truth of Jesus, and I reject what the Church teaches.’ In effect, they would contradict themselves.
“This sort of behaviour would result in publicly renouncing one’s integrity and logically bring shame for a double-dealing that is not unlike perjury.”
In a post on his “In the Light of the Law” blog, Peter said Catholic teachings make it clear that marriage is between one man and one woman.
Therefore, he said, “Catholics who promote ‘same-sex marriage’ act contrary to canon 209 § 1 and should not approach for holy Communion per canon 916. Depending on the facts of the case, they also risk having holy Communion withheld from them under canon 915, being rebuked under canon 1339 § 2, and/or being sanctioned under canon 1369 for gravely injuring good morals.”
He said Catholic politicians lending support to same-sex marriage were in a similar situation, “with special attention being paid to the heightened responsibility that civil servants have to protect the common good”.
Peters said the Church would regard any attempt by persons of the same sex to marry, regardless of their religious affiliation or lack thereof, as null.
Sources:
In the Light of the Law (Edward Peters)
Image: The Michigan Catholic