Oh joy, just what we all want -- another thread about homosexuality. Alas, as so often happens, the controversy now in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington involves homosexuality, religion, and changing social mores.
Let us dive in, shall we?
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I know that the comments thread is going to fill up with people saying that Fr. Marcel Guarnizo doesn't deny communion to divorced people who don't have annulments, or other unrepentant sinners. For one thing, how would you know? Unless you are part of his parish, and know this for a fact, this claim would be groundless.
For another, even if Fr. Guarnizo is selective in his application of this pastoral practice, that doesn't mean he was wrong in principle to have observed it here; it may simply mean that he should be more consistent.
People who say that Barbara Johnson ought to have been given communion that morning have to explain why a priest ought to have knowingly violated canon law to have done so. That's not nothing for a priest. Personally, I believe that there can be situations in which a priest is justified in violating the law out of a sense of mercy. In my opinion, this probably would have been one of those occasions.
Had Fr. Guarnizo given her communion under these circumstances, I believe it would have been uncharitable for orthodox Catholics to insist that he ought to have stood on the letter of the law, instead of showing mercy in this extraordinary situation. Still, I say "probably" because if it is true that Johnson introduced Fr. Guarnizo to her "lover" (her alleged words) in the sacristy before the service, and that Fr. Guarnizo instructed her not to present herself for communion, then the scandal here is entirely on Johnson, who in that case would have chosen this sacred moment to make a point.
Let me make this clear: if Father Guarnizo privately told her not to present herself to communion, and she did so defiantly, in public, then Johnson is guilty of exactly what she accused Guarnizo of: politicizing the Eucharist. If, after that, Johnson was bound and determined to defy the priest and receive communion, then she could have presented herself to a Eucharistic minister - as she ended up doing, and receiving communion.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that Fr. Guarnizo -- who, it must be said, behaved badly by leaving the altar and subsequently refusing to go to the graveside service -- did exactly what canon law tells him to do. Barbara Johnson is trying to get him fired from his job as pastor for upholding the teaching and practice of the Roman Catholic Church. The demand for his firing is so absurd it's hard to believe anybody is taking it seriously. The Archdiocese of Washington has already distanced itself from Fr. Guarnizo's actions, but I find it hard to believe that it hasn't issued a formal statement of support for Fr. Guarnizo, putting to rest any question that he will be removed from his ministry, as Johnson demands.
Catholics (and Orthodox) these days have such misguided ideas about the Eucharist. Unlike in Protestant churches that practice communion, Catholics and Orthodox are expected to have had a recent confession before receiving the Eucharist, and not to be conscious of any serious sin.
The idea is that to receive the Eucharist -- which, in Catholic and Orthodox theology, is not a symbol but is actually, and mystically, the Body and Blood of Jesus -- while in a state of serious sin is blasphemous. Barbara Johnson may not believe that being an active (non-chaste) homosexual is sinful, but the Roman Catholic Church believes it is.
Does Barbara Johnson's opinion trump the Church's teaching? Does she have a right to expect the Eucharist? She apparently thinks she does. So do a lot of Catholics and Orthodox. It is also undoubtedly the case that with certain exceptions, the clergy of both churches have done little or nothing to instruct them otherwise.
As the Archdiocese of Washington appears to be doing with Father Guarnizo, the hierarchy of my church allowed a principled member of the clergy to be thrown under the bus for defending official Church teaching and practice regarding the sanctity of the Eucharist.
Rod Dreher is a Senior Editor for the American Conservative. There he operates a daily blog, from which this piece has been adapted.
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