Spiritual Fatherhood and Eucharistic Coherence

This month, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will debate the topic of Eucharistic coherence at their annual general meeting. Predictably, the bishops do not all agree. Unfortunately, some bishops' first instinct is to see the Church's eucharistic discipline as politically motivated, especially when it comes to denying communion. The world of politics is always changing and easily manipulated, and it is easy to find excuses for inaction. But despite the Church’s internal messiness, she is not a political organization. A better analogy to account for the reality of the mess within the Church is that of the family - especially when it comes to communion and the consequences of high-profile Church members' behavior.