Spare Not The Rod: A Letter To Our Bishop Concerning Canon 915

Most Reverend William E. Koenig

Your Excellency,

It was a pleasure having the opportunity to meet you at your installation Mass last summer, as well as at the Diocesan synod meeting this Fall. My wife and I include you in our intentions in prayer every morning, and our local men's group does as well. We hope you are acclimating to the area, and are getting the chance to "smell the sheep" under your care through various pastoral visits and events.

I write to you today as a lay Catholic father and husband after reading the news of Archbishop Cordileone's recent instruction to House Speaker Pelosi that she is not to present herself to Holy Communion due to her persistent and long-standing advocacy for abortion. If I'm being quite honest, it was a glimmer of hope for me as someone who came into the Church 24 years ago who had been convicted that the Catholic Church possesses the fullness of Truth. That integrity (of the Church) has at times been tested by those who claim to live the faith and yet act in opposition to what She teaches. I couldn't understand it as an 18 year old, newly minted Catholic and I still struggle to believe it today. 

Nowhere is this more blatant and scandalous as it is with Catholic politicians baptized into the faith who advocate in direct contradiction to Church teaching. While this could encompass a myriad of issues, the clearest offense against the sanctity of human life, the Natural Law, and our future existence is abortion. 

For a new Catholic entering the Church today, they may wonder "Why has it taken this long?" to simply enforce, in spiritual charity, Canon 915 which states, "Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion."  This canon is punitive but for the purpose of repentance and conversion of heart, which is a spiritual good. I don't know the interior motivation for Archbishop Cordileone's recent action, but I want to give him the benefit of the doubt that it was made not as a political statement but for the good of Ms. Pelosi's soul, and the benefit of the faithful at large. It shows, for us on the ground, that maybe there is hope that we were not sold a bill of goods in coming into the Church, or persisting in believing in the wake of scandal after scandal. And it is truly a scandal that pro-abortion politicians (among others) present themselves so presumptuously to receive our Lord, eating and drinking condemnation upon themselves. 

As a father of three, I know that if I "spare the rod" (to speak proverbially) for my children because of the blowback I know I will get from them, it shows on my part a lack of love, as scripture says. As a father, I discipline because I love my children. I also know better than they do what is good for them at this young age. 

My vocation is not holy orders, but matrimony. But for those ordained, you also are fathers. And many like myself, lay Catholics trying to be faithful, trying to be good, fasting and praying, have often felt bereft, like wayward children without a spiritual father because we were not pushed and instructed sufficiently to live the faith in this godless age. We kind of learned on our own, many of us, and with the help of grace.

But what the Archbishop has done is set a jarring precedent that the Church actually stands for something, and that he will not "spare the rod" so to speak in this particular circumstance. This will have an undoubted ripple effect not only for the faithful, but the hierarchy and Church as a whole. And, your Excellency, as I'm sure you are well aware, you are at the epicenter of this political and spiritual storm, at an unprecedented moment in history. 

Our President--arguably the most politically powerful figure in the Western world--with many other Catholics like Ms. Pelosi who advocate for that which is contrary to the faith, present themselves (in this diocese) in the same sacrilegious manner, scandalizing the faithful, undermining the credibility of the Church, and damning their own souls. I am, of course, not unaware of the implications which such actions (the enforcement of Canon 915) would have. It would fill me with trepidation. But to the degree to which I fear men more than I fear God, I would have to question myself. "Who shall we fear?" King David writes, "The Lord is my light and my salvation." 

I am, of course, not in your shoes. It is not easy shoes to be in, to be quite honest. I may not envy you in this role, but I most certainly pray for you. Because with prayer, all things are possible, as it says in scripture. And certain demons are not driven out without prayer AND fasting. 

For that reason, I, my wife, and a contingent of those in our local men's group, will be doing so much more intentionally during this political firestorm that is certain to touch us all at some point or another. We often feel like "lambs led to slaughter" as faithful Catholics in this diocese and in the secular world at large. But we have faith, hope and charity! We can do all things in Christ who strengthen us. Whom should we fear?

I can see you are a man of faith and prayer. I would, in closing, ask you to pray for your fellow bishop, Archbishop Cordileone, and consider his example which gives courage to the lay faithful to live out the faith in an acrimonious culture. The Church will not be renewed without witness, and witness will not come without suffering. What better witness than to live out in each of our respective vocations, the teachings of Christ and his Church? What more honorable way to enter Heaven than covered in the stripes our Savior himself displayed out of love for his sheep? The enforcement of Canon 915 in this diocese will give you those lashes, undoubtedly. That is for your discernment, of course. Courage must be seen to be lived out by those in the pews. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter; I hope it will be received with the charity in which is was written. You will most certainly be in our prayers.

Sincerely in Christ,

RM