Angelus News | July 2, 2021 | Vol. 6 No. 13

From left, Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, vice president of
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop José H. Gomez
of Los Angeles, USCCB president, and Msgr. Jeffrey D. Burrill, USC-
CB general secretary, are pictured on the opening day of the bishops’
three-day virtual spring meeting June 16. | CNS/BOB ROLLER
TEACHERS OR POLICYMAKERS?
An intense, three-hour-long debate on a Eucharist document revealed
key differences among bishops on their identity and role.
BY PABLO KAY
The U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB) began its
virtual June 16-18 spring Plenary
Assembly in an unusual fashion
this year.
Before the body’s president, Archbishop
José H. Gomez of Los Angeles,
or Pope Francis’ representative in the
U.S., Archbishop Christophe Pierre,
even had a chance to give their opening
addresses via Zoom, the bishops
found themselves voting on whether
to officially give themselves more time
to talk.
They voted not to, but over the next
three days they did just that anyway:
On each of the meeting’s three days,
the bishops went well over their allotted
meeting time. On the second day,
Archbishop Gomez ceded the floor
to more than 40 bishops during an unprecedented
three-hour discussion.
The reason for all the talking among
the bishops was for them to decide
whether to begin drafting a document
on the meaning of the Eucharist,
including the notion of “eucharistic
coherence” for Catholic politicians
who publicly support legal abortion
and other moral evils.
The idea for the document originated
from a task force formed by
Archbishop Gomez last November to
help the bishops navigate the delicate
task of dialogue with newly elected
President Joe Biden, a practicing
Catholic whose policies on abortion
rights and other social issues are at
odds with Church teaching.
As the debate on whether the bishops’
doctrine committee should move
ahead with drafting the document
unfolded, a key question emerged: Are
the bishops teachers or policymakers?
Although media reports widely portrayed
that the bishops were debating
whether to deny Communion to President
Biden and other pro-abortion
Catholic politicians, doctrine committee
chair Bishop Kevin Rhoades
of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana,
said it was never the bishops’ intention
to determine a “national policy” on
politicians and Communion.
“We’re not talking about a national
policy, but a teaching document
here,” Archbishop Alexander Sample
of Portland, Oregon, agreed in his
comments during the debate.
Bishop Rhoades said the bishops are
deeply concerned with polls that show
many Catholics do not understand
the meaning of the Eucharist and that
the proposed document was meant to
be educational, not disciplinary.
As a body, the conference of bishops
has no authority to set policies on who
is worthy to receive Communion. In a
2004 statement, the U.S. bishops said
22 • ANGELUS • July 2, 2021