Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago — who is participating in
the Synod of the Family at Pope Francis’ personal invitation —
said at a press scrum in the Vatican press office this
afternoon that the conscience is "inviolable" and that he
believes divorced and remarried couples could be permitted to
receive the sacraments, if they have "come to a decision" to do
so "in good conscience" - theological reasoning that he
indicated in response to a follow-up question would also apply
to gay couples.
During the lengthy press briefing, the archbishop also spoke
approvingly of the so-called "Kasper Proposal," which would
permit divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion in
some cases. Cupich explained that he had distributed Cardinal
Walter Kasper's book, The Gospel of the Family, in which the
cardinal had laid out this proposal, to all of the priests in
his diocese.
“In Chicago I visit regularly with people who feel
marginalized: the elderly, the divorced and remarried, gay and
lesbian individuals and also couples. I think that we really
need to get to know what their life is like if we’re going to
accompany them,” he said.
When asked to give a concrete example of how he would accompany
the divorced and remarried in their desire to receive the
sacraments, Cupich replied: “If people come to a decision in
good conscience then our job is to help them move forward and to
respect that. The conscience is inviolable and we have to
respect that when they make decisions, and I’ve always done
that.”
When asked by LifeSiteNews if the notion of accompanying
people to "the Sacrament" who had a clear indication of
conscience to do so also applied to gay couples in the Church,
Cupich indicated an affirmative answer.
“I think that gay people are human beings too and they have a
conscience. And my role as a pastor is to help them to discern
what the will of God is by looking at the objective moral
teaching of the Church and yet, at the same time, helping them
through a period of discernment to understand what God is
calling them to at that point,” he said. “It’s for everybody. I
think that we have to make sure that we don’t pigeonhole one
group as though they are not part of the human family, as though
there’s a different set of rules for them. That would be a big
mistake.”
The Catholic Church teaches that while a person “must always
obey the certain judgement of his conscience” the conscience, at
the same time, must be formed by the “Word of God” and the
“Church’s authority and her teaching” to make judgments that are
“in conformity with the true good willed by the wisdom of the
Creator.”
“Conscience can remain in ignorance or make erroneous
judgements. Such ignorance and errors are not always free of
guilt,” the Catechism of the Catholic Church states.
On Cardinal Kasper's proposal specifically, Cupich
said, "I really do find his treatment of what he calls the
Gospel of the family – it’s published in a book, and I gave it,
by the way, to all of my priests, I wanted them to read that
because I thought it was very rich theologically.”
“I think he has reasoned this proposal well…I am open to
looking at all of it,” he said. "I do think that we can't ignore
the fact that there are lots of people out there who feel stuck,
and we have to look for a way in which we're going to reach out
to them."
Cupich said "we should look at a way in which people are not
just accompanied but integrated and reconciled."
Kasper’s proposal has been criticized by faithful leaders in
the Church such as Cardinal Burke as a “serious error” since it
makes doctrine and pastoral practice appear to be in conflict
with one another.
“The pastoral practice exists to help us to live the truths
of the faith, to live the doctrine of the faith in our daily
lives. You can’t have a conflict [between these],” said Burke in
an interview with
LifeSiteNews yesterday.
Others, such as Cardinal Marc Ouellet, have criticized
Kasper’s proposal as resulting from a mistaken notion of God’s
mercy.
It is “not a matter” of the Church “being more or less
‘merciful’ with regard to persons in irregular situations, but
of taking seriously the truth of the sacraments (the gifts of
the Bridegroom) and their missionary dimension,” Ouellet wrote
in a recently
published book on marriage and the family.
Archbisop Cupich had
previously responded to a question, in December 2014,
about giving Holy Communion to pro-abortion Catholic
politicians, saying he would "not use the Eucharist or as they
call it the communion rail as the place to have those
discussions or weigh in which people would be either excluded
from the life of the church."
Since his appointment as bishop of Spokane in 2010, Cupich has
developed a reputation as one of the most "progressive" bishops
in the U.S. episcopate. Last year, Pope Francis tapped Cupich to
lead the Chicago archdiocese, one of the country's most
prominent dioceses, previously led by the conservative Cardinal
Francis George.
In 2011 Cupich, then bishop of Spokane,
forbadepriests in his diocese from taking part in the
semi-annual 40 Days for Life pro-life prayer vigil. His response
to the recent U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to redefine marriage
focused primarily on decrying discrimination against homosexuals
rather than criticizing the imposition of same-sex “marriage.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that homosexual
acts are “intrinsically disordered” and that “under no
circumstances can they be approved” since they are contrary to
God’s plan for sexuality.
“They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual
act to the gift of life,” states the Catechism.
The Catholic Church teaches the those who present themselves
to receive Holy Communion, which Catholics believe to be the
real body and blood of Jesus Christ, must be in the state of
grace and be free from mortal sin, which cuts off the life of
God’s grace from the soul.
“Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive
Communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of
penance,” the Catechism states. St. Paul in his letter to the
Corinthians states that whoever receives Communion “in an
unworthy manner” is “guilty of profaning the body and blood of
the Lord” thereby bringing “judgement upon himself.”
“We follow our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Master. And we are
all held to be obedient to him and to his word, beginning with
the Holy Father and with the Bishops. If a bishop, or a priest,
or anyone, should announce something or declare something that
is contrary to the truth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, as it’s
communicated to us in the teaching of the Church, we follow
Christ.”
“I say to people who are very anxious, because it seems in this
time that there is simply a lot of confusion and statements that
are really quite stunning about the faith, that we should remain
serene. Because, in the Catholic Church, we have teaching
authority, which is expressed, for instance, in the Catechism of
the Catholic Church, and we simply need to study those things
more deeply, adhere to them more ardently, and not be led astray
by false teaching, from whatever source it comes,” he said.
* Vigneron softens tone on Communion for Catholic gay supporters