Archbishop of Detroit, Allen Vigneron, had some words of advice for Catholics who receive Communion while advocating gay marriage: “For a Catholic to receive holy Communion and still deny the revelation Christ entrusted to the church is to try to say two contradictory things at once: 'I believe the church offers the saving truth of Jesus, and I reject what the church teaches.' In effect, they would contradict themselves. This sort of behavior would result in publicly renouncing one's integrity and logically bring shame for a double-dealing that is not unlike perjury.” Father Thomas Reese, a Catholic priest and senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University reacted: “Most American bishops do not favor denying either politicians or voters Communion because of their positions on controversial issues.” But, Reese added, “about 30 or so bishops have said that pro-choice or pro-gay-marriage Catholics should not present themselves for Communion.”
While I completely support the Archbishop's position, I am also somewhat torn. On one hand, I have very little patience for those politicians who push gay marriage, not because of any love or concern they have for the gay community, but simply because it ingratiates them with a powerful and mobilized voting block. In addition, I loudly applaud that the Archbishop is publicly castigating these self-serving demagogues, but conversely, I also have sympathy for my gay brothers and sisters who might misinterpret this as just another harsh and uncharitable judgment from the Catholic Church. It's a difficult and fine line that our Church leaders must walk upon, and they need our prayers. I also pray that we in the Church, look into our own eyes as well. For I see the Catholic-heterosexual world being just as capricious as the gay one: with people shacking-up, using birth-control, having abortions, viewing porn, and raising kids out of wed-lock. Where is the condemnation of these sins? With that in mind, I believe that straight Catholics have no right to comment upon the lives of homosexuals without cleaning up their own house first.