Archbishop Wuerl Will Allow Pelosi to Receive Communion

Before we get to Archbishop Burke's recent comments (and we will get to them), there's a story not getting too much play out there. Per LifeSite, Archbishop Wuerl of DC will be allowing Nancy Pelosi to receive the Eucharist.

Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. has stated that he would not deny Holy Communion to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one of the most notoriously pro-abortion "Catholic" politicians in the U.S., because he says historically "the Church just didn't use Communion" as a "weapon."

In an interview published in a Politics Daily article today, Bishop Wuerl said he disagreed with refraining from giving communion to manifestly pro-abortion politicians, which was equated with "Communion wielded as a weapon." "That's the new way now to make your point," said Wuerl. "We never - the Church just didn't use Communion this way. It wasn't a part of the way we do things, and it wasn't a way we convinced Catholic politicians to appropriate the faith and live it and apply it; the challenge has always been to convince people.'' On the other hand, sanctioning Catholics tends to alienate them, he said.

Really? So all those canonical penalties over the years were just for laughs? Somebody get Henry IV on the phone. And yes, I know that the withholding of communion in these cases isn't really a penalty, per se, but that's what makes it even worse. You aren't barring someone from the Eucharist "as a weapon." You're doing it because they are committing sacrilege and wreaking horrible damage to their souls. I'm not really sure why this is even a controversy. Typically, you wouldn't think that we should be allowing acts that promote the damnation of others.