From a man of the cloth:

Mr. Robinson,

I must respectfully correct you on your understanding of Canon 915, as expressed yesterday and today on “The Corner”.

In your response to Mr. Ponnuru you write: “withholding communion from pro-choice politicians is indeed a discretionary matter for the bishops.” Later you quote an email which says: “In any diocese, the decision about whether to enforce this canon rests with the bishop.”

The application of canon law does not depend on the bishop, unless a particular canon explicitly provides for this. Can. 915 contains no such exception to the general rule. This is a universal law of the church: it binds every bishop and every priest, and only the pope—”the supreme legislator”—can change or override it (which he wouldn’t in this case since it merely codifies an unchanging doctrine). Even cardinals have to obey it. That’s why so many Catholic priests are mystified by the statements of certain prelates, as if they have some authority to override or ignore the direct legislation of the Pope, and the constant doctrine of the Church.

The only discretion here is determining if a particular person is “obstinately persist[ing] in manifest grave sin.” The canon neither requires or allows this discretion to be exercised solely by a bishop, i.e., every priest, etc., must apply the law using sound reason and Catholic moral principles. Certainly no one would deny, unless they explicitly reject the Church’s clear and consistent teaching on the subject, that a legislator who publicly supports and votes for the most extreme pro-abortion laws—and proudly campaigns on this record—is clearly “obstinately persist[ing] in manifest grave sin.” Therefore, to give Communion to such a pro-abortion legislator the priest, bishop or cardinal would himself either be 1) showing his ignorance of Church doctrin and law, or 2) be publicly expressing a position clearly in opposition to the teaching of the Church—which would, itself, be a grave sin.

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Would somebody in Washington print this out and mail it to Cardinal McCarrick?