A recent quote from Cardinal Arinze when Rayond Arroyo of EWTN asked him for his position on whether politicians who publicly support abortion should be permitted to receive Holy Communion:
Do you need any Cardinal from the Vatican to answer that?...........“Simple, ask the children for First Communion, they'll give you the answer.”
But, the bishops forming a committee led by retiring Cardinal Theodore McCarrick decided to play it safe and simply put the decision back into the hands of each individual bishop.......after two years of study!!!
Hat-tip to Diogenes who had this to say on the matter:
A Definite Maybe
After months of intensive study, the "McCarrick committee" has delivered a final report to the US bishops.
Back during the 2004 election campaign, the American bishops were troubled by disagreements regarding whether or not pro-abortion Catholic politicians should be denied Communion. The McCarrick committee was asked to devise a policy that could be adopted uniformly by diocesan bishops, thus averting the potential for division and confusion.
So now the committee suggests that each diocesan bishop should decide for himself. Uncle Ted explains that there is "no substitute for the local bishop's pastoral judgment and his vital relationships with Catholic public officials in his own diocese." We're right back where we started.
The McCarrick committee has now been disbanded. Their work will be sorely missed, and their achievement loudly praised, by anyone who recognizes how difficult it is to scratch your head for two years, then finally decide: "Gee, I dunno."