67 Bishops Send Letter to the US Bishops' Conference President Asking for a Delay on Teaching Document on Reception of Communion

 Catholic News Service reports that Archbishop Gomez, the President of the US Bishops' Conference received a letter from 67 bishops asking for a delay in a discussion during the bishops' upcoming spring general assembly on whether to prepare a teaching document on the reception of Communion. He explained in a memo the procedure followed in bringing the question to a vote during the June 16-18 virtual meeting.
There is a debate among the bishops about Catholic politicians who support keeping abortion legal and whether they should be denied access to the Eucharist.
In a May 22 memo to fellow bishops, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles explained that the USCCB Administrative Committee approved a request from Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, for the discussion on drafting a document to examine the "meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the church."
Archbishop Gomez's memo came in response to a May 13 letter, which was obtained by Catholic News Service, to him from 67 bishops who asked that any discussion on "eucharistic coherence" be removed from the assembly agenda.
The letter cites May 7 correspondence from Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, to Archbishop Gomez.
The bishops wrote that "we respectfully urge that all conference-wide discussion and committee work on the topic of eucharistic worthiness and other issues raised by the Holy See be postponed until the full body of bishops is able to meet in person."
Four cardinals are among those signing the letter: Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington, Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston and Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey.
Archbishop Gomez said USCCB rules require that the body of bishops first be asked whether to issue a document on a particular topic. Bishop Rhoades took such a step by asking the Administrative Committee to include time on the spring agenda to discuss such a question. The committee agreed.
The process, the memo explained, involves the creation of an "Action Item" for the bishops to consider.
"Importantly, the Action Item does not ask the body to approve a final statement, but only whether drafting of a text may begin," the memo said.
It added that if the action is approved, the doctrine committee would begin its work, subject to the conference's "usual process of consultation, modification and amendment" when presented for consideration at a future general assembly.
"As you will note, the focus of this proposed teaching document is on how best to help people to understand the beauty and mystery of the Eucharist as the center of their Christian lives," the archbishop wrote.
Archbishop Gomez's memo included a draft, dated May 14, of an outline of a possible document with the proposed title "The Mystery of the Eucharist in the life of the Church: Why It Matters."
It outlines three parts, subtitled "The Eucharist, A Mystery to be Believed," "The Eucharist, A Mystery to be Celebrated" and "The Eucharist: A Mystery to be Lived."
The letter from the bishops was sent on letterhead of the Archdiocese of Washington. The archdiocese did not respond to a CNS email seeking comment.
The bishops said the serious nature of "eucharistic worthiness" and other issues raised in Cardinal Ladaria's letter requires the bishops to "forge substantive unity," something which they said is "impossible to address ... productively in the fractured and isolated setting of a distance meeting."
"The high standard of consensus among ourselves and of maintaining unity with the Holy See and the universal church as set forth by Cardinal Ladaria is far from being achieved in the present moment," the prelates wrote.
"Moreover, as the prefect's sound theological and pastoral advice opens a new path for moving forward, we should take this opportunity to reenvision the best collegial structure for achieving that," the letter said.
Cardinal Ladaria in his letter urged the U.S. bishops to proceed with caution in their discussions about formulating a national policy "to address the situation of Catholics in public office who support legislation allowing abortion, euthanasia or other moral evils."
The cardinal also reiterated what he had said he had told several groups of U.S. bishops during their 2019-2020 "ad limina" visits, namely that "the effective development of a policy in this area requires that dialogue occurs in two stages: first among the bishops themselves, and then between bishops and Catholic pro-choice politicians within their jurisdictions."

The June meeting will be virtual, which means that 275 bishops will be in a giant Zoom meeting, he said.
The November plenary session of the U.S. bishops' conference is likely to be in person, which Archbishop Wester thought would be more conducive for the kind of extended discussion envisioned by Cardinal Ladaria in his letter.
Meanwhile, two archbishops issued statements May 25 in support of keeping the discussion on a possible document focused on the Eucharist on the June general assembly agenda.
Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver and Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco called for work on a document on eucharistic coherence to continue and the discussion to take place during the bishops' June spring general assembly.
Archbishop Gomez has followed the correct procedures to facilitate "this critical discussion as a body of bishops," Archbishop Aquila said.
In contrast," he continued, " the publication of the letter calling for a halt to discussion at our June meeting on this vital issue risks creating an atmosphere of factionalism, rather than unity among the bishops."
Archbishop Cordileone said he was "deeply grieved by the rising public acrimony among bishops and the adoption of behind-closed-doors maneuvers to interfere with the accepted, normal agreed-upon procedures of the USCCB."
"Those who do not want to issue a document on eucharistic coherence should be open to debating the question objectively and fairly with their brother bishops, rather than attempting to derail the process," Archbishop Cordileone said.
He said he was looking forward to "serene dialogue," as Cardinal Ladaria urged in his letter, during the upcoming June general assembly "so that we may discern 'the best way forward for the Church in the United States to witness to the grave moral responsibility of Catholic public officials to protect human life at all stages."
Shortened and Edited from a Catholic News Service report by Greg Erlandson in Washington.