DENVER — The Colorado Catholic Conference representing Colorado bishops sent a letter to state lawmakers who voted for an abortion bill asking them to voluntarily not take Communion until they publicly repent and receive forgiveness through confession.
The Colorado Legislature passed HB22-1279 in March and it was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in April. The law, dubbed the Reproductive Health Equity Act, codifies the right to get an abortion without government interference. Democratic lawmakers pursued the legislation as it became more likely that conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. That way, getting an abortion would still be legal in Colorado.
The law specifies that people can choose what to do about their own pregnancies whether that’s in vitro fertilization or termination, and it passed the chambers with no Republican support and opposition from groups, including the Colorado Catholic Conference. It also makes clear that a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus doesn’t have independent or derivative rights under state law.
“Voting for RHEA was participating in a gravely sinful action because it facilitates the killing of innocent unborn babies, and those Catholic politicians who have done so have very likely placed themselves outside of the communion of the Church,” the letter stated.
The letter continued: “Until public repentance takes place and sacramental absolution is received in Confession, we ask that those Catholic legislators who live or worship in Colorado and who have voted for RHEA, to voluntarily refrain from receiving Holy Communion.”
The letter thanked the Catholic Republican lawmakers who voted against the bill, Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, Sen. Kevin Priola, Sen. Jim Smallwood and Rep. Andres Pico.
It was signed by the Archbishop of Denver Samuel J. Aquila, Bishop of Pueblo Stephen J. Berg, Bishop of Colorado Springs James R. Golka and Auxiliary Bishop of Denver Jorge H. Rodriguez.
In May, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone banned U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi from receiving Communion because of her support of abortion rights.
In 2019, now-President Joe Biden was denied Communion at a Catholic Church in South Carolina for the same reason.
But according to results from an Associated Press-NORC Center poll conducted in mid-May, there is a gap between the stances of conservative church leaders and American Catholics’ views. In the poll, 63% of Catholic adults said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and 68% that Roe should remain as is. Thirty-one percent of poll respondents said politicians supporting abortion rights should be denied Communion.
Last September, Pope Francis said bishops should make decisions from pastoral viewpoints, not political, following discussions about denying politicians Communion.
Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat and one of the prime sponsors of HB 22-1279, said she grew up culturally Catholic.
“I wish that the Catholic Church were as ideologically consistent when it comes to holding politicians who vote against working people and the poor to account,” Gonzales said. “I wish that they were as ideologically consistent when it came to holding anti-immigrant politicians to account.”
The most recent and clear example, she said, is the bishops’ support of her bill to abolish the death penalty in 2020 — they didn’t ask lawmakers who voted against the bill, one that they considered “pro-life,” to avoid receiving Communion.
Gonzales returned from a trip to Mexico in May where she joined other lawmakers to study the issue of abortion access. She said she spoke to many Catholic women who were “absolutely committed to their faith” but who understood that pro-life also meant protecting the life of the mother, the wellbeing of the mother’s other children, and that they made their decisions on how to build their families “because of their faith, not in spite of it.”
“It was, I think, really important for me to hear those perspectives in a country that has been so Catholic for so, so many years, and yet it sees its ability to provide abortion care as quite frankly, a faithful value,” she said.
Jamie L. Manson — president of Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization Catholics for Choice — wrote in a statement about the situation: “There is nothing unifying about what Colorado’s bishops are doing. In fact, it’s so extreme that it’s out of step with both Pope Francis, who recently definitively declared that he has never denied Communion to anyone, and with the majority of bishops in the United States, most of whom are fellow conservatives.”
According to data from the Pew Research Center, in 2020, 56% of U.S. Catholics said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Pew research also showed that 67% of U.S. Catholic adults said Biden should be allowed to receive Communion. Opinions differed based on political affiliations.
Sen. Jessie Danielson, a Wheat Ridge Democrat, found the letter from the Catholic Conference insulting, even though she is not a Catholic herself. Danielson was at odds with the bishops while working to pass legislation that allows victims to sue institutions for sexual misconduct that occurred when a victim was a child and to remove the statute of limitations to sue for sexual abuse. The Colorado Catholic Conference listed its position as “amend” and asked for changes in the bills, saying it did not support unlimited time to seek civil action.
“These men are in no position to lecture anyone on ‘scandal,’ let alone to single out and attack their own parishioners,” Danielson said in a statement.
———
