Archbishop asked to deny Lujan Grisham sacrament of Communion over abortion stance

Jul. 1—When U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a pro-abortion rights Catholic, received Communion at the Vatican on Wednesday despite her stance, it became national news.

In New Mexico, a similar story was quietly unfolding.

John Block, the Republican nominee for House District 51, asked Archbishop John C. Wester to take "swift disciplinary action" against Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, including denying her Communion, over her staunch support of abortion rights.

The request came in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn the landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade that established abortion rights in the U.S. and amid an ongoing debate over whether the Church should withhold Communion from politicians who support abortion rights.

"Our faith is the only thing we have left," Block, editor of the Piñon Post, a conservative news website, wrote Tuesday in an email to Wester.

"It is what has carried the Church through centuries of persecution and toil, and it is what will carry us through today. If the Church refuses to stand firm now on this bedrock principle to save the most vulnerable, then our faith is lost," he wrote.

In response, Wester said he wouldn't deny the governor the Eucharist "due to the actions she has taken regarding abortion" in the state.

"While I do not know you, I presume your request is made for sincerely held religious beliefs and not for punitive or political reasons. In any case, I will not deny the governor Holy Communion," wrote Wester, who cited "three compelling reasons for not withholding Communion to Catholic pro-choice politicians" as outlined by Cardinal-designate Robert W. McElroy.

Among them: It is "perilous" for Wester to withhold Holy Communion by making a judgment on a communicant's worthiness.

"All of us who approach the Sacrament of the Eucharist are unworthy," the archbishop wrote. "We are all sinners who depend completely on the mercy and love of God. True worthiness dictates that we are in sync with all the major teachings of the Church. Who of the faithful can claim such an ideal?"

In an interview Thursday, Wester said he was "a little reticent" to talk about the letter from Block until he learned Block had shared it with The New Mexican.

"I didn't want to speak to the press about something that was a private letter, but evidently, he did not intend it to be private," Wester said. "It would have been nice of him to let me know that, but that's OK."

Wester said the Eucharist is the most precious and essential sacrament of the Church.

"It is extremely sacred and given to us by Christ himself so that he can be present to us in His body and blood, truly present for all the ages until the second coming, so this is a great gift from God, a very sacred gift," he said.

"The Church must treat that with the utmost respect and so to use that as a cudgel, so to speak, as a way of giving a discipline to somebody, is not right in my mind. That's so sacred that it needs to be held as sacred," he said.

The question of worthiness is another matter, Wester said.

"Some people will say, 'Well, they're not worthy.' And I would say, 'Well, who's making that judgment?' " Wester said. "To be worthy, technically, if you really want to look at it, you have to agree with and live your life and make your decisions in complete accord with all that the Catholic Church teaches. And I'm just wondering, you know, can any one of the faithful ever say that?"

Wester said the Church would be on a "dangerous, perilous slope" if it started judging who was worthy for Communion.

"Finally, I would say that Pope Francis said, very tellingly said, that Communion is not a reward for the perfect but a medicine for the sick," he said. "It's a remedy for the sinner."

Others in the Church have taken a more conservative stance.

Last year, Archbishop Peter Baldacchino of the Diocese of Las Cruces denied Communion to state Sen. Joseph Cervantes after he voted in support of repealing a half-century-old law that criminalized abortion in New Mexico.

"While I ordinarily prefer to practice my faith privately with my family, I felt it necessary to address those who would politicize, and thereby belittle, the promises of the Eucharist," Cervantes said in a statement at the time.

Pelosi has also been prohibited from receiving Communion by Archbishop of San Francisco Salvatore Cordileone.

Asked to weigh in on the request that Wester take disciplinary against against Lujan Grisham, the Rev. Larry Brito of St. Anne Parish in Santa Fe, who is staunchly against abortion, wrote in an email he couldn't say whether or not Wester should "excommunicate" Lujan Grisham.

"But the way I see it," he wrote, "she has already excommunicated herself by her extreme gross support and promotion of the murder of unborn children. I pray that she may have a change of heart and that she may receive the full graces of the Catholic Church. Salvation and lives are at stake."

Kendall Witmer, the governor's campaign spokeswoman, indicated in an email Thursday she believes Block's request was due to his political support for Lujan Grisham's Republican rival in the gubernatorial race, Mark Ronchetti.

"It is deeply disappointing that Ronchetti allies are attempting to politicize the gift of communion and turn it into a weapon of division," she wrote. "New Mexicans believe every person deserves compassion, dignity, respect, and the freedom to decide what is best for themselves and their families."

Block, who routinely calls Lujan Grisham a "scandal-ridden Democrat" on his website, said an executive order issued by the governor Monday prompted him to send the letter to Wester. The order increases protections for abortion-seekers and providers in New Mexico.

"As a Roman Catholic herself, the governor, I think that it's important that her faith leaders know and understand what she's doing and can properly address them in the Church," he said.

Block, who said he is gay and in a relationship, described himself as a born-again Christian who was raised Catholic. He still believes in many Catholic teachings, he said, especially "the true presence of our Lord" through the Eucharist.

Block said he is living within the confines of the Catholic faith. He attends Mass and receives Communion but only if he's gone to confession beforehand, he added.

He expressed disappointment in Pelosi receiving Communion at the Vatican.

"I think it's a terrible, terrible precedent to set on the global level with the leader of the Church openly allowing a radically pro-abortion politician to not only receive Communion at the Vatican but being invited upon the entire world stage to promote her radical agenda," he said.

Block doesn't believe Pelosi should have been allowed on Vatican grounds. He asked, "What message does that send to Catholics who have grown up believing that abortion is wrong?"

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.