Archbishop Myers Makes Sense

As I noted recently, if the Catholic blogosphere is any guide, the leading moral issue of the day is allowing pro-abortion politicians like John Kerry and Nancy Pelosi, despite the fact that Donald Wuerl of Wahington DC and the vast majority of his brother bishops refuse to instiute such a ban. Now Archbishop John Myers of Newark says similar things (in an interview with John Allen):

"Myers told NCR on Feb. 22 that he has 'no intention' of announcing communion bans against candidates in the 2008 presidential elections, a position he expects the 'vast majority' of other American bishops to adopt as well. Myers said debates over communion should not be restricted to politicians. 'Anyone should live their professional lives in accord with Catholic teaching,' he said. 'People should be honest. If they’re struggling with one or another point, that’s one thing. But if over a spectrum of issues they are not in agreement with the church, they should withhold themselves from communion.' As for formal bans, Myers said that while he 'may have some sympathy' for the instinct behind such moves, he won’t do it himself, and regards them as 'practically impossible to enforce.'.... That doesn’t mean, he said, there aren’t obvious cases where some action would be required. 'If someone is running an abortion clinic, that’s fairly clear,' he said, in terms of when he might be inclined to withhold communion. Beyond such clear-cut situations, he said, 'I doubt that we would be able to find consensus' as to where to draw the line.'"

This is interesting, as Myers is a member of Opus Dei, and regarded as one of the more conservative Americanishops. He was also one of the first to raise the issue when he issued a letter back in 1990 stating that Catholics holding pro-abortion positions should not receive Communion.