Philadelphia Mayor James F. Kenney called the city’s Catholic Archbishop Charles J. Chaput “not Christian” for his decision to maintain centuries-old Catholic religious discipline.
The tweet referred to guidelines recently issued by the archdiocese banning Communion for individuals in a state of grave sin, including gay Catholics and divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.
The guidelines issued by Chaput govern Pope Francis’s recent apostolic exhortation — a papal document addressing Catholic family life. The document addresses the possibility of giving the sacrament of Communion to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics as well as sexually active gay Catholics.
Though the pontiff declined to endorse the so-called “Kasper proposal,” which would permit these individuals to receive communion, he did suggest exceptions were possible through an “internal forum” with a priest.
Since the pope did not endorse nor condemn the Kasper proposal, both liberals and conservatives claimed victory in the controversy.
Chaput said he will continue denying Communion to all individuals in a state of grave sin, prompting the initial tweet from Kenney.
“Catholic teaching makes clear that the subjective conscience of the individual can never be set against objective moral truth, as if conscience and truth were two competing principles for moral decision-making,” the guidelines read. “This is a hard teaching for many, but anything less misleads people about the nature of the Eucharist and the Church.”
Chaput is the first Native American archbishop and entered the seminary at age 21. He cofounded advocacy groups for women and Latinos, and served on delegations facilitating inter-religious dialogue during his tenure. He also works to protect religious liberty throughout the third world.
Kenney recently struck a deal to tax soda in the City of Brotherly Love.
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