WASHINGTON – Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput commiserated
with journalists who cover religion about the vitriolic hate
mail they and he receive when they address topics such as who
should receive the Eucharist.
In a March 17 round table with religion reporters sponsored
by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in Washington,
Archbishop Chaput spoke candidly about both his appreciation
for writers who understand their topic and his frustration
with others who don’t do their homework before they attempt
to explain church teachings and practices.
His prepared remarks touched briefly on the advertised topic
of the session – the political obligations of Catholics –
which was the subject of Archbishop Chaput’s recent book,
“Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our
Catholic Beliefs in Political Life.”
A question-and-answer session that followed further
elaborated on Catholics in public life, a subject on which
Archbishop Chaput has written and spoken frequently,
including recent addresses to Human Life International in
Dublin, Ireland, and to an audience at the University of
Toronto.
But the conversation with the two dozen reporters who were in
the room or listening through an Internet connection also
touched on the rancor that follows the archbishop and the
journalists especially when they write on the topic of
Catholic politicians who disagree with church teachings in
some areas.
Sally Quinn, moderator of The Washington Post’s religion
blog, “On Faith,” described being surprised at the quantity
and level of anger in criticism that followed a column she
wrote last June about receiving Communion during the funeral
Mass of her good friend, journalist Tim Russert.
Quinn, who is not Catholic, said she didn’t realize until
later that she should not have gone to Communion and that her
action might be offensive to Catholics. She said her column
triggered a stunning outpouring of often highly offensive
comments on the Post’s Web site as well as attacks in press
releases, such as one from the Catholic League for Religious
and Civil Rights.
Quinn explained that she then made a point of learning more
about Catholic teaching on the Eucharist and the
circumstances under which Catholics should receive Communion
and that non-Catholics shouldn’t. She also apologized to
Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, the retired archbishop of
Washington who was the celebrant at Russert’s funeral.
Considering the church’s teaching that people should only
present themselves for the sacrament when they are not
conscious of serious sin, Quinn said, “it would seem that
nobody should be able to receive Communion.”
She asked Archbishop Chaput for his thoughts on her
experience in light of his frequent writing and public
comments about Catholic politicians who disagree with
elements of church teaching but who continue to receive
Communion.
Archbishop Chaput apologized to Quinn for the treatment she
received. He explained that his policy is “you don’t
embarrass people when they come to Communion,” so he does not
question whether someone who presents herself for the
sacrament should be there. That would apply to prominent
Catholic politicians who support keeping abortion legal, for
instance, and whom some bishops have said would be barred
from Communion in their dioceses, said the archbishop.
However, if such a politician, for instance, Vice President
Joe Biden, were to contact him before coming to a liturgy,
Archbishop Chaput said he would encourage the politician to
“come talk to me” about it first.
He said it is up to individuals to know the church’s
teachings, to honestly evaluate their own actions and to
refrain from receiving sacraments if their lives do not
reflect how a Catholic should be living.
That unwillingness to step in and prevent people from
receiving sacraments has brought him his own share of hate
mail, as has his stand that people who don’t live according
to the church’s teachings need to remove themselves from
receiving its sacraments, said Archbishop Chaput.
His efforts to explain the church’s teachings on the rights
of migrants and how that applies to immigration law and
policy also stirs people’s emotions, he said.
Archbishop Chaput said the way the Internet allows people to
immediately respond out of raw emotion to anything “has led
to a coarsening of the dialogue” on many issues.
One difference between criticism from conservatives and
liberals, he joked, is that “the conservatives are meaner,
but the liberals’ language is more foul.”
Archbishop Chaput said he responds to nearly all the mail he
receives, spending about three hours a day dealing with
e-mail and other correspondence.
