‘Eucharistic consistency’

Richard A. Sokerka

As you are reading this, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is in the midst of its annual spring meeting.

The agenda includes deliberating and voting on nine action items, but there is one in particular that has garnered a ton of publicity and will be closely watched by Catholics: the approval of the drafting of a formal statement on the meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the Church.

In a memo to the U.S. bishops, Arch­bishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the conference, explained that the proposal for such a document came from the doctrine committee. “The focus of this proposed teaching document is on how best to help people to understand the beauty and mystery of the Eucharist as the center of their Christian lives,” he said.

The conference will not be voting on any final text of a document, but on whether to begin drafting a document, he said. If the bishops approve the motion, they will have the opportunity to deliberate and amend the document when presented in final form at their fall meeting in November.

The bishops’ doctrine committee explained the need for a teaching document on the Eucharist based on the bishops’ three-year strategic plan — approved in November 2020 — “Created Anew by the Body and Blood of Christ, Source of Our Healing and Hope” and the special working group of the bishops — convened in the aftermath of Joe Biden’s election to the presidency — recommending a teaching document on “Eucharistic Consistency.”

“Eucharistic Consistency” has its roots in the 2007 closing document of the Aparecida conference of Latin American and Caribbean bishops — a document which Pope Francis (then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio) had a hand in developing. The term refers to the need for Catholic leaders and legislators to defend life and the family against grave evils such as abortion and euthanasia. It made specific reference to “legislators, heads of government, and health professionals,” stating, “We must adhere to ‘Eucharistic Coherence,’ that is, be conscious that they cannot receive Holy Communion and at the same time act with deeds or words against the Commandments, particularly when abortion, euthanasia, and other grave crimes against life and family are encouraged.”

Although some U.S. bishops have talked about the matter of Communion for pro-abortion politicians — given that President Biden is Catholic but fully supports abortion on demand and taxpayer-funded abortions — the bishops’ Eucharistic document would be “addressed to all Catholics.”

A proposed outline of the Eucharistic document shows it to be a comprehensive catechesis on the Eucharist, covering both the Sacrament itself and how Catholics must live in accord with the Commandments in their daily lives and includes teachings such as the “Real Presence” of Christ in the Eucharist. Part of the document includes a section on “Eucharistic Consistency,” and “the nature of Eucharistic Communion and the problem of serious sin.” It cites the teaching of St. Paul in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, “A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

In light of a Pew Research report that found only 31 percent of Catholics surveyed believed in the Real Presence, and 69 percent believed the Eucharist to be merely a symbol, pray that our bishops will see the immediate need for catechesis on the Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith, and vote to begin drafting this important document.