Prairie State Wire

Illinois Catholics are speaking out against Catholic politicians-- including U.S. Reps. Marie Newman (D-Palos Park), Jesus Garcia (D-Chicago) and Cheri Bustos (D-Moline)-- who are pro-abortion but still present themselves at Mass for Holy Communion.

The Catholics were responding to a November email survey by CatholicVote.org. They were unanimous in their criticism of the Illinois politicians, describing their actions as heretical and damaging to the church.

“I believe they should be excommunicated, or at the very least denied receiving,” said Alice Williams of Countryside. “Their actions give scandal to non-Catholics as well as Catholics. By allowing them to receive it it sending the message that the church thinks it's ok to murder babies in the womb.”

“It sickens me. They have either forgotten what it means to be Catholic, or they never knew. It's blatantly a false representation of Catholicism,” said Corinne Zobott of Des Plaines.

“Catholic is a verb---one acts like a Catholic. It is not a noun -- something we call ourselves. Identifying as a Catholic doesn't make it so,” said Donald Hennen of Geneva.

“They don't believe in the teachings of our faith and use the fact they attend Mass for political reasons to show constituents that they attend a religious church,” said Gail Gross of Mokena. “Therefore, they are not allowed to parake of communion as they have committed a mortal sin that they partake in approving abortion.”

Since his inauguration, President Joe Biden has regularly pitted himself against Catholic leaders over Catholic teachings on issues like abortion and sexuality. 

Archbishop Joseph Naumann, head of the U.S. Bishops’ pro-life committee, has said “[President Biden] likes to call himself a ‘devout’ Catholic. I would urge him to begin to act like one, especially on life issues."

In September 2021, Biden frankly admitted that he does not agree with the Catholic Church when it comes to the sanctity of life. 

“I respect those who believe life begins at the moment of conception,” Biden said. “I don’t agree, but I respect that.”

A June 2021 poll conducted by CatholicVote.org found that an overwhelming majority of Mass-going Catholics think that Catholic politicians who promote abortion should not receive Communion. 

It found 83% of Mass-going Catholics believe politicians who oppose Catholic teachings "create confusion and disunity" and 74% believe that they should not present themselves for communion.

Speaking with America Magazine in November, Catholic Democrat U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois complained of being denied Communion in his home diocese, near Springfield, Ill., due to his pro-abortion record. 

“It’s not a happy experience,” Durbin said, adding that he thought receiving Communion is “a personal decision” that should be open to almost “anybody if the person believes that they are worthy of it.”

The current U.S. Congress includes 158 Catholics, according to the Pew Forum. That's down from 168 in 2017 and up from 100 in 1961.

There are 85 Catholic Democrats in the U.S. House and 24 in the U.S. Senate. All are pro-abortion.