CNN reported about the Catholic diocese of Grand Rapids MI denying communion to Judge Sara Smolenski. Why? Well, the 62-year-old Judge had married her female partner of over 30 years back in 2016. But only recently, all of a sudden, the local priest phoned to tell her not to come to communion because her marriage is against Catholic teaching. He was backed up by the local Bishop who wrote: “No community of faith can sustain the public contradiction of its beliefs by its own members.” Saints preserve us!! Do we really think that Judge Smolenski’s being given communion will bring down the whole church? But that I suppose is the view of reactionary American Catholics, clergy and lay, who are urging a spectacularly naive but quite militant “back to the fifties” movement. They are like the Trumpies who want to force America back to “the way it was.”

Pope Francis made a solemn declaration after his visit to Japan that to use or even to own nuclear weapons is immoral. This teaching is a stiff challenge to Catholics in nuclear-armed countries, but Pope Francis allowed us no wiggle room. His grave warning about nuclear weapons is “We shall be judged on this.” Yes, I believe that we will be judged on our use of nuclear weapons and not about including gay couples in the church.