The ‘obscure provision’ of Canon 915

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Dec 12, 2024

In a remarkable “news” report in the National Catholic Reporter, Camillo Barone provides a thoroughly one-sided account of Nancy Pelosi’s conflict with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. No surprise there; that’s what you expect from the Reporter

What is remarkable about Barone’s piece, though—if not downright comical—is the way he dismisses the archbishop’s explanation of why he has instructed Pelosi not to receive Communion:

Cordileone cited an obscure provision of canon law unfamiliar to everyday Catholics.

The implication here is that everyday Catholics are familiar with the provisions of canon law. So that presumably they could rattle off the first 914 canons in the code without any difficulty, but when asked to continue, would bog down. “Canon 915? Oh, gosh; that’s obscure.”

The truth of course is that the “everyday Catholic” would be hard pressed to come up with a single citation from the Code of Canon Law. But if you have seen any discussion of canonical issues in the press during the last several years, the chances are good that the canon in question has been #915, which stipulates that those “obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.” Insofar as American Catholics have been arguing for a full generation about whether pro-abortion politicians should receive Communion—and the National Catholic Reporter has been an active participant in those debates—Canon 915 should be the least obscure provision in the Code.

So if Canon 915 remains obscure to the everyday Catholic, blame that fact on the journalists—especially Catholic journalists—who never cite the clear language of Church law on this vexed issue.