Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, is a busy man. As chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Doctrine, he oversees the drafting of one of the most debated and watched documents of recent years. Titled The mystery of the Eucharist in the life of the ChurchThe Eucharist is expected to be a statement of several thousand words intended to help Catholics understand more deeply the Eucharist and its importance for their faith. The draft text has not yet been published.
The statement, which will be voted on at the November meeting of the U.S. bishops in Baltimore, grew out of two separate concerns. The first was a 2019 Pew study that suggested that 70 % of U.S. Catholics do not understand the Church's teaching that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ. While the wording of the survey was questioned, the bishops were alarmed by the finding and began planning a "Eucharistic revitalization" to respond.
Then, in 2020, Joe Biden became president and a controversy arose over the suitability of Catholics in public office to receive Communion if they do not support the Church's teaching on abortion.
Fifty years after abortion was legalized nationwide, the United States remains deeply divided on the issue. President Biden's abandonment of his previous position restricting government funding of abortion, as well as his rhetoric during the 2020 campaign, caused great concern among some bishops about his election, leading to a proposal to issue a statement addressing "Eucharistic coherence."
But despite the wishes of some, the statement currently being drafted is not presented as an anti-Biden document. Instead, it is being presented as a "launching pad" for a three-year campaign called Eucharistic Revitalization.
According to Bishop Rhoades, the statement will focus on. "the Eucharist as our greatest treasure". and emphasize what Catholics should do once they understand the Eucharist.
It is unknown whether consideration of the statement in November will lead to another debate, but what is clear is that the U.S. bishops remain extremely concerned about how their people have been catechized regarding the "source and summit" of Catholic life.
