I had the opportunity to read Mr. Biden and the Matter of Scandal, by Arch Bishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. (https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/12/mr-biden-and-the-matter-of-scandal). It is a proclamation of total lack of wisdom masquerading as “holier than thou” morality.
I cannot imagine that 52% of the Christians living in North America no longer consider themselves affiliated with the Church, due entirely to scandals and abuse of power. They are not recalcitrants who cannot live up to Christian moralities. These lost sheep of Israel seek a dynamic, immediate and experiential relationship with God. I should know, because I was one of them. In my 25 years of being away from the Church, I also met thousands of Christians who left the Church for the same reasons. Anyone who is sincere about being a disciple of Jesus must consider pursuing that one sheep. This must be the highest priority, not politics. It is by our spiritual light that shines before men, they glorify our Father in Heaven (Matt 5:16), not by the preaching of fundamentalism and moral theology.
Secondly, I suggest reading the article, Why Future Christians Will Be Mystics, by Guy Sayles. Fundamentalism, moralities that control our individual freedom — even to think, and doctrines based on “good & evil” reductionism are destroying the vitality of the Church. These are precisely what killed Jesus Christ in the first place. The answer to this dilemma is Spirituality – Mystical Theology for seculars. Carl Rahner is quoted to have said, “The Christian of the future will be a mystic or will not exist at all.” Anyone who cares about restoring the vitality of the Church must consider advocating to restore mystical theology in the Church and opening it to the seculars as well. This must be priority #2, not politics.
Finally, Jesus Christ taught us to love, not to judge. Loving is altogether an abstract phenomenon for the glory of God and the benefit of His creation. This love must be ever increasing with inner-freedom, knowledge of the beloved, and joy of gratefulness in the expression of love. Judging, on the other hand, is based on the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). God is not as fond of such knowledge. Such reductionistic knowledge based on good and evil, invariably and directly conflicts with the freedom to love.
Moreover, freewill and the freedom of choice are likenesses of God with which we are created. That is why God never interferes with the choices we make; case in point – the Parable of the Prodigal Son. In that, the father did not interfere or advise the son against the demand for a portion of his inheritance. Instead, the father readily granted his son’s request. Upon the son’s return, he was not scorned by his father but welcomed back with celebration.
God is compassionate, unconditionally loving, and forgiving. The doctrine of a judging and punishing God fundamentally conflicts with God’s very own nature.
Pope Francis says, “The Eucharist brings us the Father’s faithful love, which heals our sense of being orphans. It gives us Jesus’ love, which transformed a tomb from an end to a beginning, and in the same way can transform our lives. It fills our hearts with the consoling love of the Holy Spirit, who never leaves us alone and always heals our wounds.”
Let us pray for Joe Biden that he fully experiences God’s love, healing, grace of the Holy Spirit, and transformations. Whether Biden receives Holy Communion or not is a matter between Biden and God.