All deserve to receive the body of Christ: Catholic clergy have forgotten that they are servants, not Gods — Remembering Father Oliver Hebert, TOR

Francis exhibiting that he is a servant washing the feet of prisoners

About 15 years ago, I attended a Catholic mass at my favorite place ever: the Immaculate Conception Chapel at St. Francis University in Loretto, Pa. 

Just by chance, the celebrant was a priest whom I respected and admired, Father Oliver Hebert. Father passed away six years ago, but I will always have a spot in my heart for him.

A member of the St. Francis faculty at the time and later exhibiting the role the he also loved, pastor, Father Oliver gave one of the most memorable sermons in my lifetime. 

I am going to have to paraphrase his words because despite being a journalist at the time, I was not taking notes. However, here was what he said, essentially,

This goes against what the church says and could even get me into trouble, but it is something in which I strongly believe. 

When you approach me to receive communion today, I have not idea what is in your soul. I do not know whether or not you are in a state of grace. 

But, to me, that does not matter. I believe that those who are not in a state of grace need Jesus’s body more than those who are. So, if you are not in a state of grace as determined by the church, you should still take the Eucharist and enjoy the strength that Jesus’s body provides for you. 

Paraphrase of sermon from early 2000s

In essence, Father was saying that we should follow the example of Jesus, not of the church.

The Last Supper

When Jesus started the practice of giving communion to the faithful, he was at what became known as The Last Supper. At that time, it could not have been his body because he had not yet given it on the cross — though he would shortly. 

However, he did not ask the apostles if they were in “a state of grace.” The church later added those words and conditions to the reception of his body. 

In fact, one of them at that Supper was certainly not in good stead with God the father since the man had already planned to give Jesus to those who would eventually crucify him. 

If that was not important to Jesus, why does the Catholic Church place so many impediments in the way of those who need the Eucharist, Jesus’ body?

It is because these Catholics, particularly their leaders, think that they are God, and not ministers or pastors or servants to their flock. 

It is the major reason that I will never again practice in the hierarchical Catholic Church in America though I still follow social doctrine and principles. 

John Paul II emphasized the role as “servants.”

The photo of Pope Francis above shows that he fully comprehends that he is a servant of the people. When he washed the feet of prisoners in Rome during the Holy Thursday mass, the Catholic hierarchy in the U.S. were horrified. How could be demean the role of pope, they remonstrated. 

In fact, the late pope said that the flock invigorate and “beautify” the church. In an address in 1999, he said, 

Catholic lay women and men are living the grace of their Baptism in ways which show forth more splendidly the full array of charisms which invigorate and beautify the Church We cannot cease to praise God for this …

We readily speak of Bishops and priests as "pastors", drawing upon the biblical and patristic tradition, in which the image of the shepherd is rich and evocative. Sometimes, though, this has been accompanied by a certain reluctance to speak of lay people as "the flock", as if to do so condemned the laity to a strictly passive and dependent role.

“Priests are set apart in order to be true servants of God’s people,” 

L’Osservatore Romano, September 29, 1999

Which brings us to two of the most despicable examples of the clergy who obviously do not understand their roles as John Paul identified it above. 

Their names are Chaput and Burke, but many others in America could be included with them. 

Father Oliver was truly a servant

I first met Father Oliver about 30 years ago. His words and warmth always struck me for their sincerity and Christianity. 

A little about him for his obituary,

Father Oliver entered the Third Order Regular on Sept. 12, 1965, at Mount Assisi Monastery, Loretto. He professed his temporary vows on July 1, 1967, at Sacred Heart Monastery, Winchester, Va., and his solemn vows on July 1, 1970, at Immaculate Conception Chapel, Loretto. Father Oliver was ordained to the priesthood by the late Bishop James J. Hogan, D.D. of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, at Immaculate Conception Chapel, St. Francis College, Loretto, on May 15, 1971. 

Father Oliver received his Master of Divinity degree from St. Francis Seminary, Loretto, in 1971. He received a master of arts degree in Eastern Christian Studies from John XXIII Institute for Eastern Christian Studies, Maryknoll Seminary, Ossining, N.Y., in 1976. He did doctoral studies in mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.

Father Oliver Hebert, former faculty, January 2, 2014

Most important, Father Oliver would never have forbidden anyone from receiving the Eucharist. 

Yet, so many Catholics do. 

Culture warrior, not a servant

In an opinion piece, Michael Sean Winters condmened former archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia for being a culture warrior and not a servant of the people. 

In a piece in a far-right Catholic publication, Winters pointed out that Chaput and others would deny communion to many people today,

He begins by recalling the 2004 election when another Catholic, Sen. John Kerry, ran for president and some bishops, egged on by Judy Brown of the American Life League, argued that Kerry should be denied Communion because of his support for liberal abortion laws. Then-Archbishop Raymond Burke was the acknowledged leader of the effort to deny Communion to pro-choice politicians, with Chaput adopting a slightly less extreme posture.

Chaput mentions two bishops in his first paragraph, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and then-Bishop of Pittsburgh, now-Cardinal Donald Wuerl. I am not sure if he mentions the two together because he wants to slime the latter by associating him with the disgrace of the former. It is true that Wuerl was one of the principal voices opposed to Chaput in 2004, but there were others. After all, the conference as a body did not adopt the position Chaput advocated.

Michael Sean Winters, “American Vigano: Archbishop Chaput divides episcopacy even 

in retirement,” National Catholic Reporter, December 9, 2020

Winters couches his words somewhat and does call Chaput a liar in the piece, but he does say that he is either misinformed or just clueless,

[Chaput] begins by recalling the 2004 election when another Catholic, Sen. John Kerry, ran for president and some bishops, egged on by Judy Brown of the American Life League, argued that Kerry should be denied Communion because of his support for liberal abortion laws. Then-Archbishop Raymond Burke was the acknowledged leader of the effort to deny Communion to pro-choice politicians, with Chaput adopting a slightly less extreme posture.

Chaput mentions two bishops in his first paragraph, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and then-Bishop of Pittsburgh, now-Cardinal Donald Wuerl. I am not sure if he mentions the two together because he wants to slime the latter by associating him with the disgrace of the former. It is true that Wuerl was one of the principal voices opposed to Chaput in 2004, but there were others. After all, the conference as a body did not adopt the position Chaput advocated …

Put simply, the U.S. bishops, having reflected on the issue, did not decide to weaponize the Eucharist for political ends. The document they adopted, which was also sent to Ratzinger, is the text that "remains in effect," as Chaput well knows.

Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic 

Reporter, December 9, 2020

So, the American bishops realize that refusing communion is wrong, yet they continue to do so. They refuse it to those who have been divorced and confessed to the wrong and served their penance. 

And politicians who support the law in the U.S. do not agree with the practice, but as long as they personally do not engage in the practice, it is not sinful. 

Word abortion or fetus is not in Bible

It is worth noting that the word abortion cannot be found in either the Old or New Testament. Jesus never talked about it nor about fetuses. He talked about the most important things in life,

Love God, and Love your neighbor as yourself. 

It is that latter part that they ignore. Their words such as those expressed for homosexuals are simply hateful. That is not Christian-like, nor is it what Jesus would want. 

As followers of the Book of Matthew, we know that. However, the “servants” of the church do not read that book very often — and certainly do not understand what it is saying. 

How often has Chaput preached about the Sermon on the Mount? He is closer philosophically to Falwell than to Francis.