Recalling the “example of New Orleans Archbishop Joseph Rummel, who courageously confronted the evils of racism,” Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco described the steps that led to the excommunication of three Catholics who advocated for segregation.

“Was that wrong?” Archbishop Cordileone asked. “Was that weaponizing the Eucharist? No. Rummel recognized that prominent, high-profile public advocacy for racism was scandalous: It violated core Catholic teachings and basic principles of justice, and also led others to sin.”

Describing abortion as “the most pressing human rights challenge of our time,” Archbishop Cordileone continued, “Can we pastors speak softly when the blood of 60 million innocent American children cries out for justice? When their mothers are condemned to silence, secretly suffering the injuries of the culture of ‘choice’?”