The pagan sacrifice of innocent children to false gods is still happening in society, though it goes by another name, Catholic Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone told pro-lifers Jan. 22 during a special pro-life Mass.
Cordileone, the archbishop of San Francisco, warned about the spread of paganism in society and its belief that killing unborn babies in abortions is a “blessed sacrament,” according to his homily published Monday in The National Catholic Register.
He gave the message ahead of the Walk for Life in San Francisco, an annual event held to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Since the ruling in 1973, more than 63.5 million unborn babies have been killed in abortions.
“This is all around us nowadays, and this kind of secularism has all the marks of a religion: infallible dogmas, rituals, saints, creedal statements and condemnation of heretical teachings along with punishment of the heretics who hold them and dare to speak them in public, index of forbidden books, even sacraments,” Cordileone said.
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“Indeed, abortion has become, for them, their blessed sacrament, what they hold most sacred, the doctrine and practice upon which their whole belief system is built,” the archbishop continued.
He said there is only one true Blessed Sacrament, and “to live as if there were two brings desecration of what is sacred on both fronts: the Bread of Life on the altar and human life in the womb.”
Killing unborn children is demonic, he continued, pointing to passages in scripture in which the pagans and, at times, the Israelites sacrificed their children to false gods, or demons.
He quoted Psalm 106, which reads, “They sacrificed to demons their own sons and daughters, shedding innocent blood, the blood of their own sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols [demons] of Canaan.”
Speaking of modern times, the archbishop said he was not surprised to learn that one of the first groups to challenge the Texas heartbeat law was the Satanic Temple, a cult that believes abortion is a “religious ritual.”
These pagan, satanic groups have made the killing of unborn babies part of their religion, which explains their irrational, vehement opposition to any limits on abortion, he continued.
“That is why we see such visceral and violent reaction to any even minimal regulation of abortion in the law, regulations that even those who believe it should be kept legal would see as reasonable, such as informed consent and parental consent,” Cordileone said.
The archbishop also warned that these evil, pagan beliefs also have seeped into the church.
“How many people are there who claim to be Christian and yet have been mindlessly co-opted by the new secular religion and its false blessed sacrament?” the archbishop said.
Though he did not mention politics in his homily, Cordileone has been a strong voice against the hypocrisy of politicians like President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who profess to be devout Catholics while working to expand abortions. Last year, he published a pastoral letter making the case for denying communion to pro-abortion Catholic public figures, saying the action may be “the only recourse a pastor has left” if they obstinately persist in their sin and refuse to repent.
In his pro-life homily last week, the archbishop encouraged pro-lifers to live virtuous lives that “see the other as a fellow human being with God-given dignity and not a means to an end” and put others ahead of themselves.
“May God grant us the grace to live this way, in accordance with His plan, so that, if we ever are arrested for being Christians, there will be plenty of evidence to convict us,” Cordileone said. “Then we will be able to rejoice and be glad, for a pure conscience wins the day, and God will grant us a great reward in His heavenly Kingdom of eternal light, rest and peace.”
