MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews, who famously redefined his job as a journalist from “holding the president accountable” during George W. Bush’s presidency to “making the Obama presidency work” after the 2008 election, now seems to think it is also his job to redefine the role of a Catholic bishop.

In a Nov. 23 episode, Mr. Matthews took to task Bishop Thomas Tobin from Providence, Rhode Island. Mr. Matthews inserted himself into a controversy between Bishop Tobin and Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Rhode Island Democrat. Mr. Kennedy publicly revealed that Bishop Tobin asked him not to receive Holy Communion as long as he obstinately persisted in voting for abortion. Note: it was Mr. Kennedy who revealed this–not Bishop Tobin.

Mr. Matthews, who identifies himself as a Catholic, said this Holy Communion prohibition amounted to the Church “telling a politician how to vote.” His voice got louder and louder as he demanded to know what law the bishop would pass to end abortion and what, if any, penalty he might assess against a woman having an abortion.

Bishop Tobin said it was his job to lay out the moral principles and the states’ job to assess penalties. Mr. Matthews decreed that this unwillingness to lay out the law and its penalties was exactly why the Church should not get involved in such matters.

Mr. Matthews’ argument is based on quicksand.

When a British journalist named John Cornwell wrote a book in 1999, Hitler’s Pope, claiming that Pope Pius XII had not done everything possible to defend the Jews from Adolf Hitler and his concentration camps during World War II–an assertion that the Catholic Church and many Jews have vigorously repudiated–there was a public uproar. No one commended the Church for “staying out of politics.” Rather, they asked how a religious leader could fail to get involved in the policies of this sovereign nation and stop such heinous conduct.

Why did so many ask that question? Could it be because what Hitler did was morally wrong? Might this mean that moral values actually do have a place in politics–and every other sphere of life? The answers to these latter two questions are undoubtedly, “Yes.”

Let’s take this analogy a bit further. Mr. Matthews said the bishop should not get involved in politics if he wasn’t willing to write the law and assess penalties.

Did the Church get involved in determining the civil penalties for those who supported the Nazi regime? Does that mean that the pope should not have spoken out against this conduct and aided the Jews in every way possible? The answer is obvious.

Also, consider the following: Is abortion any less of an important issue than the holocaust? Hitler exterminated approximately six million Jews. Since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe v. Wade, 3,000 babies are aborted every day in the United States alone. Even the Alan Gutmacher Institute, which supports abortion, estimates that 50 million babies have been killed in the United States since abortion was legalized. This is in one country alone. If you extrapolate this worldwide, the number of deaths from abortion is staggering.

Should the Church–or any religious or even morally conscious individual—remain silent on the abortion Holocaust any more than it should have remained silent on the Jewish Holocaust?

Let us also consider for a moment how Bishop Tobin “transgressed” into politics, according to Mr. Matthews. What the bishop actually did was ask Mr. Kennedy, in private, not to receive Holy Communion as long as he supported abortion.

Why would the bishop take this action? The answer is religious, not political.

If a person freely decides to become a Catholic, he or she, among other things, must believe: a) that Holy Communion is not just a symbol of Christ, but Christ Himself, and b) in the Ten Commandments including the one that says: “Thou shalt not kill.”

Consider also this Biblical statement: (1 COR 11:26-27): “And Christ said, ‘He who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks condemnation on himself.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.”

How do you eat and drink unworthily? That goes back to the real definition of the bishop’s job which Mr. Matthews does not seem to understand. As “shepherd” of a diocese, the bishop’s job is to show people the morally correct path in order to keep them from eternal damnation. Because Mr. Kennedy is part of Bishop Tobin’s diocese, the bishop’s job is to ensure that Mr. Kennedy understands that abortion is murder and that murder cannot be condoned in any way. When you support murder, you commit a serious sin against God. If you receive Holy Communion in this state, “you eat and drink judgment” on yourself.

Bishop Tobin’s job is not to gain favor with Mr. Matthews or the Obama administration. It is to help save the souls of his flock–that includes Mr. Kennedy, those who might be influenced by Mr. Kennedy, and even by Mr. Matthews.

Christians believe that when we die and stand before Christ to be judged, we will be held accountable for the souls over whom we had an influence. This is especially true for bishops and priests. In this case, Bishop Tobin can stand proud.