Fr. Edward Meeks explains that belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is a prerequisite for being in Communion with the Catholic Church. A 2019 Pew Research poll showed 70% of self-identified Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence. Thus, most U.S. Catholics are heretics, since belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a fundamental tenet of the Catholic Faith. This should be a “all hands on deck” emergency call when the poll was originally published in 2019. However, there is little evidence the bishops see this as a crisis – could it be because they don’t believe in the Real Presence themselves?