Update (11/17/21): American bishops overwhelming approved a long-awaited communion plan some say are aimed at President Joe Biden Wednesday. The plan came in the form of a document that stops short of calling for withholding the sacrament from politicians who support abortion, but could allow individual bishops to do so. Biden has supported abortion rights, despite being Catholic.
Wednesday’s vote on the document was 222-8. The video above shows the vote, as well as comments from some of the Bishops in attendance. The document does not identify Biden or other politicians by name. However it says “lay people who exercise some form of public authority have a special responsibility to embody Church teaching.” Drafters of the document also added a reference to defending “the unborn” along with other vulnerable persons, such as immigrants, older adults and victims of racial injustice.
“It was good in this document to reiterate what we’ve said before about the responsibility to have dialogue and conversation with those who are Catholic, but who act in a way contrary to our faith on this basic moral teaching,” Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas said Wednesday.
The topic of Communion came up during Biden’s meeting with the Pope Francis last month.
“We just talked about the fact he was happy that I was a good Catholic and I should keep receiving communion,” Biden said after the meeting.
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Original Story (6/18/21): The Roman Catholic bishops of the United States announced Friday they approved a plan to draft a teaching document on the topic of Communion, in an attempt to rebuke President Joe Biden and other Catholic lawmakers who support abortion and LGBTQ rights.
The vote, which happened on Thursday, was 168 to 55. It came after three hours of intense virtual debates on the subject. The video above also shows some of that debate.
Communion is one of the most sacred rituals in Christianity. President Biden is the second Catholic president in U.S. history.
He alarmed some church leaders by supporting same-sex marriage and abortion rights. The leaders say those views are in complete contrast to church core teachings.
The approval of the plan could pave the way for politicians like Biden to be denied Communion.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ doctrine committee will draft the teaching document on the meaning of Communion in the life of the church, and it will be submitted for consideration at a future meeting, probably an in-person gathering in November.
Portions of this video is from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
