WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are due this week to discuss whether politicians, including President Joe Biden, should receive Communion while supporting abortion and LGBTQ rights, a debate that has divided the clergy and laid bare internal cultural rifts.
As the second Catholic to serve as U.S. president, Biden, a Democrat, has alarmed some church leaders by supporting same-sex marriage and abortion rights, views they say are antithetical to church teachings.
At their virtual annual meeting from Wednesday to Friday, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will decide whether to ask the Committee on Doctrine to draft a teaching document on the topic of Communion, a sacrament central to the Roman Catholic faith.
If the conference decides to commission that document, it could be a strong symbolic rebuke of those who espouse views that are contrary to church teachings, including Biden and other Catholics who support same-sex marriage and abortion rights.
The bishops would then review an amendable draft of the document at their fall meeting.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment.
In 2004, the conference published a statement that said individual bishops could decide whether to deny Communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a woman’s willful termination of her pregnancy is “gravely contrary to the moral law” and that marital love should be shared between men and women, not people of the same sex.
Biden, a former vice president and U.S. senator, has become a staunch advocate for LGBTQ rights in the past decade. Since taking office in January, he has also rolled back federal restrictions on abortion pills to make them more accessible, and proposed axing a long-standing ban on federal funding for abortion in his 2022 budget.
Although Biden proudly discusses his faith and attends weekly Mass, his views and actions on some issues have become “a matter of scandal” for the Catholic Church, said Bill Dempsey, chairman of Sycamore Trust, an alumni group from the University of Notre Dame that seeks to preserve the school’s Catholic traditions.
Sycamore Trust wrote to the university’s president in February urging him not to invite Biden to speak at the university’s commencement, despite the school’s tradition of inviting presidents, because of Biden’s abortion and same-sex marriage views. Biden declined the school’s invitation due to a scheduling conflict, the Catholic News Agency reported.
Dempsey said he believes the bishops’ conference should take a stand against Biden and other politicians who support abortion rights or risk losing credibility among Catholics.
A Pew Research poll, however, conducted in March, showed 67% of U.S. Catholics believe Biden’s views should not disqualify him from Communion.
Shannon Longworth: SHOULD PRESIDENT BIDEN BE ALLOWED TO RECEIVE COMMUNION?
THAT’S THE BIG QUESTION FACING BY U-S CATHOLIC BISHOPS LATER THIS WEEK.
THE U-S CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS WILL DECIDE WHETHER TO DRAFT A TEACHING DOCUMENT ON THE SACRAMENT OF COMMUNION.
IT COULD DIRECTLY IMPACT BIDEN AND OTHER POLITICIANS WHO SUPPORT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND ABORTION RIGHTS.
IN DOING SO – THEY COULD BE DENIED COMMUNION.
A PEW RESEARCH POLL CONDUCTED IN MARCH SHOWED TWO-THIRDS OF U-S CATHOLICS BELIEVE BIDEN’S VIEWS SHOULD *NOT* DISQUALIFY HIM FROM COMMUNION.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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