Bishops move to block US President Joe Biden from holy communion over abortion beliefs

[Neferti]

Bishops move to block US President Joe Biden from holy communion over abortion beliefs

US President Joe Biden may be facing a fight of faith as Catholic bishops look to ban him from taking holy communion over his backing of abortion rights.

On Friday, US bishops voted overwhelmingly in support of drafting a teaching document on the meaning of the Christian sacrament, which is set to include a section on disallowing it for any Catholic politician or other public figure who goes against church doctrine.

Mr Biden, a devout Catholic who attends Mass at least once a week, also supports abortion rights – something which is at odds with the official stance of the Catholic Church.

The document, which won the bishops’ vote 168 to 55, could therefore be used to stop the President from taking part in communion, also known as the eucharist.

The vote took place at the Catholic bishops’ spring general assembly, despite appeals against it from the Vatican. The document will now be discussed further at their next meeting in November.

A Vatican official, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, wrote to the conference in May urging caution on the debate over politicians’ abortion views and communion, telling Catholic News Service it could become a “source of discord”.

Another vocal opponent to the document is Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego. He warned it could lead to the “weaponisation” of the eucharist and would lead to further divisions in the Catholic Church.

“The Eucharist … will inevitably become a tool in the vicious partisan turmoil that roils our nation,” he said.

But those who supported the document insisted that it would not call out any individual politician by name, although the topic of the President’s views reportedly came up often in the discussion.

At a press conference on Thursday, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, said the committee drafting the statement “will be looking at that whole issue of Eucharistic consistency”.
“That is not the task of our committee, to look at individuals,” Bishop Rhoades said.

Mr Biden, 78, is the second Catholic to serve as President and has concerned many in the church by throwing his support behind such issues as same-sex marriage and abortion rights.

On Friday, when asked if he was concerned over the bishops’ move, Mr Biden said: “That’s a private matter and I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Decision up to individual bishops

Holy communion, is among the most sacred rituals in the Catholic Church and there have been calls from some conservative church leaders to deny the sacrament to politicians who support abortion rights.

It is up to each local bishop to decide who receives communion in their diocese.

In 2019, a priest at a Catholic Church in South Carolina refused holy communion to Mr Biden because of his stance on abortion.

https://www.news.com.au/world/north-ame ... 81cd197b8

[Mortdooley]

The biden approach to his faith reminds me of stories I listened to from the old guys as a teen. In their youth a right of passage was a trip to the US-Mexican border houses of prostitution. Places with names like Disneyland and Boys Town would give many American boys their first sexual experience. Many of the prostitutes considered themselves good Catholics and went to confession after a week of plying their trade so they could receive holy communion. It was a cycle with them, a week at work and another trip for forgiveness followed by another week at work on and on sometimes for years. If the Catholic Church took his type of behavior as seriously as they did in the past he would have been excommunicated when he married his mistress or when he publicly supported the killing of the unborn. It doesn't matter what any individual believes about the subject, the Church is clear in its condemnation of abortion. No one can support abortion and be a good Catholic, if he truly believes he can, he is the worst kind of hypocrite!

[Texan]

The Catholic Church can shun whoever they want. Its their religion and their rules.

I don't like how they claim that their leader is infallible and practically worship him. There are many things I don't agree with the Catholic church on, but it's their rules in their house.

[Texan]

I had to cut my last post short to attend my church.

One thing any church should be careful of is to get political. They can support any issue they want if that agrees with their religious teachings, but they shouldn't be in the business of endorsing or condemning political candidates. The Catholic church can excommunicate Biden and declare he is going to Hell if they want, but they shouldn't tell their members who to vote for or campaign for or against political candidates from the pulpit. That's not their religion and that's not protected as religion. I guess the church can get political under the banner of free speech, but they become at risk of being scrutinized as a political organization and risk losing any tax exemptions that most churches enjoy in the name of the 1st Amendment.

[Mortdooley]

The Catholic Church can shun whoever they want. Its their religion and their rules.

I don't like how they claim that their leader is infallible and practically worship him. There are many things I don't agree with the Catholic church on, but it's their rules in their house.

Papal infallibility doesn't apply to everything a Pope does. In the case of this one nothing he does should be considered divinely inspired. He is a pure Marxist, I doubt he is even a Catholic in the true sense of the word. Neither is this drooling idiot currently sleeping in the White House.