Catholic bishops approve Communion document aimed at possible rebuke of Biden

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted overwhelmingly to draft a proper document on the that means of the Eucharist after a contentious debate on whether or not President Biden and different politicians who assist abortion insurance policies are worthy of receiving Communion at Mass. 

More than 73% of the U.S. bishops casting ballots at a digital convention this week supported tasking the USCCB’s doctrine committee to draft language on sustaining consistency with the Eucharist. A piece of the document is anticipated to incorporate a selected admonition to Catholic politicians and different public figures who disobey church educating on abortion and different core doctrinal points. 

The vote tally introduced Friday was 168 bishops in favor, 55 opposed and 6 bishops abstaining.  

Up subsequent, at least two-thirds of the bishops must vote to undertake the brand new language at their subsequent gathering slated for November. The resolution on whether or not Biden ought to be allowed to obtain Communion would nonetheless be left as much as particular person bishops, as is commonplace for all churchgoers, however a brand new document would inform these selections. 

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Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, has made clear that Biden is welcome to obtain Communion at church buildings within the archdiocese. During Thursday’s debate, Gregory pressed in opposition to authoring a brand new Communion document at this time. 

“The choice before us at this moment is either we pursue a path of strengthening unity among ourselves or settle for creating a document that will not bring unity but may very well further damage it,” Gregory stated.

Then-candidate Joe Biden speaks throughout a worship occasion at the Brown Chapel AME Church on March 1, 2020 in Selma, Alabama. Biden’s Catholic religion and pro-abortion insurance policies have been the topics of debate amongst U.S. Catholic bishops this week at their nationwide convention. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The secret vote tally was introduced Friday afternoon, however the prolonged debate on the measure came about Thursday throughout a digital session of the bishops’ nationwide assembly. Catholics imagine that receiving bread and wine at Mass throughout Communion is akin to receiving the physique and blood of Jesus Christ. The sacrament of the Eucharist is so sacred to the Church that some bishops have expressed issues about whether or not Biden is worthy for Communion given his pro-abortion insurance policies that run counter to the Catholic Church’s pro-life beliefs.

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Biden, who attends Mass commonly, says he personally opposes abortion however does not assume he ought to impose that place on Americans who really feel in any other case. He’s taken a number of government actions throughout his presidency that have been hailed by abortion rights advocates.

Some bishops imagine Biden compelled their hand on making a call and the church’s credibility was on the road in the event that they did not transfer ahead with a document reaffirming core Catholic values. 

“It’s not the bishops who have brought us to this point — it’s some of our public officials,” stated Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas throughout Thursday’s debate. “This is a Catholic president doing the most aggressive things we’ve ever seen on life at its most innocent.”

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Still, some bishops stated the document itself would not be about one particular person and reiterated that it would not bar anybody particular person from receiving Communion, since that’s nonetheless left as much as particular person bishops underneath church regulation.

Asked immediately on Thursday whether or not Biden ought to obtain Communion, the chairman of the USCCB doctrine committee made clear it isn’t up for the convention to resolve however quite look at “Eucharistic consistency” extra broadly.

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“That’s a decision of his bishop,” Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana stated at a press convention. “That is not the task of our committee to look at individuals.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.