CNA Staff, Apr 29, 2021 / 13:58 pm (CNA).
Recent reports that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops may at their spring general assembly press pro-abortion Catholic politicians not to receive Communion are unfounded, and at best ignorant of ecclesial structure, a source close to the conference has told CNA.
A source close to the USCCB told CNA April 29 that they believe such reports from the AP and the Washington Post are either “just totally ignorant of the Church’s structure,” or meant “to pressure the bishops into silence” regarding the Equality Act.
The Equality Act would amend federal civil rights law and create protected classes for sexual orientation and gender identity, extending those protections to all areas where race is currently protected.
AP National Writer
When U.S. Catholic bishops hold their next national meeting in June, they’ll be deciding whether to send a tougher-than-ever message to President Joe Biden and other Catholic politicians: Don’t receive Communion if you persist in public advocacy of abortion rights.
At issue is a document that will be prepared for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops by its Committee on Doctrine, with the aim of clarifying the church’s stance on an issue that has repeatedly vexed the bishops in recent decades. It’s taken on new urgency now, in the eyes of many bishops, because Biden, only the second Catholic president, is the first to hold that office while espousing clear-cut support for abortion rights.
On Wednesday, AP's David Crary reported that "US Catholic bishops may press Biden to stop taking Communion." Though President Joe Biden is the second Catholic president, and he, along with
President-elect Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden attend services at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle with congressional leaders prior to the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony on January 20, 2021, in Washington, D.C. | Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
United States bishops are considering formalizing their opposition to pro-abortion Catholic politicians receiving communion as they continue to speak out against President Joe Biden, a Catholic, over his support for abortion.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, scheduled to hold a national meeting in June, is considering approving a draft document that would advise Catholic politicians who support abortion not to receive communion. The consideration of the document comes as Biden continues to advocate for liberal abortion policies that directly conflict with the teachings of his faith, specifically, that all human life is sacred from natural conception until natural death.
When U.S. Catholic bishops hold their next national meeting in June, they’ll be deciding whether to send a tougher-than-ever message to President Joe Biden and other Catholic politicians: Don’t receive Communion if you persist in public advocacy of abortion rights.
At issue is a document that will be prepared for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops by its Committee on Doctrine, with the aim of clarifying the church’s stance on an issue that has repeatedly vexed the bishops in recent decades. It’s taken on new urgency now, in the eyes of many bishops, because Biden, only the second Catholic president, is the first to hold that office while espousing clear-cut support for abortion rights.