Catholic bishops approve flawed text denying Communion to Biden or other politicians advocating abortion rights
The document – which passed with 222 votes in favor, 8 against and 3 abstentions – would need Vatican approval before taking any action directly targeting any elected officials.
“This is really something to help Catholics understand the intention of the Eucharist,” said Chieko Noguchi, a spokesman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
One draft of the document, which emerged from a summer of work, contained words that were measured flawed to deny Communion to Biden or others advocating abortion rights. The single line that appears to point to the White House says, “Ladies exercising some form of public power have a special responsibility to embody Church teaching in the service of their common good.”
Pope Francis has voiced opposition to the move by some US bishops to allow individual bishops to deny Communion to politicians who support abortion rights. The movement to refuse Communion was promoted by a more conservative wing of the Catholic Church.
The President’s support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage often puts him at odds with church leaders. Biden said he personally opposes abortion but does not believe he should impose his views on the rest of society.
The president attends Mass weekly, often wears his deceased son’s necklace on his wrist and frequently talks about the important role faith has played in his life, especially in guiding him through grief. .
Biden’s first wife and young daughter were killed in 1972 in a car crash shortly after he won the US Senate seat. Biden’s son Beau, an Iraq War veteran who served as attorney general for Delaware, died in 2015 of brain cancer at the age of 46.
The president said his administration is “deeply committed” to women’s abortion rights and that his administration will “defend and defend that right.” He recently called Texas’ law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy “extreme” and said the practice “flagrantly violates” a woman’s right to have an abortion, as has been asserted. determined in the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade .
Biden also said he would seek to remove the Hyde Amendment, a federal law that prohibits the use of federal dollars to pay for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of a mother in danger. Biden previously supported the Hyde Amendment but reversed his position earlier this year amid criticism from his 2020 Democratic Presidential opponents.
This story has been updated with additional information.
