#Eucharistic coherence full#

A 2019 poll found that 63% of American Catholics have lost trust in Catholic bishops because of their handling of the ongoing crisis of sexual abuse. Naumann may have reasons to be concerned. “He doesn’t have the authority to teach what it means to be Catholic,” Naumann continued “that’s our responsibility as bishops.” bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities and one of the main figures supporting a pastoral statement about Communion, told The Associated Press in April, “Whether intentional or not, trying to usurp our authority.” Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann, chair of the U.S. appears to be more about concerns among bishops over their waning influence. The reason the issue has come up now in the U.S. Likewise, Pope Benedict XVI gave Communion to Rudolph Giuliani, Nancy Pelosi and John Kerry – all of whom support abortion rights. More pertinent to the Biden case, Pope John Paul II gave Communion in 2001 to Rome’s mayor, Franceso Rutelli, who had campaigned to liberalize abortion laws. Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, for example, presided over a brutal regime of atrocities and torture known throughout the world, yet he received a Catholic burial in 1975 over which the archbishop of Toledo presided. The picture is not as clear as that priest suggests, and the Catholic Church’s history of dealing with Catholic public officials is more inconsistent. The priest, who had never met Biden before, told reporters, “Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of church teaching.” Anthony Church in Florence, South Carolina. In October 2019, a priest declined to give Communion to the then-presidential candidate when he presented himself at St. He has talked many times about how important his faith is to him.īut his policy position on abortion jars with more conservative elements in the Catholic Church. Joe Biden is a devoted Catholic, attending Mass weekly and carrying a rosary everywhere he goes. Moreover, it will serve only to deepen the divide. The bishops argue that in supporting abortion rights, Democrats like Joe Biden have made themselves unsuitable to take Communion.Īs a scholar who studies Catholicism in political life, I argue that the proposed pastoral statement reflects existing divisions inside the Catholic Church that have been heightened by the election of Biden as president.

#Eucharistic coherence full#

The effect of that document would be to exclude Catholics like Biden and Pelosi from full participation in the church.Ĭommunion, also known as the Eucharist, is the central act of Roman Catholic worship, in which Catholics receive bread and wine that they believe becomes the body and blood of Jesus Christ.Ĭhurch law particularly excludes from taking Communion those who are guilty of what is known as “ manifest grave sin.” This means no one who has committed a serious sin in a way that is publicly visible should receive Communion. Their response is a pastoral statement on “Eucharistic coherence” that would instruct Catholics about when they should and should not receive Communion. This has led some bishops to grow concerned that a contradictory picture of Catholic faith is being presented to the public. Yet the Roman Catholic Church teaches that abortion is the taking of a human life, no different from murder, and so grave a sin that it incurs an automatic excommunication. Many prominent Roman Catholics in public life – including Democrats such as Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – support abortion rights. It all stems from a dilemma President Joe Biden poses for Catholic bishops. They would also be putting the Catholic Church in the United States in unprecedented territory regarding its relationship with the wider Catholic community.

If they do proceed, the bishops will have opened a breach with Pope Francis and the Vatican, which has all but instructed the bishops not to go ahead with the motion. bishops are expected to approve a motion to begin drafting a document on “Eucharistic coherence” that would exclude Catholic political figures who support abortion rights from receiving Communion.

Conference of Catholic Bishops meets amid talk of a growing divide in the church over Pope Francis’ leadership.ĭuring the virtual event, U.S. (The Conversation) - A rift between conservative American bishops and the Vatican could be laid bare on June 16 as the U.S.