On Wednesday, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted on a 30-page document surrounding Holy Communion without addressing whether to bar politicians who support abortion rights.
The vote, which was 222-8 and three abstaining, was reportedly followed by applause from the bishops who attended the Nov. 15-18 assembly in Baltimore. This comes after months of speculation if the document would prohibit outspoken pro-abortion politicians like President Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) from receiving the sacrament.
"The vote was the culmination of a debate that has dragged on all year, exposing deep ideological divisions in the church – and especially between U.S. bishops and Rome," the Wall Street Journal's report states.
"Conservatives in the U.S. had pushed to issue guidelines that would clearly advise clergy not to offer Communion to politicians who support abortion rights, a category that includes President Biden," it continues. "But the Vatican warned that such a policy could be divisive, and Pope Francis said the bishops shouldn't politicize the reception of Communion."
Last month, Biden held a closed-door 90-minute meeting with Pope Francis, where he told reporters afterward that the pontiff is "happy I'm a good Catholic" and that he should keep receiving Communion. He said that abortion did not come up during their meeting.
In the Washington Post's coverage of the vote, it states that the text is "a broad teaching document mostly quoting canon law and papal teachings about Communion. It does not mention the president or any politician, nor does it single out abortion."
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The document passed Wednesday, according to the Post, states, "Laypeople who exercise some form of public authority have a special responsibility to form their consciences in accord with the Church's faith and the moral law, and to serve the human family by upholding human life and dignity."
"Some bishops were concerned the group had not in its own name, as opposed to quoting a pope or some other author, mentioned the unborn," the Post's report states. One bishop, in particular, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, who oversees Pelosi's home diocese in San Francisco, said, "[t]o fail to acknowledge the category of human beings that represents the largest destruction of human life in our time would be a glaring omission. Moreover, for some of us, it would turn this document into a problem rather than a help."
Last week, Cordileone appeared in an interview with America Magazine where he doubled-down on his stance that pro-abortion politicians should not receive Communion and said that he does not believe Pope Francis said "exactly that" Biden is a good Catholic and should keep receiving Communion.
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