Catholic Bishops Push Communion Reform Seen as Rebuke of Biden

The move to draft a document on the Eucharist targets the nation’s second Catholic president over his support for abortion rights.

WASHINGTON (CN) — The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops agreed Friday to draft a statement on the meaning of the sacrament, part of a push by the church’s most conservative members to deny President Joe Biden communion because he supports abortion rights.

The bishops voted by a 168-55 margin to draft the statement, which is in part of a teaching document on the Eucharist — a holy sacrament in the Catholic faith. That decision came after two hours of debate at the group’s virtual assembly on Thursday and was made public Friday afternoon.

Biden is a devout Roman Catholic who has been supportive of abortion rights since his time in the U.S. Senate beginning in the 1970s and he has continued advocating for the rights of women’s right to terminate unwanted pregnancies as president. Catholics generally oppose abortion as part of their religious beliefs to a right to life for every creation.

The statement from the bishops would potentially prevent those supportive of abortion rights from receiving communion. It will be drafted over the summer and a final vote is set for November, possibly giving Republicans a weapon to use against Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections.

Bishop Kevin Rhoades, an Indiana priest, took questions from reporters Thursday about seeking approval for the drafting of the document. He described the text as giving a different understanding of the “beauty and the mystery of the Eucharist," and said the communion “was a sacrament of unity.”

Rhoades said he made a proposal to an administrative committee of the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops for drafting a document in March, but the one proposed then would have been a broader document than what is now being advanced. The original proposed document would have included church teachings on the importance of the sacrament, it’s centrality to the church and the “importance of Eucharistic consistency, or Eucharistic coherence.”

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Virginia also took questions Thursday. Asked about the church’s timing, he said the teaching document wasn’t “anything brand new,” but what the church has always taught about the sacrament. There have been previous drafts of documents on church teachings about communion, he said, but they needed to be reaffirmed.

“But you know, dust them off a little bit and present them in a refreshing, new way in this moment in time,” Burbidge said. “Especially where there is a concern about Catholics’ belief in the understanding of the real presence of the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ being truly, really and substantially contained in the Eucharist.”

Rhoades noted a number of factors led to the drafting of what is expected to be a three-year plan to reform Catholics’ approach and mentality towards the ritual of communion. One of those factors, the drop in Catholics’ belief in the presence of the Eucharist, was mirrored by another — a declining Catholic membership that has sunk almost 20% in two decades, according to a Gallup poll published in March.

But the plan is about more than pulling up on the reins of declining membership and belief in Eucharistic teachings, Rhoades said Thursday.

“So, it’s our faith in the Eucharist but also the important call to live the Eucharist, and that’s where Eucharistic consistency comes in,” he said. “I mean, we want to talk about the whole truth about the Eucharist and how can you do so without talking about the importance of living what we’ve received and being in communion with the faith of the church.”

Bishop Robert McElroy, a priest based in San Diego who voted against the drafting of the statement, did not return a request for comment Friday.

Biden is only the second Catholic to serve as U.S. president after John F. Kennedy.