Although some U.S. Catholic bishops continue to criticize President Joe Biden for his support of abortion, their conference as a whole is likely to avoid criticizing him directly at its next national meeting.
Bishops won’t criticize Joe Biden for abortion support
The most prominent item on the agenda is a proposed “teaching document” on the sacrament of Communion. Months of work on the document by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine coincided with a sometimes heated debate among the bishops over whether Biden and other Catholic politicians who support abortion rights are unworthy to receive Communion.
A draft of the document circulating ahead of the Nov. 15-18 meeting in Baltimore does not explore new ground, although its language could be toughened during the meeting. The draft mentions abortion only once and does not name Biden or other politicians, although it does say at one point, “Lay people who exercise some form of public authority have a special responsibility to embody the teaching of the Church.”
One committee member, Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas said he and his colleagues decided the document should avoid having any political overtones.
However, Olson remains an outspoken critic of Bien’s stance on abortion, noting that the president “has added to the magnitude of the scandal.”
“He has said abortion is a fundamental right while portraying himself as an exemplary Catholic,” Olson commented to The Associated Press “What’s really at stake is public confusion.”
While some bishops have made it clear they would deny communion to Biden, there is no national policy on the matter.
